My Translation Was Rejected. What Now?

Get the rejection in writing and read exactly what it says before you do anything else. Most translations that come back were not rejected for translation quality at all, and the fix depends entirely on which of a small number of reasons applies. Working out the real reason takes about ten minutes and can save you the cost of reordering something you already have.

Step one, find the actual reason in the notice

A rejection notice usually names one specific defect. It might say the translation was incomplete, that the certification was missing or insufficient, that the document required notarization or an apostille you did not obtain, that the source document was expired or unacceptable, or that a name did not match another document in the file. Sometimes it names nothing useful at all, in which case ask the recipient what specifically was wrong and put the question in writing.

Write down three things. The exact wording of the defect. The deadline you now have to respond. And whether the notice mentions the translation itself or the underlying document. That third distinction decides everything that follows.

The five reasons certified translations get rejected

1. Something is wrong with the source document. It expired, it was the wrong version, it was a short extract when a full record was required, the copy was illegible, or the recipient questioned its validity. No translation can repair any of this. You need a new source document, and then a translation of that one. A police certificate that fell outside its validity window is the most common example of all, and our guide to police clearance certificate translation explains how those windows work.

2. A required service was never ordered. Notarization, an apostille, a certified copy, a wet ink original delivered on paper, or a credential evaluation are separate things from a certified translation. If the recipient required one and you did not buy it, the translation was never going to be enough on its own. Read the original instruction again and list every service it named.

3. The translation was incomplete. Only the front of a two sided document was translated, the seals and stamps were not described, the grading key on the reverse of a transcript was skipped, or a court decree was summarized instead of translated in full. This is a real defect and it is fixable.

4. A name or date does not match across the file. A maiden name in one document and a married name in another, a Turkish character transliterated two different ways, a date read as March in one place and July in another. A reviewer who cannot reconcile the file will refuse it even when every individual document is correct.

5. There is a genuine translation error. A word rendered wrongly, a number transposed, a field left out. This happens less often than the others but it does happen, and it is the case with a defined remedy.

What to do in the first two days

Compare the delivered translation against your original, page by page. Confirm that every page, both sides, and every stamp appear in both. Check the names and dates against your passport. Then check the recipient's original written instruction, line by line, against what you actually bought.

If the problem is category one or two, you know what to do. Obtain the missing document or the missing service, then submit again. If the problem is category three, four or five, and the work was ours, tell us. Send the order reference, the recipient's written rejection, and the specific passage in dispute, through contact or by replying to your order.

Do not delete or edit the delivered PDF, and do not submit an edited version. An altered certified document is a much worse problem than a rejected one.

What we do when the error is ours

Our remedy is specific and we would rather state it plainly than dress it up. If a translation is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge. If the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error, we refund what was paid for it. This is subject to you telling us within 30 days and providing the recipient's written rejection.

That is the remedy, and it does not stretch to cover things outside the translation. It does not apply when the source document was expired, altered, incomplete or questioned. It does not apply when the recipient required a service that was not part of the order, such as notarization or an apostille. It does not apply to a missed deadline, a wrong form or the wrong filing office. And it does not apply to a preference for a different but equally valid wording, since more than one professionally acceptable rendering can exist for the same sentence. The full text is on the refund policy page and it is worth reading before you file anything important.

Check the translation is genuine before you assume it is wrong

If you did not order the translation yourself, or if it came to you through a third party, confirm it is the document it claims to be. Every certified translation we deliver carries an order reference and a QR code on the cover leading to a public verification record showing the language pair, the document type, the certification date and the translator who approved it. If those do not match the page in your hand, that is the problem. The steps are in how to check if a certified translation is genuine, and you can run the check from the verification page.

Refiling without losing more time

When you resubmit, send the corrected translation together with a copy of the original document and, where the recipient allows it, a short covering note pointing to what changed. Keep the same source document unless the recipient told you to replace it. Changing the source and the translation at the same time makes it impossible for anyone to see what was fixed.

If a deadline is close, order at the Premium level. Those orders are translated ahead of other work and return in 1 to 2 business days, against 2 to 3 for Certified and 3 to 5 for Standard. The levels and prices are on the services page.

One caution. We describe what recipients commonly require and we translate documents. We do not give legal or immigration advice, and we cannot tell you whether a particular filing will be accepted. The recipient's own written instructions govern, and where the stakes are high a qualified adviser is worth the cost.

Get the corrected version moving

If you now know what was missing, upload the right document at the right service level and see the measured price before paying at start an order. If you are still not sure what the notice meant, send it to us through contact and we will tell you plainly whether it is something we can fix.