Certified Translation Vs. Notarized Translation: Which Is Which?

All legal offices require either a notarized translation or a certified translation. As these two terms have been used one after another regularly, there is a great deal of confusion around these two terms. Many times an individual is asked to bring in a certified translation as a requirement but a notarized translation will be preferred.

As these differences can be hard for one to ascertain, here Universal Translation Services has written this article to explain the difference between these two terms.

Certified Translation:

A Certified translation is a translation that comes with a certificate issued by the translator that states that he takes full responsibility for the contents of the translation. They also provide evidence of their competence in the translation industry and provide full details of themselves as well as the translation agency that they are representing. This is called Certified Translation. This is done with the assurance from the translation agency that the content is valid.

Notarized Translation:

A translation is deemed ‘Notarized’ or ‘Sworn’ when the translation is taken to a notary office and receives a notary officer’s stamp of approval. Universal Translation Services thinks that a notarized translation is the most authentic translation there can be.

Difference:

Difference between a notarized translation and a certified translation is that the certified translation gets the assurance from the translator. The translator as well as the translation agency take responsibility for the translation and intend to explain the contents of the translation in case any query arises.

A notarized translation is one step further. Every translation that comes for notarization has to be certified. Translations without the credentials of the translator attached to them will not be approved for notarization. Notarization is the last accreditation that a translation can receive to prove its authenticity and is hence of great significance.

Any office will clear a document that has been notarized. Most legal offices prefer certified translations and are reluctant to accept documents that are not certified. This is because most translations need to have a sense of authenticity and without the certification; the document looks incredibly dubious. If you do not have the details of the translator attached to the document then the document itself will lose all of its meaning. Thus it is insisted upon that every translation that is submitted to legal offices comes with its own certification so that there is no problem in regulating the contents of the translation and the application can move along without any problems.

Notarized translations are needed when you have to ascertain the credibility of your document without the shadow of the doubt. A notarized translation is basically ascertaining that the translator does actually accept his responsibility for the document and has established that with the notary office.

Universal Translation Services says that this is binding of the translator with the translation that is conducted in the government office and the government takes full responsibility for it. This is advised when the credibility of the document is of paramount importance.