It is common for people to mix types of translations with one another. A famous one of these instances is the confusion of certified and notarized translations that are often used interchangeably in different contexts.
This article will give a thorough guide to all that you need to know about notarized translations.
The information here will come in handy whenever you are translating documents of official or legal matters, answering questions like, what is notarized translation, how to obtain notarized translations, and what exactly are the duties of a Notary public.
What is a notarized translation?
Firstly, notarization refers to the authentication of legal documents. A notary is authorized by the government to take note of legal acts, in the form of witnessing signatures. In Arabic, it means “tawtheq-توثيق”
Therefore, notarized translation does not refer to a field of translation, as much as it refers to a characteristic of a translated document. When saying a translation is notarized, this simply means it was stamped, agreed, and signed by a notary, who on their part ensures that everyone involved in the translation has been accurate and followed the right procedures.
For this, notarized translations are important, and are sometimes required by official institutions to avoid fraud, and protect the legal rights of people.
In short, a notary verifies the identity of the translator and attests to the authenticity of his or her signature, but they do not affirm the quality of the translation itself.
How to notarize a translation?
If you are required by a certain institution, either national or international to submit a notarized document, the process to attain this is relatively straightforward.
Firstly, you translate the document or hire a professional or a certified translator to do so.
Secondly, after the translation is finished, it should be submitted for review to a notary, who will compare the source and target documents to ensure accurate delivery.
The notary will require identity identification and will be present while the translator stamps the document as certified. After that, they will seal the document themselves, and keep a record of it.
Now we have mentioned ‘certified translation’, but what is it, and how is it different from ‘notarized translation’.?
What is the difference between certified and notarized translation?
Certified translations happen before notarization. The name might mislead people to think that it has to be done by a ‘certified translator’. Certified translations can be attempted by any professional translator, it involves a certificate that validates the accuracy of the word-for-word translation, signed, and stamped by the translation company or the translator.
For a translation to be called certified, it needs to translate all of the textual, and non-textual elements from the source text to the target text, including seals, formatting, signatures, and stamps.
After that, if necessary, more credibility and validity can be given to the translation by having a notarization signature signed by the notary public.
Depending on the institution that requests the documents, you might just need a certified translation or both a certified and a notarized translation.
When do you need notarized translation services?
Given its official nature, notarization is often required for documents relevant to court, property, wills, marriage, inheritance, birth or divorce certificates, bank statements, and sales contracts.
It differs from one country to another to which document you might require notarization. If you are planning to live abroad, emigrate, or study in a new country, you will most likely be required to submit notarized translations of the documents.
What is a Notary Public and what they can and can’t do when it comes to certified translation?
Notaries are persons who underwent training and took an oath to authorize them to oversee several legal transactions, including certified translation of documents. They can work independently or for a company.
A notary’s stamp on a translation is meant to confirm the identity of the translator.
However, it does not verify the quality of the translation itself. The notary does not authenticate the source document, nor the target document translation.
Do immigration translations need to be notarized?
Usually, not all documents concerning immigration are required to be notarized, except for significant ones.
It is noteworthy to mention that this depends on each country. To obtain this information it is best to consult a translator specialized in immigration documents and also consult a country’s foreign affairs policies.
Can I notarize the translations myself?
The main purpose of a Notary is to prevent fraud, therefore a notary is not authorized to notarize their documents. Therefore, the short answer is No.
Yet, you can translate the document yourself if you have a professional command of the language and are well-accustomed to legal documents, then have it notarized by a different notary.
How can I translate and notarise a document into any language in Fast Trans?
That being said, the process of obtaining a notarized translation in Egypt is made easy in Fast Trans. By contacting the company, and sending your document, Fast Trans ensures a speedy translation that can be delivered in less than 24 hours. After agreeing on a deadline and pricing, the company will take care of the certified translation, and upon review, it will proceed with notarization. A translation certificate will be attached to show the international validity of the document that can be submitted to U.S. Immigration Courts (USCIS).
