What a certified translation means in the UK
Most of Europe has sworn translators: professionals appointed by a court or a ministry whose stamp gives a translation legal force. The United Kingdom does not. Instead, a document not in English or Welsh is accepted with a certified translation: the translation plus a written statement from the translator or translation company confirming that it is a true and accurate translation of the original, with the date, the full name and the contact details of the translator or company representative. That is the standard set by GOV.UK for Home Office applications, and nearly every other British institution follows it. Membership of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting or the Chartered Institute of Linguists adds credibility; for use abroad, a notary and an apostille from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office can be added on top.
Certified translation
Translation plus a signed statement of accuracy with date, name and contact details. The standard for the Home Office, HMPO, the GRO, the NHS regulators, universities and employers.
Notarised translation
The translator signs the statement before a notary public. Rarely required in the UK itself; requested by some foreign embassies and courts.
Apostilled translation
The FCDO Legalisation Office authenticates the notary's or solicitor's signature so the translation can be used in a Hague Convention country.
Contents
- What a certified translation means in the UK
- Which institution requires what
- The Home Office rules in detail
- Sworn translations from abroad: accepted, with one caveat
- What a UK certified translation costs
- How to order online
- Five mistakes that lead to a request for further information
- Frequently asked questions
Which institution requires what
| Institution | Typical application | Documents usually translated | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration) | Spouse and partner visas, skilled worker, settlement, naturalisation | Birth and marriage certificates, divorce decrees, police certificates, bank statements, payslips | Certified translation uploaded with the online application; no apostille required |
| HM Passport Office | First British passport for a child or spouse | Parent's birth certificate, marriage certificate, foreign birth certificate | Certified translation; originals sent by post |
| Register office, General Register Office | Giving notice of marriage or civil partnership after a foreign divorce or bereavement | Divorce decree with proof it is final, death certificate, name change documents | Certified translation presented with the original at the appointment |
| NMC, GMC, HCPC, GPhC | Registration of nurses, doctors, allied health professionals, pharmacists | Diplomas, transcripts, certificates of good standing, criminal record certificates, employment references | Certified translation uploaded to the online portal |
| UK ENIC, universities, UCAS | Statement of comparability, admission | School leaving certificates, degree certificates, transcripts | Certified translation, usually as PDF |
| Employers, DBS-related checks | Overseas criminal record checks, qualification verification | Police certificates from countries of previous residence, diplomas, references | Certified translation |
| Courts, solicitors, HMRC | Probate with foreign assets, family proceedings, tax matters | Wills, notarial deeds, death certificates, judgments, tax documents | Certified translation; a statement of truth may be required for court filings |
| DVLA | Exchanging a foreign driving licence | Driving licence from a designated country | No translation required for designated countries; other licences cannot be exchanged |
Two things the British system does not require, and that applicants often pay for anyway: an apostille on the foreign original for a Home Office application, and a notarised translation for any of the institutions above. Notarisation and apostille matter in the other direction, when a British document or a translation made in the UK has to be used abroad. Since the UK left the European Union, EU multilingual standard forms no longer apply; a British document going to an EU country needs an FCDO apostille, and the translation is usually done by a sworn translator in the destination country. How that works for the United States is covered in the USCIS certified translation guide; the difference between certified and notarised is explained in certified vs notarised translation.
The Home Office rules in detail
The Home Office guidance is short and worth quoting in substance. Every document not in English or Welsh must be accompanied by a full translation that can be independently verified. The translation must include confirmation from the translator or translation company that it is an accurate translation of the original, the date of the translation, the translator's full name and signature, and the translator's or company's contact details. Caseworkers do check: a translation without a date, or with a generic company stamp and no named person, is a common reason for a request for further information, which pauses the application. Full also means full: the reverse of a birth certificate, marginal notes, stamps and registration numbers are part of the document, and a translation that skips them is incomplete.
The Home Office does not ask where the translator lives. It asks for a named, contactable person who vouches for the translation. A certified translation ordered online and delivered as a signed PDF meets the rule exactly as one collected from a high-street office.
Sworn translations from abroad: accepted, with one caveat
A translation made by a sworn translator in France, Spain, Poland or Germany carries a stamp and a certification formula that contain the elements British institutions want: a named translator, a date, an attestation of accuracy. British institutions generally accept them, provided the certification is readable in English. A formula only in Polish or Spanish leaves the caseworker unable to verify it. When you order, state the United Kingdom as the destination country: the certification statement is then written in English, with the translator's contact details, whatever the source language of the document.
Your certified translation, Home Office-compliant, in 24 to 48 hours.
Signed statement of accuracy with name, date and contact details, fixed price per page, PDF immediately and paper original by post to any UK address.
Get an instant quoteWhat a UK certified translation costs
Prices depend on the number of pages, the language pair and the turnaround. Translatorus charges a fixed price per physical page, shown before you pay: from €30 per page into English for most languages, certification statement included, with higher rates for languages with few certified translators such as Arabic. A birth certificate is one page, a divorce decree three to six, a degree with transcript three to five. Prices are billed in euro; a UK card is accepted and the issuer converts to sterling. Delivery in 24 to 48 hours as a signed PDF, with the paper original posted to any address in the United Kingdom. The full per-document breakdown is in the certified translation cost guide.
| Document | Usual length | Indicative price into English |
|---|---|---|
| Birth or marriage certificate | 1 page | from €30 |
| Police certificate | 1 page | from €30 |
| Degree certificate | 1 page | from €30 |
| Academic transcript | 2 to 4 pages | from €60 |
| Divorce decree | 3 to 6 pages | from €90 |
How to order online
1. Upload your documents
Scan or photograph every page, front and back, including stamps and any apostille. Everything on the original must appear in the translation.
2. Choose languages, destination and turnaround
Select the source language, English as the target and the United Kingdom as the destination. The price appears immediately. Standard 24 to 48 hours; express available for most languages.
3. Receive and submit
A signed PDF ready to upload to the Home Office, NMC or university portal. If an institution wants paper, the original with the wet-ink statement arrives by post.
Five mistakes that lead to a request for further information
- Partial translation. Reverse sides, marginal notes and stamps are part of the document. A summary or extract is not a translation.
- Missing date or contact details. The Home Office requires both; a company stamp alone is not enough.
- Translation by the applicant or a relative. It cannot be independently verified and is rejected however good it is.
- Names spelt differently across documents. A name transliterated from another alphabet must match the passport on every document.
- Paying for an apostille the UK does not require. British institutions do not require apostilles on foreign originals; save the apostille for documents going abroad.
Frequently asked questions
A certified translation in the UK is a simple thing done precisely: a full translation, a named person, a date and a way to reach them. Get those right, skip the apostille and the notary unless a specific institution asks, and send the whole file in one order so every name is spelt the same way. The translation is back in two days; the rest of the wait belongs to the Home Office. For the equivalent rules across the Atlantic, see the USCIS certified translation guide.