Sworn / Certified Translations and Legalisation

What are sworn or certified translations?

When we talk about certified translations, experts’ reports or sworn translations, it almost seems as if we are promoting an insidious, dark world full of mystery. And this is also a feeling often experienced by many of those who require such translations, and arrive on our doorstep disoriented, reeling from the information they have received, which may be incomplete or sometimes even incorrect. To clarify these doubts we will try to explain what these services entail as requirements for them have risen excessively in recent years. Sworn translation>A translation which is legally valid A certified translation is simply a sworn translation, or in other words the translation is sworn upon by the translator and therefore takes on a legal value.  Certifying a translation therefore means swearing that its contents effectively represent the meaning conveyed by the original text and assuming full responsibility for this statement.  It is done by presenting the original document together with the translated document to the Court Registry, in the presence of an authorised civil servant or a Public notary.

When is a certified translation required?

A certified translation can be requested for any document that is produced in Italy or abroad which must have a proven legal value.

Revenue stamps

Certified translations must be accompanied by proof of payment for a registry tax in the form of revenue stamps: a revenue stamp for the value of €16.00 must be applied to every 100 lines of the document, starting from the first page, or every 4 pages (or alternatively on the first, fifth, ninth, thirteenth pages, etc.) also including the oath statement, and a revenue stamp for € 3.84 for each package containing original document plus the translation and a the oath statement.
When is a document exempt from revenue stamps?
All translations that are exempt from the application of revenue stamps are those relative to adoptions, scholarships, divorce, court cases about employment and insurance. The oath statements relative to these documents must cite the details of the law under which the exemption is applicable.

LEGALISATION

What is legalisation?

Legalisation is the procedure by which the authenticity of the signature and the seal or stamp applied to an official document is certified so that this can be considered valid in another Country other than that in which it is issued.

The process takes place at the Prefecture – the Local Government Office (UTG), delegated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, legalises the signatures and stamps. It can also be performed at the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

What is an Apostille?

The simplest cases of legalisation are those which entail placing an Apostille on the document as envisaged by the Hague Convention on Private International Law of 5 October 1961. This is a simplified procedure used to legalise public documents for use in Countries other than that in which the document is issued, and it is valid in the Countries which have signed the above-mentioned Convention.

We can certify your translations at Court in a very short period of time and send them anywhere in Italy by express courier.

We hope to have shed some light on this subject and helped you to understand more about this service: In any case, if you still have doubts, please feel free to contact us. We are always available to put your mind at rest, and will be happy to provide you with the information you require, even if you are still not ready to commit!

Below is the complete list of the Countries which have approved the Hague Convention on Private International Law:

(List updated as of 13 February 2015)