Legal Translation Services

PoliLingua has provided legal translation services to law firms, corporate legal departments, courts and individuals since 2002, in over 80 countries and 200+ languages. Every legal document is translated by a linguist with a legal background in the relevant practice area and checked by a second, independent reviewer under the ISO 17100:2015 standard, with certified and sworn translation available for filings that require it. Upload your document and get an exact price, in writing, within 15 minutes.

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What Legal Translation Covers

Legal translation is the conversion of a legally binding or legally relevant document from one language into another, written so that it carries the same meaning and legal effect in the target language as the original does in the source. It is a distinct discipline from general business translation, a legal translator has to recognise that a term like "consideration" or "indemnify" carries a specific legal meaning that a generic dictionary equivalent will not reproduce, and that the same English word can map to entirely different legal concepts depending on whether the target jurisdiction follows common law or civil law.

PoliLingua's legal translation company only assigns legal document translation work to linguists who have either practised law, trained in law, or worked exclusively on legal content for several years, in the specific practice area the document falls under, corporate, intellectual property, immigration, criminal, commercial or family law. A legal translator without that background can translate the words accurately and still produce a document that misstates how a clause actually functions, which is the error that causes the most damage downstream, in a negotiation, a filing or a courtroom. When a law firm searches for professional legal translation services, this subject-matter pairing, not simply bilingual fluency, is usually what separates a provider worth hiring from one that isn't.

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Certified or Sworn Legal Translation? It Depends Where the Document Is Going

Some legal documents can be translated and delivered with a standard accuracy statement, others require certification or a sworn translator, and which applies depends entirely on where the document is going, not on how sensitive its content is. In the US and the UK, a certified legal translation, a complete translation with a signed statement from a qualified translator confirming it is accurate, satisfies courts, immigration authorities and most receiving institutions. Civil-law countries across continental Europe generally require a SWORN translation instead, produced by a translator who has been personally appointed by a court in that jurisdiction, a certified translation alone is often not accepted there, however accurate it is.

We ask what the translation is for and where it is being submitted before quoting, and tell you which standard your document actually needs rather than defaulting to the more expensive option. A contract being exchanged between two UK-based parties needs neither, a UK court filing or a power of attorney headed to a notary in Italy very likely needs one or the other.

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Contract Translation

Contract translation services are one of the most frequent requests we receive from corporate legal departments, and one of the least forgiving categories of legal work, a translated contract that drifts from the original on a single defined term, a condition precedent, or a liability cap can change what each party is actually agreed to. We translate commercial contracts, NDAs, licensing agreements, employment contracts, joint-venture agreements, shareholder agreements and terms of service, with the same defined terms and clause numbering preserved across every language version so that a cross-border dispute never turns on which language version controls a given clause.

For companies that work across the same language pairs repeatedly, we build and maintain a bilingual glossary of the client's own contract terminology, so that a term translated one way in a master services agreement is translated the same way in every amendment and renewal that follows it.

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Patent Translation

Patent translation services require a combination most translators don't have, fluency in patent law and claim drafting conventions, alongside subject-matter knowledge of the underlying technology, whether that's a mechanical assembly, a pharmaceutical compound or a piece of software. A patent claim is written in a very specific register, where a single word substituted for a near-synonym can narrow or widen the scope of what the patent actually protects, so our patent translators work only in their own technical field and are reviewed by a second linguist with matching subject expertise.

We translate patent applications, claims, specifications and office actions for filing with the USPTO, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the European Patent Office and national patent offices worldwide, along with the supporting prosecution correspondence that follows a filing. For a closer look at how claim structure and terminology consistency affect a filed translation, see our guide to the intricacies of patent translation.

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Legal Interpreting for Depositions, Hearings and Court Proceedings

Legal interpreting services cover the spoken side of the same work, depositions, arbitration hearings, client consultations, and court or tribunal proceedings where a party, witness or defendant needs real-time interpreting between languages. We provide both consecutive interpreting, where the interpreter renders each party's statement after they finish speaking, and simultaneous interpreting for longer hearings and multi-party proceedings, with interpreters who are specifically experienced in legal settings rather than generalists working outside their usual register.

