Certified Translation Services in the UK
Certified translations accepted by UK courts, the Home Office, universities, HMRC and banks. Signed certification letter included, from £35.
If any UK authority rejects our translation, we revise it free or refund in full.
Will your document be accepted?
Tell us where it is going and we will tell you exactly what certification it needs.
Price shown before you pay, and it does not change afterwards.
The term government bodies use. A translation with a signed accuracy statement.
What banks and universities usually say. Same document, same format.
Certified by an accredited provider: ITI corporate member.
Certified, official or accredited: one format
A UK certified translation is a translation accompanied by a signed Statement of Truth from a qualified translator or an accredited translation agency, confirming the translation is a true and accurate rendering of the original document. It is the format every UK authority asks for when a document is in a language other than English or Welsh. It does not need to be sworn or notarised for UK domestic use - those concepts come from civil-law countries and are imported only when a document is destined for use abroad.
Had a translation rejected elsewhere? Send it to us with the rejection letter and we will tell you exactly why. The five most common causes, and how to avoid them, are covered in our UKVI translation requirements guide.
Certified translation, explained in 60 seconds
What your certificate includes, which documents need one, and how ordering works, in under a minute.
Who accepts our certified translations
One format, accepted everywhere: a signed certification letter and our company seal on every certificate.
UK courts and tribunals
HMCTS civil, family, criminal and employment courts accept our translations of witness statements, foreign judgments, contracts and affidavits. We routinely prepare court-ready certified translations for solicitors.
UK registry offices and the General Register Office
Register Offices and the GRO accept our translations of foreign birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates for the Notice of Marriage process. The source must be the original or a certified copy.
UK universities and Ecctis (UK NARIC)
Ecctis is the official UK body for international qualification recognition, formerly UK NARIC. Universities and Ecctis accept our translations of diplomas, degree certificates, transcripts and school reports for admissions, credit transfer and professional registration. We follow the Ecctis format exactly.
HMRC
HMRC accepts our translations of foreign tax returns, income and pension statements and bank statements for self-assessment, double-taxation claims and foreign-income disclosures.
UK banks and mortgage lenders
Banks and lenders accept our translations of foreign ID, credit reports, payslips and bank statements for identity, source-of-funds and affordability checks. Your quote includes a checklist for your lender.
Embassies, consulates and overseas registries
Foreign embassies in the UK accept our translations of UK-issued documents for use abroad. Where needed, we coordinate the notary, apostille and consular legalisation steps for you.
UK professional regulators
The GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC, SRA and ACCA accept our translations of foreign degrees, professional registrations and disciplinary records. Specialist linguists handle the technical terminology.
Employers and recruitment
UK employers and recruitment agencies accept our translations of transcripts, professional certificates, references and criminal record certificates (ACRO and overseas) for employment vetting.
UKVI and the Home Office
The same certificate is accepted by UK Visas and Immigration and the Home Office. See our UKVI translation requirements and Home Office certified translation guides for the extra rules.
The documents we certify most
Built from our production records: the document types we certify week after week. Where a dedicated page exists, the link takes you to it.
Personal and civil-status documents - for UK Register Offices, the General Register Office and overseas registries
- Birth certificates
- Marriage and civil-partnership certificates
- Divorce decrees and final orders
- Death certificates
- Passport pages and national ID cards
- Driving licences
- Criminal record certificates (ACRO)
Academic and professional credentials - accepted by UK universities and Ecctis (formerly UK NARIC)
- Diplomas and degree certificates
- Academic transcripts
- School reports and secondary qualifications
- Language qualifications
- Professional registration certificates
- CPD and revalidation records
Legal and contractual documents
- Contracts (employment, commercial, lease, sale)
- Court orders, judgments, tribunal decisions and exhibits (HMCTS-accepted)
- Witness statements and affidavits
- Powers of attorney
- Wills and probate documents
- Board minutes, resolutions and shareholder agreements
Financial documents - for HMRC self-assessment, mortgage and credit applications
- Bank statements
- Foreign tax returns and residency certificates
- Payslips and income certificates
- Pension statements
- Credit reports
- Audited accounts and financial statements
Medical and health documents
- Medical records
- Vaccination records
- Fitness-to-work certificates
- Medical degrees and specialty registration (GMC, NMC, GDC, GPhC)
- Prescription records
Business and corporate documents
- Certificates of incorporation and good standing
- VAT and tax registration certificates
- Memoranda and articles of association
- Annual returns and filings
- Director and shareholder ID (KYC)
Don't see your document type? Most certified translations fall outside any standard list. Send it to us and we quote within the hour.
What is on your certificate
Every certified translation is one combined PDF: the source, the translation mirroring it page by page, and the Certificate of Translation Accuracy that makes it certified. The specimen shown on this page mirrors the exact format we issue; placeholders replace personal details so it cannot be reused as a template, while the layout, wording and accreditation references are identical to what you receive.
