French Certified Translators
French Certified Translators
With approximately 300 million native and non-native speakers, French is the fifth most spoken language in the world. Spoken on all five continents, it is an official language in 32 countries and many international organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
What is a certified translator?
A French certified translator is an official translator authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC) to produce legally valid document translations from Spanish into French and vice versa. The French certified translator accurately reproduces the content of the original document, and their signature and seal certify the translation.
What is a certified translation?
Also known as a sworn translation, a certified translation is a faithful reproduction of the original text of a document in another language. It must be signed and sealed by a translator certified by the MAEC to be legally recognised in the country in which the translation will be used.
When do I need a French certified translation?
If you need to submit a document to a French government agency or public body, the document has to be in French.
The official process for becoming a certified or sworn translator in France is different from the process in Spain. One of the main differences is that French certified translators are appointed by the Ministry of Justice, while Spanish certified translators are appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC).
Any questions about certified translations? Need more information about what to do? At Acantho I&C, our team of Spanish to French and French to Spanish certified translators will be more than happy to help you to submit your documents in France.
Which documents require certified translations?
The most common documents at Acantho I&C are:
- Certificates, diplomas and academic transcripts.
- Birth certificates, marriage certificates and police records.
- Identity documents, passports and family record books.
- Court rulings.
- Medical certificates.
- Residence permits.
- Driving licenses.
- Deeds and powers of attorney.
- Calls for tender, contracts, company statutes and patents.
- And much more.
Certified translation requirements
In addition to the certified translator’s signature and seal, translations by Spanish certified translators must include the following text in Spanish, issued by the MAEC:
Don/Doña (Mr/Mrs/Ms) ……………………………… (name and surnames), Traductor/a-Intérprete Jurado/a de (Certified Translator/Interpreter of) …………………………… (language) nombrado/a por el Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación, certifica que la que antecede es traducción fiel y completa al (appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, hereby certifies that the above is a true and complete translation into) ………………………. (target language) de un documento redactado en (of a document written in) ………………… (source language).
En (In) …….. (place), a (on) …………… (date).
Firma (Signature),
How to request a certified translation
There are two ways that you can request a certified translation:
- Bring the documents you need to translate to our office. We’ll scan the documents for you and give you a free quote with no obligations.
- Email the documents to us at info@acantho.eu, in any digital format. Make sure that all the information is legible, and that any images in .jpg attachments have a good resolution.
How long does a certified translation take?
For the most requested document types (academic qualifications, marriage certificates, birth certificates and police records), it usually takes two to three days to deliver a French, English, Italian, Portuguese or German sworn translation.
Do you have a document that urgently needs a certified translation? At Acantho I&C, we’ll do everything possible to streamline the turnaround time for documents within a certain word count, while continuing to provide top-quality translations.
How much does a certified translation cost?
In Spain, there are no official rates for certified or sworn translation. For this reason, translators set their own rates based on several factors, including the urgency of the translation, the translator’s level of experience, and the complexity of the text.
The minimum cost of a French to Spanish certified translation is €42 plus VAT; for a Spanish to French certified translation, it’s €45 plus VAT.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to find out how much your certified translation will cost. We’ll draw up a quote based on your documents and send it to you as quickly as possible. All our quotes are free of charge and without obligation.
How will we deliver your certified translation?
Certified translations can be delivered in two formats, both of which are legally valid:
- Paper copies -you can come and pick up your translation from our office. The sworn translation will be stapled on top of the original document, following the standard order. We can also deliver the French certified translation to an address you provide. Delivery dates may vary slightly.
- Electronic copies with digital signatures: we’ll send you your certified translation via email.
Our project managers will ask you which format you prefer.
Legalised certified translations
This includes the certified translator’s signature and seal certifying that the certified translation is complete and accurate, but the certified translator cannot guarantee the authenticity of the original document. The relevant authorities may require you to get your certified translation legalised. This is a process that involves certifying the authenticity of the original document and legalising the signature on the original document and the certified translator’s signature, which makes the translation legally valid.
Multiple factors influence this process, including the country that issued the document, the type of document and the recipient country. If you have any questions about getting your certified translation legalised, we’ll help you through the process.
The certified translation legalisation process
In Spain, certified translations done by translators appointed by the MAEC do not usually need to be legalised before being submitted to a public body. However, documents originally issued in a different country need to be legalised.
If you want to submit a certified translation in the country in which the document will take effect, you will usually need to get the original document legalised prior to translation. We recommend that you then ask the recipient agency or body in the other country if the certified Spanish translation also needs to be legalised.
There are two types of legalisation, depending on the country that issued the original document and the recipient country.
- If the issuing and/or receiving country is a signatory of the Hague Convention, you will need to request the Hague Apostille in the issuing country.
- If the issuing and/or receiving country is not a signatory of the Hague Convention, you will need to request diplomatic or consular legalisation for the original documents. When the certified translation is complete, it will need to be legalised at the MAEC’s offices, which are located in Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca in Madrid.
When do you need the Hague Apostille?
In 1961, several countries signed the Hague Convention, which simplified the lengthy and costly document legalisation process. The Convention recognises an official seal, called the Hague Apostille. This seal is used to authenticate original public documents issued in any of the 118 countries that have signed the Convention to date. The Hague Apostille is always issued in the document’s country of origin on the document, usually at the end of the document or on the back, and it summarises the essential information in the original document.
You should always apostille the original document before getting a translation.
The following link lists all the signatories of the Hague Convention.
Where to request the Hague Apostille in Spain
The three authorised Spanish bodies for requesting the Hague Apostille are the Notary Association, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court of Justice.
Which one you need to go to will depend on the document.
Does the Hague Apostille need translating?
The Hague Apostille is normally translated into English, French and Spanish. If the certified translation is in one of these three languages, the Apostille does not need to be translated. If the sworn translation is in any other language, the certified translator will translate the Apostille.
Diplomatic legalisation and consular legalisation.
Before submitting the certified translation to any government agency or public body outside of Spain, you will need to get the original document legalised at the issuing country’s embassy or consulate, and the sworn translation will need to be legalised at the MAEC. If you need any help with the document legalisation process, we’ll be more than happy to help.
Why choose Acantho for your certified translations?
We are a translation company based in Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza. We have the largest staff of professional in-house project managers, translators and DTP professionals in Zaragoza and now in our Madrid office as well, which means that we can deliver more value to our clients that your average agency (intermediaries).
We are a team of multilingual, versatile and multi-talented professionals. We are fully committed to our work. We are a close-knit team, passionate about translation and about getting things right first time. Speed and professionalism are two of our trademarks.
We have certified translators who work in the following languages:
- Certified German translator
- Certified Arabic translator
- Certified Belarusian translator
- Certified Bulgarian translator
- Certified Catalan translator
- Certified Chinese translator
- Certified Czech translator
- Certified Ukrainian translator
- Certified Danish translator
- Certified Slovenian translator
- Certified Spanish translator
- Certified Basque translator
- Certified Finnish translator
- Certified French Translator
- Certified Galician translator
- Certified Greek translator
- Certified Hindi translator
- Certified English translator
- Certified Italian translator
- Certified Japanese translator
- Certified Dutch translator
- Certified Norwegian translator
- Certified Polish translator
- Certified Portuguese translator
- Certified Romanian translator
- Certified Russian translator
- Certified Swedish translator
- Please ask about other languages
If you have any questions or need more information, please call us on (+34) 976 910 302, or send an email to info@acantho.eu, and we will be more than happy to assist you.
