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I offer Czech translation of official documents

• From English into Czech
• From Czech into English
• From Slovak into English

 Certified translations provided with a Translator’s certificate are usually requested by government bodies, embassies, registrars of marriages, banks, the criminal justice system,  courts and sometimes by employers for official or legal documents such as: 

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Apostille
• Superintendent Registrar’s certificate of no impediment to marriage
• Deed about change of names
• Divorce documents
• Death certificate
• Education and qualification certificates (e.g. Diplomas)
• Licence
• Contract
• Court judgement
• Extracts from Crime Register
• Employment contract
• Medical report
• Full powers, Powers of Attorney
• Witness statement
• Will

How to order a translation of an official document?

1. Please send me a photocopy of the original document either by post, or if you can scan it, as a JPEG to my email address milada@absoluteczechtranslations.co.uk If possible, please make sure that the quality of the copy or scanning is good.

2. Once I have had a chance to look at the document, I would contact you and give you a quote for how much I would charge for the translation. Please note that because I am a direct supplier and not a translation agency, I am able to offer good quality work at very competitive prices.

3. If you accept the price, I will give you either my bank account details or PayPal address, so that you can make a payment. For translation work from individual clients I always demand the payment in full upfront.

4. Once your payment has cleared in my bank account I will start working on the translation and return it to you by post. I therefore need to know your full postal address. Please allow approximately one week from when you make your payment to when you receive your translated document in the post.

If you have any questions please call me on 01235 770 427.

Purpose of certified translations

The authorities who request translations of official documents need to have a guarantee that the translation is accurate, true and correct in order to be able to make correct decisions based on the information contained in the translation. Therefore such translations should be supplied by professional qualified translators who have also been vetted by recognised professional organisations such as the Chartered Institute of Linguists, Institute of Translation and Interpreting or the National Register of Public Service Interpreters.

Certified translations usually consist of the following:

1. Translation of the document clearly marked as “translation from…into…" and all pages must be marked with page numbers.
2. Copy of the original document in source language (For example, a photocopy of a Birth Certificate. In my experience a photocopy is quite sufficient. I have yet to come across a case when it would be specifically necessary to attach an original document or even a certified copy of the original.)
3. Translator’s certificate (sometimes also called a “Translator’s declaration" whereby the translator declares that he or she is fully conversant with the languages in which the document was translated, specify which one is their mother tongue and certify that the translation of the attached document is to their best knowledge and abilities true, correct and complete). The translator’s certificate must also contain the translator’s full contact details, list their membership of professional organisations, state from into which language the document is translated, the total number of pages of the translation and the translator’s signature and date.

The sheets of paper are then put together in the order listed above (Translation on top, original document below and translator's certificate at the bottom). Those sheets are then tied together by a ribbon so that they could not be separated or any sheets removed or lost.

Alternatively, the documents do not need to be attached together by a ribbon but the client (usually a government body such as the police authority or court) may request that the translator will sign and date a statutory declaration or a witness statement and return it with the translation.

Professional standards and professional organisations

In the UK the Institute of Linguists keeps a National Register of Public Service Interpreters. In accordance with a document called the National Agreement on use of Interpreters issued by the UK government department - Criminal Justice System in 2008, the members of the NRPSI are qualified and entitled to provide translation and interpreting services to the British public service organisations such as the Police Authorities, Courts of justice, Criminal justice system, Home Office and other government bodies.

In the Czech Republic there are so called "sworn court interpreters”. Those professional translators and interpreters are registered with the regional court (equivalent to the UK Crown courts) at the place of their permanent address. All Czech "sworn court interpreters" must be qualified but also permanently resident in the Czech Republic. Just to avoid any confusion, please note that owing to the fact that I am permanently resident in the UK, I am unable to register with any court based in the Czech Republic as a “sworn court interpreter”.

Generally, all the British authorities accept translations with a translator's certificate issued by qualified linguists working in the UK. However, certain Czech authorities specifically request that the translation must be made by a “sworn court interpreter” resident in the Czech Republic and also be marked by their court registration stamp.

In order to prevent any confusion or inconvenience, please check with the official who requested that you provide a certified translation of your documents, which translator’s certificate they will or will not accept, whether it can be a UK-based qualified court interpreter or if it specifically needs to be Czech "sworn court interpreter".

Useful links:

Legalisation of official documents by Foreign & Commonwealth Office
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/docs-and-legal-services/legalisation/