What documents should I have translated for work or study abroad?

Are you going abroad to work or study? Are you planning a wedding outside of the Czech Republic? Find out which documents you should get translated. We will advise you of all necessary details and will prepare both court and common translations for you.

Court translation or common translation?

Do you need to translate documents and are unsure of the difference between a court and a non-court translation? If you are providing a translation to a government office or other institution, you will most likely need a court translation.

The following documents are most often translated by court:

Education documents:

• Certificates of education
• School leaving certificates
• University diplomas
• Professional certificates

Documents for the new employer:

• Birth certificate
• Criminal records
• Extract from medical records
• Proof of child support

Other:

• Marriage certificate
• Proof of eligibility for marriage
• Documents of financial guarantees
• Contracts
• Bank statements
• Powers of Attorney
• Court judgments

What is a court translation?

A court translation is always carried out by a professional translator who is appointed by the court and holds an “official stamp“.

A certified translation must always be accompanied by the original document or its notarial copy, be accompanied by a translation clause in which the translator declares that they are authorised to translate the document and is usually tied with a string in the colours of the country concerned.

Regular translations are also done by a professional translator, but they do not contain any declarations and can be sent to you electronically.

Original or copy?

A certified translation always needs to be bound with a document and it doesn’t matter whether it is an original or a notarial copy.

For the institution you are submitting the translation to (unless specifically stated otherwise) it usually makes no difference, but for you it might! As a rule, authorities and other institutions do not return documents, so you might never get back the birth certificate you sent with the translation, for example. Unless the validity of the document is limited in time (as for example in the case of a test report, medical reports, etc.), it is always a good idea to have it bound with a notarised copy and keep the original.

What is a notarised copy and how do I get one?

A notarised copy is a copy of the original document bearing the notary’s stamp and signature. The notary certifies that the copy corresponds to the original document and acquires the same legal validity.

You can obtain a certified copy from a notary, at the post office, at Czech Point and we can also provide this service.

Would you like an apostille?

Apostillization is also a common stumbling block. This must be arranged if the country in question does not have an international agreement with the Czech Republic on exemption from authentication of documents (agreement on judicial translations).

Attention! Apostille is applied to both the document itself (the original) and its certified translation.

In which countries you may need an apostille:

EU countries:

Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Sweden.

Countries outside the European Union

UK, USA, Turkey, Japan, Norway, New Zealand, Brazil, Australia and others.

If you are unsure about something, we recommend that you check with the relevant institution in advance to find out which document needs to be translated and how. And for sure Contact Překladex – we know what we’re talking about!