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What is the difference between a certified translation and a sworn translation?

Sworn or notarized translation

A sworn translation is a notarized translation made official by an oath report, compiled and signed by the professional translator. The statement of oath shall be attached to the translation, stamped, validated and recorded by the official (registrar) at the Office of the Court of First Instance (or by a notary or at the Consulate of the country of destination). Because of the actions taken by the judicial authority, it has legal value.

Certified translations with CTA in Caserta

Certified translations, instead, are accompanied by a Certification of Translation Accuracy, or by a certificate of translation accuracy issued by the same translator or translation agency, written usually in the target language and bearing the stamp, signature and data of the professional translator. The certificate of accuracy therefore certifies the linguistic competence of the translator and the authenticity of the translation.

CERTIFIED TRANSLATION: WHAT IS IT

A certified translation is a translation issued by an authorized translator, accompanied by a statement on letterhead certifying that the translation is faithful and conforms to the original text.

In some countries to obtain a translation with legal and official value, neither the intervention of the court nor the guaranteed translation is foreseen. In these cases, a certified translation is required.

Certified translation is a service that is increasingly required of translation agencies and professional translators.

It is sometimes also called an official translation: it is carried out for all documents to be submitted abroad but for which a sworn translation with legal value is not explicitly required.

In some situations, in fact, foreign authorities do not require the translation to be validated in front of a public official, but require the “official translator” or the translation agency to certify the work done.

In this case, the translation is delivered on our agency’s letterhead and accompanied by a declaration of fidelity of the translation to the original text. This means that an official declaration of conformity of the translation with the original text is provided, accompanied by the contact details of the professional translator who translated the text.

It is important to bear in mind that the certified translation does not confer official legal value on the document, even though it is often accepted abroad, as mentioned above. In Italy, in order to confer legal value, it is necessary to proceed to the affidavit (by oath in court).

If the affixing of the apostille stamp or the legalization is required, it is necessary to proceed to the sworn translation.

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