Sample: our certification statement

A certified translation in the UK is not a special class of document produced by a licensed person. It is an ordinary translation accompanied by a statement that meets a short list of requirements. This page reproduces ours so you can read it before ordering rather than after.

What gov.uk asks for

The guidance on certifying a translation asks the translator to confirm that it is a true and accurate translation of the original document, to give the date of the translation, and to provide their full name and contact details. That is the whole of the general rule. There is no register of approved translators, no state seal, and — as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting puts it — no such thing as a sworn translator in a common law country.

Our statement, in full

The final page of every translation carries this block:

• “I confirm that this is a true and accurate translation of the original document.”
• “Document translated: [description and page count], from Turkish into English.” (or English into Turkish)
• “Date of translation: [date].”
• “Translated and certified by: Hacettepe Tercüme Bilgisayar Yazılım Danışmanlık ve İnternet Hizmetleri Ticaret Limited Şirketi, trading as Hacettepe Translation, a translation company registered in Ankara, Türkiye, in business since 2008.”
• “Ankara Trade Registry No: 256268. MERSİS: 0454051565600012.”
• “Address: Kızılay Mah. İhlamur Cad. No: 9/8, 06420 Çankaya, Ankara, Türkiye.”
• “Contact: [e-mail] · [telephone].”
• “Signed: [full name and signature of the person signing for the company], for and on behalf of the company.”
• Company stamp, and the page reference tying the statement to the pages it certifies.

Why the company details are there

Three of those lines exist because of the general rule. The rest exist because of a fourth item that applies to applications for leave to remain and settlement, where Appendix FM-SE also asks for details of the translator or translation company's credentials. We are an Ankara company, not a UK one, so the credentials we can honestly give are our registered legal name, trade registry number, address and contact details, together with the fact that we have traded since 2008 and work with notary-sworn translators in Türkiye. We are not members of the ITI, the CIOL or the ATC and we do not display their marks. Where a body wants an association's seal, tell us before ordering and we will say so rather than let you find out at the counter.

How to check a certification — ours or anyone's

Look for the three required elements first, then for a name you could actually contact. A statement signed only “The Translator”, or carrying a mobile number and nothing else, gives a caseworker nothing to verify. Check the date, and check that the page count in the statement matches the bundle. For a document going to Türkiye, remember that this statement is not what Turkish authorities work from — they want a translation notarised in Türkiye or certified by a consulate, which is a different product described on notarised translation in Türkiye. This page is illustrative and contains no customer data; the bracketed fields are completed for each order. Further background is in who can certify a translation.