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So, let’s start with the fact that the notary certifies not a translation, but a translator’s signature, and it causes some difficulties. This procedure is regulated by the Article 81 of the Federal Law “The Fundamentals of the Legislation of the Russian Federation on Notaries”, which consists of only two sentences: “A notary certifies the accuracy of the translation from one language to another, if a notary knows relevant languages. If a notary is not proficient in a respective languages, a translation may be made by a translator whose signature is authenticated by the notary.” Different notaries understand the interpretation of this article in different ways, but most often they agree on one thing: to certify a translator’s signature on the translation of a document, such a translator must provide the notary with proof that he speaks the desired language (for example, a diploma or other document on the relevant education). It is for this reason that we will not be able, for example, to certify a translation from Japanese or Danish in Lipetsk (there are simply no specialists with such a diploma here), but we will certify translations of documents from English, German and other languages ​​without any problems.

What does the procedure for certification of a translation by a notary conclude?

Everything is very simple: a notary makes sure that a translator has necessary qualifications to translate from a foreign language, and then he files the completed translation with the translator’s signature to the document (original or its copy) and puts his certification inscriptions on the bound document. It should be noted here that if a document is not one-time, then the translation is often filed with its notarized copy. That is, if you need a translation of a diploma or birth certificate certified by a notary, you should first make a notarized copy of such a document and bring it to us for translation (it is also possible that a translation is attached to a simple photocopy of a document, but in this case, a notary must have an original document). If you need a notary to certify a translation of a document issued for a specific situation (for example, a translation of a certificate of no criminal record or a translation of a certificate of income or a certificate of employment), then a translation is filed with an original document. You should also pay attention to the fact that all pages of the document are copied, even if only some of them are subject to translation. So, for example, in a passport, only the page with personal data and the page with a residence permit are most often translated, but a notary must provide copies of all pages of the passport to certify a translation. For a passport, there is another exception: notaries often do not require a copy of the passport itself to be certified, and to certify the translator’s signature, it is enough to provide the original passport, copies of all pages and the translation itself.

Documents in Russian and documents in foreign languages

Another feature of notarized translations is related to the origin of a document. If a document is Russian, then a notary pays attention to four things: where a document was issued, who issued a document, the seal of the organization and a signature of an authorized person. If at least one item from the list is missing, then a notary is unlikely to certify a translation of a document. Most likely, he will not even certify a copy of this document. If a document is foreign, then additionally such a document must be legalized. Most often this is done through the apostille procedure (read more about this in our blog). The requirement of legalization does not apply to documents of the CIS countries. Some notaries also argue that this requirement (legalization/apostille) applies only to personal documents and organizational and legal documents of companies, but it is possible to certify a translation of an official letter without an apostille. We have come across such statements in practice, but have not found a legal justification for this. In any case, it is better to be safe: if you need a notarized translation of a foreign document to be submitted to the official bodies of the Russian Federation, it is better to make sure that it has an apostille in advance. This is important because the apostille is carried out by the authorities of the country where the document was issued.