Legal documents need to be presented in the national language of the country. For example, if you were to get into a contract with a real estate firm in Italy, the transaction would need to be translated into Italian to make it valid. As we all know, legal writing can be very technical and comes with various rules. If you need to have a legal document translated, you need to get yourself a legal translator who has a legal and linguistic background.
There are many situations in which you may need to commission legal translation services. It is important that you realize that some documents become legal by virtue of their passing through the justice system. These include documents such as passports, birth certificates, wills and testaments, death certificates, immigration documents, adoption papers and others.
Do You Need Legal Translation?
A lot of people will probably wonder why they need legal translation. Well, there are many situations that may arise, and one of these is when a family member dies abroad. A sworn translation of the will would have to be provided in the foreign country’s language so as to begin legal proceedings. This is not the kind of thing anyone can do even if you know the language. In order to make the legal translation official, the document needs to notarized or certified with a stamp from the country in question.
Legal Translation Terms
These are some of the terms you will come across when translating legal documents.
- Certified translations
- Notarized translations
- Sworn translations
A certified translation needs to have an accompanying document to confirm its accuracy and validity. With notarized translations, the accompanying document is notarized by a legal representative. Lastly, with a sworn translation you are looking at a document that bears an official stamp from a sworn translator legalized by the Government of that particular country. Legal translation has broad services that could be required for personal and business use.
