Certified translation

A certified translation is a translation of a document, such as a death certificate issued abroad, that the translator signs to confirm it is true and accurate, with the date and their name and contact details. UK registrars and coroners ask for one when a document is not in English (or Welsh), and many consulates ask for UK documents to be translated into their own language.

When you will need one

Coming into the UK, a death certificate issued abroad in another language needs a certified English translation before a registrar or a coroner can work from it. That is the same in England, Wales and Scotland. Going the other way, many destination countries want the UK death certificate translated into their own language as well as legalised, and some ask for a sworn translator.

There is one useful exception. For a death inside the EU, the local registry can issue the death certificate on a multilingual standard form, and the UK accepts it without a translation. Ask for it when you ask for the certified copies. It does not apply to a certificate issued in the UK.

Why the order matters

Most destinations want an apostille on the UK death certificate first, a Foreign Office stamp that lets them recognise a British public document; see death certificate legalisation. The apostille goes on the original, and the translation is made of the apostilled document. A certificate translated before it was apostilled has to be translated again, which costs time as well as money.

What it costs

The person applying pays the translator, unless a travel policy covers it. Many repatriation clauses in travel insurance include the death certificate and its translation. A sworn translation is usually tens of pounds per page.