certified translation

noun · bestätigte Übersetzung

The certified translation is, precisely, the bestätigte Übersetzung: an authorised or publicly appointed translator certifies its accuracy and completeness, and it then counts as accurate and complete, § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO. The trade calls it beglaubigte Übersetzung, though strictly the translator certifies and does not beglaubigen; the machine calque zertifizierte Übersetzung belongs to ISO audits, not to the law.

Which translation, when

Mechanikhow it works: the court can require a translation made by a translator authorised or publicly appointed for the language under the law of a Land, and such a translation counts as accurate and complete where the translator certifies this, § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO; the certificate is placed on the translation, stating place, date and the translator’s standing, signed and, under most Land rules, stamped; an authorisation granted in one Land is accepted nationwide, and proof of inaccuracy or incompleteness remains admissible.

Terminologiethe labels: the trade and its clients say beglaubigte Übersetzung, but strictly the translator does not beglaubigen, that being the notarial act on signatures and copies; the precise terms are bestätigte or bescheinigte Übersetzung, and the professional titles vary by Land, ermächtigt, öffentlich bestellt or allgemein beeidigt, all feeding the same § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO mechanism.

Grenzen und Kalkthe boundaries: the authorisation covers the certificate on the translation and does not extend to certifying copies; and the machine calque zertifizierte Übersetzung imports the conformity-assessment word, Zertifizierung being the ISO world of firms and processes, while what authorities require is the certificate of an authorised translator, not a certificate about a business.

Why

The certified translation is the core product of the legal translation trade, and its precise German name is bestätigte Übersetzung. The mechanism sits in § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO: the court can require that a translation of a foreign-language document be made by a translator authorised or publicly appointed for such work under the law of a Land, and such a translation counts as accurate and complete where the translator certifies this; the certificate is placed on the translation, states place and date and the standing of the translator, and is signed, with most Land rules adding a stamp; an authorisation granted in one Land is accepted nationwide, and the presumption remains rebuttable, proof of inaccuracy staying admissible. The terminology is where the trade itself wobbles. Clients and translators say beglaubigte Übersetzung, and the phrase is established usage, but strictly the translator does not beglaubigen; that word names the notarial act on signatures and copies, and the translator instead certifies, bestätigt or bescheinigt, accuracy and completeness. The professional labels vary by Land, ermächtigter, öffentlich bestellter or allgemein beeidigter Übersetzer, all feeding the same statutory mechanism, and the authorisation does not extend to certifying that a copy conforms with an original, which stays notarial ground. The calque to refuse is zertifizierte Übersetzung: Zertifizierung is the conformity assessment of firms and processes, the ISO world, and what an authority asks for is the certificate of an authorised translator on this translation, not a certificate about a business. So the safe rendering is bestätigte Übersetzung, beglaubigte Übersetzung tolerated as trade usage, and zertifizierte Übersetzung never.

Typical mistakes

The translation counts as accurate and complete only through the certificate of an authorised or publicly appointed translator, § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO, so the standing of the translator, not the label on the document, carries the effect.
Strictly the translator certifies and does not beglaubigen, so bestätigte or bescheinigte Übersetzung is the precise term and beglaubigte Übersetzung trade usage.
Zertifizierte Übersetzung imports the conformity-assessment word for firms and processes, so it misnames the translator’s certificate.

What matters

Rendering a requirement for an official translation, the translation should use bestätigte Übersetzung, name the authorised or publicly appointed translator as the carrier of the certificate, § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO, tolerate beglaubigte Übersetzung as trade usage where the source is informal, and avoid the calque zertifizierte Übersetzung.

Authority

§ 142 Abs. 3 ZPO

What the machine misses

Automatic output turns certified translation into zertifizierte Übersetzung, the conformity-assessment calque, or as beglaubigte Übersetzung without more. It loses the mechanism, that under § 142 Abs. 3 ZPO the translation counts as accurate and complete through the certificate of a translator authorised or publicly appointed under Land law, with the certificate set on the translation itself. The rendering points at ISO audits or at a notarial act instead of at the translator’s statutory certificate.

See what the machine does with this clause →

Examples

a certified translation of the birth certificate	eine bestätigte Übersetzung der Geburtsurkunde
the translator certifies accuracy and completeness	der Übersetzer bescheinigt Richtigkeit und Vollständigkeit
a translator authorised under the law of a Land	ein nach Landesrecht ermächtigter Übersetzer
the certificate is placed on the translation	der Bestätigungsvermerk wird auf die Übersetzung gesetzt

More notes on these sections

court order Beschluss

discovery Urkundenvorlegung