Certified Translation

All types of certification for your official documents.

Certified Translation Services

If you need a translation of a document for official purposes, for example a passport, birth certificate or marriage certificate, we can translate and certify your document to allow you to present it to the relevant authority or organisation.

We are very proud to have been a full member of the ATC (Association of Translation Companies) for more than 20 years. The ATC is the ‘leading voice for companies operating in the UK ‘s language services industry’. Membership of the ATC is regarded as the pinnacle of quality-managed language and translation services. The ATC ‘defines standards of excellence for language service companies by promoting quality-driven services and best practice’.

We have successfully translated and officially certified thousands of documents, and our expert team will ensure that your documents are accurately and authorised for their intended usage. If you have any questions about the certification process, please feel free to get in touch with us at info@businesslanguageservices.co.uk, or you can get a quote here.

Fully Accredited & Legally Recognised
Competitively Priced & Fast
Accepted by Government Bodies, such as the Home Office, Courts of Law, DVLA

What is a Certified Translation?

In the United Kingdom, a certified translation is a translated document that carries a legally recognised certification to demonstrate that it has been carried out by professional linguists and is approved by a translation company recognised within the industry, adhering to the highest-possible quality standards and in accordance with the criteria set out by the ATC.

Certification requirements are different in other countries, so you should always check with the requesting body what level of certification, authentication or legalisation is required. If you are not sure which documents you need to certify or legalise, you should contact the relevant authority that has requested the translation. Business Language Services is well-equipped to assist you in this process.

When you have your documents certified with BLS, you can rest assured that your documents will:

  • be treated sensitively and confidentially
  • only be translated by professional linguists with recognised qualifications

We Offer Various Types of Certification

Certified

  • Translation by a professional translator
  • Editing by a professional linguist
  • Final proofread and quality check by a professional linguist
  • ATC Certification
  • BLS Quality Assurance process
  • Certified hard copy by first-class post to your UK address (additional postage fees only apply for non-UK destinations)
  • Dedicated in-house Project Manager
More Details

Notarised

  • Translation by a professional translator
  • Editing by a professional linguist
  • Final proofread and quality check by a professional linguist
  • ATC Certification
  • BLS Quality Assurance process
  • Notarisation by a notary public
  • Notarised hard copy by post to your UK address (additional postage fees only apply for non-UK destinations)
  • Dedicated in-house Project Manager
More Details

Legalised/Apostille

  • Translation by a professional translator
  • Editing by a professional linguist
  • Final proofread and quality check by a professional linguist
  • ATC Certification
  • BLS Quality Assurance process
  • Notarisation by a notary public
  • Express legalisation by the UK Legalisation Office (Apostille)
  • Legalised hard copy by post to your UK address (additional postage fees only apply for non-UK destinations)
  • Dedicated in-house Project Manager
More Details

Sworn (In-country)

  • Translation and editing by a sworn in-country translator outside of the UK
  • BLS Quality Assurance process
  • Sworn hard copy by post to your UK address (additional postage fees only apply for non-UK destinations)
  • Dedicated in-house Project Manager
More Details

There are various levels of certification, ranging from an Association of Translation Companies stamp and accompanying verification letter to a translation that has been legalised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (apostille). The level of certification needed for a translation will depend on the type of document translated and where it is to be used. Browse the different types of certification below, and contact our knowledgeable and friendly project managers if you need more information.

What is ATC Certification?

As full members of the ATC (Association of Translation Companies), we are recognised as a translation company that can certify your document and attest to it being a true and accurate representation of your original document. Your certified translation will include:

  • Three-stage translation process for your document
  • Copy of the translation bearing our official ATC certifying stamp
  • Verification letter stating that your translation is a true and accurate representation of the original document provided to us, also bearing our ATC stamp and signed by the Project Manager looking after your project
  • A scanned, electronic copy
  • Hard copy printed on high-quality paper and sent with first-class postage to a UK address of your choice

We aim to translate, certify and return your document within 2-3 working days, but this can take longer depending on the length, legibility and complexity of the document. Get in touch with us to request a quote confirming the price and turnaround time we can offer for your document.