To whom it may concern,
Re: Translation of Birth Certificate 1
This letter is to confirm and certify that the translation of the attached document from Italian into English relating to client name is a true and accurate translation as per original document. 2
Should any additional information or confirmation be required please do not hesitate to contact us.
Kind regards,
project manager name 3
Senior Project Manager
Lingo Service Translations Ltd. 5
0800 193 8888 | info@lingoservice.com | www.lingoservice.com
Regus House, Malthouse Avenue, Cardiff Gate Business Park, CF23 8RU
Company Reg. 09343595 | Corporate Member of ITI 6
A specimen of our certification letter. The numbered elements match the checklist beside it.
The structure of our certificate
The certificate is a single page on letterhead, sealed and signed. It contains, in order:
- 1Document description. What was translated, identified by source language, target language, document type and any reference numbers visible on the source (e.g. "Italian-to-English certified translation of an Italian birth certificate, registry of births reference no. 1234").
- 2Statement of Truth. The letter confirms and certifies that the translation of the attached document is "a true and accurate translation as per original document".
- 3Signature. UK guidance accepts certification signed by the translator or by an authorised official of the translation company. Ours is signed by our Senior Project Manager on behalf of Lingo Service Translations Ltd.
- 4Date of translation. The date the certificate is issued. Some receiving bodies reject certificates older than three months; a reissue with a fresh date is available for a small fee.
- 5Lingo Service company details. Full registered name (Lingo Service Translations Ltd) and our Cardiff registered office address - a PO box is not enough for UK receiving bodies - company registration number, VAT registration number, telephone and email.
- 6ITI corporate member reference. Our membership reference with the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, verifiable on the ITI public register.
- 7Company seal. Our embossed seal applied at the bottom of the certificate.
The certified PDF
Free with every order and legally equal to paper in the UK. Courts and registry offices accept either since 2020. Instant, accepted everywhere, and what most clients use.
Hard copies by Royal Mail
A wet-ink signature and embossed seal, posted Tracked 24 (£5.99, 1-2 working days) or Special Delivery next working day (£11.99).
Transparent pricing
Certified translation with Lingo Service starts at £35, and the price you see is the price you pay. We never add a separate "certification" charge, because the certified format is the only format we issue. Upload your document for an instant, no-commitment quote with the exact price and turnaround for your pages and language.
Delivery options
- PDF delivery: Free, included with every order. Same legal status as the hard copy in the UK.
- Hard copy: Royal Mail Tracked 24 (£5.99, 1-2 working days) or Special Delivery next working day (£11.99) across the UK, plus tracked international delivery (£19.99); the delivery cost is shown at checkout.
If your destination country needs apostille or consular legalisation, we coordinate the FCDO apostille and consular legalisation, quoted before you commit.
VAT and B2B billing
All prices include VAT at 20% for UK consumers. For UK VAT-registered businesses, we invoice with VAT shown separately, suitable for VAT recovery. For EU and non-UK businesses, we apply the reverse-charge mechanism where applicable. Our VAT number is on every invoice and on the certificate itself.
What we do not charge for
- The certification. The signed certification letter, our seal and our ITI corporate member reference are included on every translation. We do not list a "certification fee".
- Minor corrections. If the source contained a typo the client subsequently amended, we reissue the corrected translation at no additional cost, within 30 days of original delivery.
- Quotes. Quotes are free, with no commitment.
When you get it back
Your exact delivery time is confirmed on the quote before you commit.
Same-day return
Order early on a weekday in a common language pair and the certified PDF comes back the same business day. The surcharge is shown on your quote.
Standard turnaround
Standard delivery is 48-72 hours with no surcharge. Guaranteed 24-hour, 12-hour and same-day options are on every quote.
Longer documents and court bundles
Longer documents get a fixed delivery commitment at the quote stage, with status updates in your client account.
Weekend and court-deadline work
Court-deadline and family-court emergencies by arrangement, with evening and weekend translators available. Ring our Cardiff office on 029 2008 0010, or email info@lingoservice.com, before you order.
What can affect turnaround
Specialist content, rare language pairs and unusual seals or security features can add time. We tell you at the quote stage.
The linguists who handle your translation
Every document is translated by qualified, native-speaking certified translators working under our certified process. Your translation is issued on our letterhead, signed, dated and stamped, which is why it is accepted by the Home Office, UKVI, courts and universities across the UK. With certified translators covering 260+ languages, we match your document to a translator who knows the subject, from legal contracts to medical records and academic transcripts.
Right-to-left and complex script handling
Arabic, Urdu, Farsi and Pashto need trained RTL typesetting, and CJK and Indic scripts use conjuncts that automated tools mishandle. Our specialists translate and typeset natively in each script.
The credential standard for every certified translator
Every signing translator holds MITI, DPSI, MCIL, NRPSI or an equivalent qualification, with at least five years' experience and a matched specialism. The linguist pool is reviewed annually.
