Being a UK-based translation agency, we regularly provide our clients with certified translations of various documents. Occasionally, we are asked by our clients if we are able to provide certification of an existing translation they have obtained from elsewhere. In today’s blog, we explain why it’s not possible to do this, unless the document has been translated by one of our dedicated team of professional and qualified translators.
Can I translate my own documents?
If you’re after a translation for personal and/or informal use, and someone just needs to understand the ‘gist’ of the meaning – maybe a friend of yours has received an email or letter they don’t understand – then you can absolutely translate it yourself!
If, however, you need an official certified translation for formal use – i.e. when moving abroad, for divorce proceedings, or for a visa application – you will need to ensure the document is translated by a professional.
What does a certified translation mean?
Certified translations are usually required when official documents, such as birth certificates, bank statements, court orders or medical records, need to be presented to official institutions. For example, when applying for a UK visa, you have to provide a certified translation of relevant documents if they are not already in English.
A certified translation confirms that the translation is accurate and was completed by a professional translator. It also includes the translator’s or translation agency’s contact details.
Why you can’t translate your own documents for official purposes
When you need to provide a translation for official purposes – for example, immigration or court proceedings – you cannot translate the documents yourself.
In order to be accepted as reliable, the documents have to be accurately translated by a qualified and independent party. Otherwise, you run the risk of inadvertently providing an inaccurate translation, and the institution (who has requested the translated documents) runs the risk of receiving files that have been deliberately tweaked or tampered with by the individual in question.
Why we can’t certify an existing translation
From time to time, we receive requests to provide certification of an existing translation that we at Atlas haven’t worked on. This could be because the client had the translation done somewhere else but was unable to obtain certification, or because budgets were tight and so they preferred to translate it themselves, than to pay a professional.
We understand that sometimes translation costs may be higher than anticipated. This may be especially frustrating when dealing with a short document, and you (or someone you know) communicates in both languages well enough to feel confident to translate it. Nevertheless, we cannot provide a certification of an existing translation that wasn’t done by us.
As an agency offering translation between many languages, we have a large database of qualified translators. Each of them has had to pass our rigorous checks and prove their qualifications and experience in order to be approved. That allows us to ensure high-quality and accurate translations. When we certify translations, we know who completed them and can confirm they are qualified.
Certified translation services
With all of this in mind, we can only certify translations that were done by our translation agency from scratch. If you require a certified translation that is accepted by UK bodies and organisations, we can help. Just email your document to team@atlas-translations.co.uk or fill out our quote request form.
