There are reasons why someone might need personal documents such as birth certificates or marriage licenses translated into other languages. As a translator, it might not be overly difficult to translate them, especially if you’re used to doing them, but there are several things that you will need to be careful of while doing so. Translating these kinds of documents is very important and should be handled with the utmost care since they are legal documents and can have a great effect on the specific functions that they plan to use these translated documents for.

First, you need to be aware of that not every translator is able to translate these documents. By that, we do not mean that there is some kind of skill barrier that would prevent one from completing the translation, but there are certain certifications that are required to ensure that the translation can be used. For instance, in California, county clerks require court-certified or ATA certified to sign most translation certification.

That being said, there are certain languages such as Korean that do not have an ATA certification just yet, which limits the types of translators you are able to use. They might be registered on ATA, but you cannot use these translators if they are not certified. If you are looking for a court certified translator, most states have a website that you can reference where all the court certified translators are registered.

If you are looking to expand your field of expertise, having these kinds of certifications will really make you more attractive to potential clients. Monterey Language Services has an extensive network of court certified and ATA certified interpreters as well as translators in many different languages that we work with to ensure that we are always able to meet the client’s needs.

Second,  one more thing to be careful of is the timeline. As you might know, clients have different needs regarding timelines and some might need urgent translations and certifications. While translating these kinds of documents in a short time might not be too difficult, the more concerning part is the certification.

Most states or counties have their own forms that need to be filled out and notarized and then submitted with the translation, but these need to be signed in person and the originals need to be given to the client. Luckily, notaries are usually available at UPS Stores, so that is not a problem, but the fastest you can get the file to them is in 24 hours unless you are able to hand deliver it. This is why unless you are confident that you can ensure that the original files can make it into the hand of the client within 24 hours, you should give yourself at least one extra day to ensure that any problems that come up do not affect the delivery of the files.

Being able to help someone with the translation of their legal documents is a great feeling, but what’s necessary is that you have a clear idea of what needs to be done and whether you have enough time to get everything done, so that you can avoid unexpected situations and deliver the project to the client on time.