Court translation services and litigation translation services extend the same standard to the written record, transcripts, exhibits, witness statements, pleadings and discovery documents, translated and formatted to match the source document's structure so that opposing counsel, the court or an arbitration panel can cross-reference both versions without ambiguity. Litigation documents are frequently voluminous and time-sensitive, so we scale translator teams to meet discovery and filing deadlines without splitting a single document across inconsistent terminology.

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Why Law Firms and Legal Departments Choose PoliLingua

Legal translation carries a higher cost of error than most other content, so the standard a legal translation agency works to matters more than its price list. PoliLingua assigns every legal translation to a linguist with a legal background in the relevant practice area, applies a mandatory independent second review under ISO 17100:2015 to every file, and maintains client-specific glossaries so terminology stays consistent across every contract, filing or correspondence a client sends us over time. We sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements as standard, which matters for legal content more than almost any other category we translate, and we're ATC accredited and an ATA member, the professional credentials legal and compliance teams typically check for before engaging a vendor. We've handled legal document translation for law firms, in-house legal departments and individuals in over 80 countries since 2002.

Many businesses still search for a legal translation company near me, or for legal translators near me and legal translation near me, expecting that proximity matters for this kind of work. It doesn't, legal translation is delivered digitally, so a firm in New York, London or anywhere else gets the same ATC-accredited linguists and the same review process, rather than being limited to whoever happens to have an office nearby.

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How It Works and What It Costs

Upload your document and you'll have an exact quote within 15 minutes, with price and turnaround confirmed before any work starts. Legal translation cost depends on the document's length, subject complexity, language pair and whether certification or a sworn translation is required, since a sworn translation involves a court-appointed translator and carries different pricing than a standard certified translation, there's no single flat legal translation cost that applies across all document types, which is why we quote per document rather than publishing a blanket rate. For a general sense of how professional translation is priced before you request a specific quote, see our guide to translation rates. Rush turnaround is available for time-sensitive filings and deposition deadlines, and every quote states the delivery date in writing.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The cost of legal document translation services depends on language pair, document complexity, and urgency. At PoliLingua, pricing is competitive and transparent, legal translation typically starts from a per-word rate, with certified legal document translation services available for official use. Factors such as technical legal terminology, volume, and turnaround time can affect the final quote. PoliLingua's legal translators are native speakers with specialist legal knowledge, ensuring accuracy for contracts, court documents, and compliance materials.

It depends on where the document is going. US and UK courts, immigration authorities and most institutions accept a certified translation with a signed accuracy statement. Many continental European countries require a sworn translation from a court-appointed translator instead. We confirm which one your specific document needs before quoting.

A legal translation is valid when it is completed by a qualified professional and accompanied by a signed certification statement attesting to its accuracy and completeness. Our certified legal document translation services include this official certification, making your translated documents acceptable to courts, immigration authorities, and government bodies worldwide. Moreover, translators are registered professionals with demonstrated expertise in their legal field and target language. If you require notarisation or apostille alongside your translation, PoliLingua can guide you through the full process.

Choosing the right legal document translation company requires evaluating credentials, specialisation, and quality processes. Look for an agency that employs native-speaking translators with proven legal expertise, offers certified translations accepted by official bodies, and follows strict confidentiality protocols. PoliLingua meets all these criteria, with over 20 years of experience, membership in GALA, ATA, and ITI. We cover 100+ languages and handle everything from contracts to court documents with precision and discretion.

Yes. Our patent translation services cover applications, claims, specifications and office actions for the USPTO, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the European Patent Office and national patent offices worldwide, handled by translators who work in the specific technical field the patent covers.

Yes. Our legal interpreting services cover depositions, arbitration hearings, client consultations and court or tribunal proceedings, with both consecutive and simultaneous interpreting available depending on the setting.

We build a client-specific glossary of defined terms and recurring terminology at the start of a project, which every translator and reviewer assigned to that client's work uses going forward, so a term is translated the same way across every document, amendment or filing.

Yes. We sign confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements as standard for legal work, and documents are handled only by the translators and reviewers assigned to the project.

Turnaround depends on document length and complexity, but most certified legal documents are delivered within 24 to 48 hours, with rush service available for tight filing or deposition deadlines. Your exact delivery date is confirmed in writing with your quote.

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