Certified Translation vs Standard Translation

The difference is the certificate, not the translation. A certified translation comes with a signed certificate of accuracy that a receiving office can rely on, while a standard translation is the same professional work delivered without that signed statement.

Both are translated by qualified certified translators and both are reviewed for accuracy. One is formally issued for official use and one is not.

Side by side

| | Standard | Certified | Premium | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Price per page of 250 words | 19.95 | 24.95 | 39.95 | | Turnaround | 3 to 5 business days | 2 to 3 business days | 1 to 2 business days | | Professional translation | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Reviewed for accuracy | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Formatting follows the original | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Digital delivery to your account | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Signed certificate of accuracy | No | Yes | Yes | | Prepared for official filings, including USCIS | No | Yes | Yes | | Translated ahead of other orders | No | No | Yes |

What a standard translation gives you

A standard translation is the complete document, translated by a qualified translator and reviewed for accuracy, laid out to follow the original so headings, tables, and the order of information match the source.

What it does not carry is the certificate. Nobody has signed a statement declaring the translation true, complete, and accurate, so there is nothing for a case worker or an admissions officer to rely on. For work that stays inside a business or a household, that is not a gap. It is simply the part you are not paying for.

Standard is 19.95 per page and is delivered in 3 to 5 business days.

What certification adds

Certification adds a signed, dated page in front of the translation. It names the source file, the document type, the language pair, and the order reference, states that the translation is true, complete, and accurate to the best of professional knowledge and ability, and carries the ATA membership number the certification is issued under along with the printed name and signature of the certified translator who approved the work.

A QR code on that page opens the verification record for the order, so the recipient can confirm the certificate is genuine rather than take it on trust. Everything on the certificate is explained in what is a certificate of accuracy.

Certified is 24.95 per page and is delivered in 2 to 3 business days. Premium is 39.95 per page, includes the identical certificate, and is translated ahead of other orders for delivery in 1 to 2 business days when a deadline is close.

The price difference is five dollars a page

Certified costs 5.00 more per page than standard. A two page document is 49.90 certified against 39.90 standard. A four page document is 99.80 against 79.80.

Set that against the cost of a rejected filing. A returned immigration application, a delayed admission decision, or a licensing board that asks for the document again all cost more than the difference, in fees and in weeks. When there is any real chance the recipient wants certification, certified is the cheaper decision.

When a standard translation is enough

Standard is the right level when nobody is going to file the document with anyone.

Internal business documents and reports. Reading a contract before you decide whether to sign it. Personal correspondence and family records you want to understand. Research and reference material. Website copy, marketing text, and product information. A handbook for staff in another country. A foreign medical report you want to read for yourself before an appointment.

When you need certified rather than standard

Certified is the right level any time a document is going to an institution that will make a decision based on it.

Immigration filings, including USCIS submissions. University admissions and credential evaluation. Professional licensing boards. Court filings and legal proceedings. Bank and financial compliance requests. Insurance claims. Anything going to a government office, in the United States or abroad.

USCIS publishes the requirement plainly. A document in a foreign language must be filed with a full English translation and a certification from the translator that the translation is complete and accurate and that the translator is competent to translate. That is the certified level, not the standard one. This is a description of a published requirement rather than legal advice, and the written instructions of whoever receives the document always govern.

If you are not sure which one to order

Ask the recipient one question. Do you require a certified translation with a certificate of accuracy.

Most admissions offices, licensing boards, and case workers answer that in a sentence. If you cannot reach them, or their instructions use a term you do not recognize, the FAQ covers the common ones and certified vs notarized vs sworn translation explains the three that get confused most often. You can also contact us with what the recipient sent you and we will tell you which level matches it.

How the page count and the price are worked out

A page is up to 250 words of the source document rather than a physical sheet of paper. A single sided birth certificate with 180 words is one page. A dense two column contract page with 600 words counts as three.

You upload a PDF, we measure the real document rather than asking you to estimate, and the total appears on screen before you pay by card. There are no separate certification fees layered on afterwards. Online orders run up to 50 pages, and for a larger document you contact us for a quote. The services page has the full rate table and the how it works page walks through the four steps from upload to delivery.

We work in eight languages, English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Turkish, with every pair between them. If a certified translation is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge, and if the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error we refund what was paid for it, subject to notice within 30 days with the written rejection. The conditions are set out in the refund policy.

Start an order at /account/new. Upload the document, pick the level the recipient actually asks for, and see the price before you decide.