Creating a fully certified legal translation requires several steps. The first step, of course, is to provide a complete and accurate translation that thoroughly captures all shades of meaning from the original document.
The next step is determining the necessary certification level. Is the document going to require notarization or county clerk certification? Perhaps it needs an Apostille certification? After you know which certification level the legal translation requires, you should submit it to a translation company that employs legal translation specialists.
Company Stamps and Seals for Authenticity
Before returning a legal translation back to a client, it is responsible to affix authentic company seals and stamps that attest to the authenticity, if a company can do so. A corporate seal affixed to a legal translation ensures that the certifying agency, most commonly a notary public, knows which company provided the translation and that the company is invested in each translation they produce.
Holographic stamps with unique identification numbers should be used on each page so the certifying agency is reassured that all pages are in the original order and that nothing has been tampered with once the legal translation has left the translation agency. Providing the American Translator Association number allows the certified translation agency to know that the translator who worked on the legal translation has been independently certified as a qualified expert by an official authority.
Getting Courts to Accept Translated Documents
There are no absolute rules regarding which translated documents a court will accept. It differs from country to country, and in America it differs from state to state, and sometimes even county to county. This lack of regulation makes it difficult to ensure that a translation will be acceptable with just one form of certification. In order to make a legal translation as trustworthy as possible, the company should provide as much proof of their ability as possible. By providing a company seal, holographic stamps, and an ATA ID number, translation companies increase the chances that legal translation will be accepted with no further verification needed.
In circumstances where another level of certification is requested, it is a simple matter for a translation company to provide a notarized copy of a legal translation. This will fulfill the vast majority of court requirements for authenticity.
If even that is not enough, a county clerk certification can also be obtained to add a third form of verification to the legal translation. Even if the courts are not willing to recognize a company’s seal, they rarely turn down governmental seals.