The two-linguist rule for certified work
Under our two-stage process, one linguist translates and a separate qualified reviser checks it against the source: accuracy, terminology, names and numbers. Nobody signs off their own work.
Rare and specialist languages
Less common languages get exactly the same treatment: a certificate issued by Lingo Service Translations Ltd on our letterhead, signed by your project manager, with our seal and accreditations shown on it.
260+ language pairs. These are our most requested.
Our process, end to end
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1. Quote in minutes
Upload your document via our secure portal or paste text. Instant quote on page count, certified surcharge and turnaround. No commitment until you order.
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2. Translator matched to document type
Birth certificates go to civil-status specialists, court orders to legal translators, academic transcripts to credential specialists. Always a human linguist qualified for the document.
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3. Translate + revise
Translator drafts in our LingoSecure workspace. Second qualified linguist revises against the source. Numbers, names, dates and document IDs cross-checked separately.
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4. Certify
Certification letter signed and dated, with company seal and ITI corporate member reference applied. Issued as a single combined PDF with the source and translation.
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5. Deliver & track
PDF by email immediately, with a live status page in your account and an email at each stage. Optional hard copy by Royal Mail Tracked 24 or Special Delivery, plus tracked international delivery (£19.99). Permanent download link in your account.
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6. Reissue & support
Need a second copy three months later? One click in your account, reissue for a small fee with a new signed and dated certificate. If a translation ever needs correcting after delivery, we revoke the original certificate and issue a corrected one. Bundle support for solicitors handling cases.
Verifiable credentials, not marketing claims
Every agency claims quality. Ours is verifiable on public registers: here is what we hold and where to check it.
ITI corporate member (Institute of Translation and Interpreting)
Corporate member of the ITI, verifiable on the public register at iti.org.uk. Our membership reference is printed on every certificate we issue.
Cyber Essentials
Certified under the UK Government Cyber Essentials scheme, covering the whole organisation, so your documents are handled on assessed and secured systems.
Cardiff, UK - registered office and operational base
Incorporated in England and Wales with our registered office in Cardiff: a UK supplier for procurement, VAT recovery and data residency. Full details on every certificate and at Companies House.
UK GDPR compliance, in practice
ICO-registered data controller. Files live in our UK-hosted LingoSecure workspace, are deleted 90 days after delivery, and are never used to train AI models.
Public reviews and accountability
Reviewed publicly on Trustpilot - rated 4.6 from 43 reviews as of August 2026 - plus Google Business Profile and Reviews.io. Every customer is invited to review, nothing is curated. Links on our About page.
The team and the company
Delivering professional translation to UK clients since 2012, with the leadership team named on our About page. Certification work is never subcontracted overseas.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between certified, notarised and apostille translation in the UK?
In the UK, a certified translation is a translation accompanied by a signed Statement of Truth from a qualified translator or accredited agency, confirming it is a true and accurate translation. This is what UK courts, registry offices, universities, HMRC, banks and employers accept by default.
A notarised translation adds a notary public's signature confirming the identity of the translator who signed the certificate. UK use rarely needs this - it is mainly required when documents are intended for use abroad in countries that demand notarisation.
An apostille translation adds a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) apostille stamp under the Hague Convention, recognising the document for use in another Hague Convention country. Apostilles are applied to the notary's signature, not the translation itself.
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have no sworn-translator register the way civil-law countries (Spain, France, Italy, Germany) maintain: the signed Statement of Truth from a qualified translator or accredited agency is the UK standard. Where a destination country requires a sworn translation, we arrange it through a partner sworn translator registered in that country.
If you are not sure which you need, see our certified vs notarised guide, or send us the receiving body's requirement letter and we will tell you.
Will UK registry offices accept your certified translations for a marriage?
Yes. UK Register Offices, the General Register Office (GRO) and the Marriage Registrar service routinely accept our certified translations of foreign birth certificates, divorce decrees and civil-status documents for marriage, civil partnership and conversion appointments. We include the format the Register Office expects: source attached to translation, signed certification letter, our seal and ITI corporate member reference.
For visa or Home Office applications, do I order on this page?
You can - the same certified translation is accepted across all UK government bodies - but our visa-specific and Home Office-specific pages explain the extra requirements those applications often have (specific document combinations, originals vs copies, when to send hard copies, etc.). See UKVI translation requirements for visa applications and Home Office certified translation for asylum, settlement and family applications.
Do certified translations expire?
No - a certified translation does not have an expiry date. The certification confirms the translation was accurate at the time it was made. Some receiving bodies do ask for a recently issued translation (commonly within the last 6 or 12 months), so if your translation is several years old, check the receiving organisation's current requirements before reusing it. The underlying document's own validity (for example a police check) is separate from the translation's.
Ready for your certified translation?
Upload your document for an instant quote, or talk to our UK team about what you need.
