If you are moving to France, marrying there or applying for a residence permit, someone will ask you for a translation of your birth certificate, your degree or a court order. English speakers usually answer with what they know from home: a certified translation, or a notarised one. French authorities mean something else, and the difference is the most common reason a translation gets sent back.
Three words that are not interchangeable
Certified. In the UK and the US, a certified translation is one the translator or the agency vouches for. They sign a statement saying the translation is accurate and give their contact details. No court or public body has appointed them. The system rests on the translator’s own declaration.
Notarised. A notary confirms who signed the statement. The notary does not read the translation and says nothing about its accuracy.
Sworn. In France, the translator is appointed by a court. The Act of 29 June 1971 on court experts provides for a list of experts drawn up by each court of appeal and a national list drawn up by the Cour de cassation (article 2). A translator on one of these lists has taken an oath before the court of appeal (article 6). French speakers call that person a traducteur assermenté. Service-Public, the French government’s information site, says traducteur agréé. The legal title is narrower still: the Act allows only “expert près la cour d’appel de…” followed by the name of the court, or “expert agréé par la Cour de cassation” (article 3).
So when a prefecture or a town hall asks for a traduction assermentée, a statement signed by a translator in London or Chicago does not meet the request, however good the translation is. The translator’s name has to be on a French court list.
How to tell what you have been asked for
Read the list of documents the authority gave you. If it says traduction assermentée, traducteur assermenté, traducteur agréé or expert près la cour d’appel, you need a sworn translation.
If the wording is vague, ask the office that will receive the file, and ask in writing. Private bodies such as employers or landlords often accept an ordinary translation. Public authorities usually specify a sworn one.
Then ask your translator two questions: their name and their court of appeal. Registration is public. The Service-Public page “Traduction d’un document : comment trouver un traducteur agréé ?” (in French) links to the official search tool. Check the language as well as the name. I am registered with the Court of Appeal of Dijon for written translation in English and Arabic, and for nothing else. A sworn translation from Spanish signed by me would be worth no more than an unsigned one.
Registration also expires. The first one runs for three years on a probationary basis, and each renewal runs for five years and requires a new application (article 2). Look at the current year’s list.
Does a UK or US document need anything else?
Often, yes, and this part catches people after they have already paid for the translation.
Inside the European Union, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille for certain public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, and requires every member state to accept a certified translation made by a person qualified under the law of another member state (articles 4 and 6). The Regulation does not apply to documents issued by the authorities of a non-EU country (article 2). A British or American birth certificate is outside it.
For those documents, the French authority may ask for an apostille on the original before it looks at the translation. Ask first. If an apostille is required, get it before you order the translation, so that the translator can translate the apostille along with the document.
And a French document going abroad?
The same logic applies in reverse. A sworn translation made in France is recognised by French authorities. Abroad, the receiving authority sets its own rules and may ask for an apostille or a legalisation on top of it. Some ask for nothing more than the translator’s signed statement. Put the question to the authority that will receive the document, and keep its answer.
Before you order
- Find the exact French wording of the request.
- Get the translator’s name and court of appeal, and look them up.
- Check that the registration covers your language.
- Ask whether the original needs an apostille, and get it first.
Each of these takes a few minutes. A file returned by a prefecture can cost you a new appointment, and in some places that means months.