The confusion between the certified and notarized translation still exists. For the majority of the population, both are two different names given to one single translation service. But, the difference lies between the two as well as in their usage.

The difference between these two is a very basic question asked by people looking for either one type of service and they have bee confused when they ask for one kind of service.  But this dilemma deserves to end here before it affects your work.To clear the difference, let’s understand the usage of both certified and notarized translation.

When Certified Translation Is Used

First, let’s understand what certified translation is and how it differs from normal translations.

Certified translation is when the translation agency or the translator issues and signs a document or certificate to declare that the translation that has taken place is accurate, true and represents the exact original document.

Certified document services are generally needed by the individuals while submitting documents for legal work. A majority of these are for documents like marriage, death, divorce or birth certificates, adoption papers, immigration supported documents, court transcripts, business contracts or service agreements that are not present in the native language of the country, the documents need to be submitted.

You need not confuse yourself between the terms certified translator and the certified translation because these also are two completely different terms. A person, after passing the examination of translator and being certified by ATA (the American Translators Association) or any other such organization qualifies to be a certified translator.

On the other hand, certified translations need not be done by the certified translators alone. But, it is a translation process that any of the qualified translators or the translation service provider can certify to be an accurate and complete translation of the source of the original document. The signed certificate is given along with the translated document to the client, which defines that the translation is complete and accurate.

Any authorized and known translation brand always assigns the certified translation work to the most qualified and highly experienced translators in their team. Most of the companies, that offer good accuracy, have a standard procedure of quality check, where an editor proofreads the translated file. Only after passing the quality check process, the translated document will be certified.

Certified translation is generally considered by the legal and government organizations because it provides a legal record. For any sort of legal works, the probability of asking certified translation is high. For example, if the evidence is not present in the native language of the country where it needs to be submitted, certified translation will be required in such a condition.

Immigration is one such major area which demands for certified translations. For individuals applying for temporary visas or residency permits in a foreign land like the United States, the county will demand all your personal documents to be submitted to the respective organization, in the official language of the nation. In the United States, you need to submit all your documents in the English language alone, if they are not is the demanded language, you have to opt for certified English document translation services.

The foreign students, who wish to opt for higher studies in the US, and are applying in American universities and colleges, also need to translate their transcripts and diploma, along with some personal documents by a certified translator or certified translation agency.

Things To Be Satisfied By Certified Translations

Following are the requirements of the certified translations which include:

1. The original document should be entirely translated.
2. Signatures, seals, stamps, dates, dashes and marks, everything should be translated properly and accurately.
3. For the parts which are not clear in the original file, it is the translator’s duty to mark it with “not legible” while translating it to English.
4. The translated document should be done in such a way that it will match the original document visually in appearance.
5. All the seals, signatures, dates, and other such marks should be at the same place where they are in the original file.
6. Hiring a professional translator or a translation company is a must for certified translation.
7. Being a knower of English as well as the source language of the document doesn’t make you eligible to perform the translation. And if you still do so, it won’t be accepted by the US government agencies.
8. Individuals use certified translations for their documents, which are not in the English language, to submit their application for immigration in the United States. But, when it comes to submitting the application to the US Embassy of a different country, the certified translated document should also be notarized.

When Notarized Translation Is Used?

The government of a country authorizes a notary public to authenticate various legal formalities which also include a notarized translation. Such notarized documents are frequently needed by some schools while you submit some documents like foreign diplomas or high school transcripts.

The quality of the translation is not at all an issue when it comes to notarized translation. It is more intended to fulfilling all the formal requirements that an institute or organization has.

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A professional translator is allowed to present the translated document to the notary public. The procedure at the notary public is to let the translator swear an oath regarding the accuracy of the translation performed by him/ her.

After this, the translator is supposed to sign the affidavit. This affidavit will become valid only after the official seal and signature of the notary public. The notary public neither checks for the quality of the translation nor it is counted as his/ her duty. The notary public is only focused on knowing the identity of the translator.

Only One Is Enough

In the present time, the requirements of the organization or institutes are quite clear and very specific. There are no more chances of a situation where you can submit either of the certified translation or notarized translation. Also, there is zero probability of submitting both.

Until few years back, USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services), the American organization dealing with visa, citizenship, resident permits and immigration procedures in the country, as asking the immigration applicants to submit both the notarized as well as the certified translated documents. But the rules and regulations have been changed by the organization and now they demand for certified translation for documents that are not in the English language, to be submitted along with the other required documents by the immigration applicant.

There was a time when the certified translations used to be notarized. But this situation was adding one extra step to the entire requirement procedure. It is recommended to check what type of document requirement you have to fulfill before opting for the services.

But, regardless of the service you need, you can reach out Click For Translation anytime for both certified translation and notarized translation requirements.