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What is a Notarised Translation?

Sometimes, a higher level of certification may be required, for example for certain governmental and legal bodies, before a translation can be legally recognised. This is often the case if you are applying for a job or for education outside of the UK. A notarised translation is made up of the following steps:

  • Three-stage translation process for your document
  • Standard ATC Certification at BLS (as above)
  • Validity of the translation is attested by a Notary Public
  • Notarised hard copy sent with first-class postage to a UK address of your choice

We can normally offer notarisation of your translation on the same day which we complete ATC Certification, meaning that we would typically offer a turnaround time of 2-3 working days for this service (depending on the length, legibility and complexity of the document). Get in touch with us to request a quote confirming the price and turnaround time we can offer for your document.

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What is a Legalised Translation (Apostille)?

Legalisation, or an apostille, is the highest level of certification we offer at BLS. This process attests to the origin of a public document. This is done by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, guaranteeing that the translated document is genuine. Most documents issued in the United Kingdom can be legalised if they have an original signature, stamp or seal of an official UK public body.

Legalisation or an apostille are normally required if you plan to use your documents abroad in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention. The process for legalisation is as follows:

  • Three-stage translation process for your document
  • Standard ATC Certification at BLS (as above)
  • Validity of the translation is attested by a Notary Public
  • Legalisation by the UK Legalisation Office via our express legalisation service (apostille)
  • Legalised hard copy sent to a UK address of your choice

Legalisation of your translation means we will need a little bit more time to return your translation to you. Using our express service, this will normally add around a week to the turnaround time. It’s possible to take your notarised translation to be legalised yourself, but this is a longer process and our express service is the quickest way to get your documents legalised. Get in touch with us to request a quote confirming the price and turnaround time we can offer for your document.

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What is a Sworn (In-country) Translation?

No system of ‘sworn’ translators exists in the UK, but many other countries adopt this system and you may be required to supply a translation that is ‘sworn’ by an approved translator in the country you are dealing with. The translator will include a stamped formal declaration verifying that the translation is a true and accurate representation of the original document. Our experienced network of linguists means that we can provide a sworn ‘in-country’ translation for any language or country you require. Get in touch with us to request a quote confirming the price and turnaround time we can offer for your document.

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Some of the Documents that We Can Certify

  • Birth Certificates
  • Contracts
  • Insurance Documents
  • Visas
  • Death Certificates
  • Marriage Certificates
  • Driving Licences
  • Academic Certificates
  • Witness Statements
  • Bank Statements
  • Passports/ID Documents
  • Medical Documents
  • Employment Contracts
  • Reference Letters
  • Police Clearance Documents
  • Pay Slips

Certified Translation FAQs

In a world where automated translation is widespread, it is crucial for organisations and authorities to know that official documents have been translated and thoroughly checked by professional linguists. BLS is certified in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management standards, which means that all our processes are monitored to ensure that they meet the highest standards in the industry. This includes, but is not limited to, making sure that all translations are carried out by linguists with recognised translation qualifications, ensuring that our in-house and freelance linguists are well-versed in data security, and maintaining standardised processes for translation, editing and proofreading to ensure quality.

The turnaround time will depend on the number of words and the level of certification you require. For shorter documents (1-2 pages), we aim to return certified and notarised documents within 2-3 business days. If you require legalisation, this is likely to add approximately one week to the time needed.

While our expert in-house team are happy to advise, each country and authority has a different set of requirements. We would always advise customers to double-check with the authority that has requested the translation before going ahead with an order. ATC Certification by BLS will, however, be accepted by most institutions who have not specified that they require a higher level of certification such as notarisation or legalisation.

We are not able to certify a document that we haven’t translated ourselves. If the document has already been translated, we are happy to use this as reference material to be supplied to our translator, but we would still need to re-translate the document and complete our quality assurance steps before we certify it.

For ATC Certification and Notarised Translations, we are able to work from a copy. For documents that require a legalised translation, we require original documents.

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