In Italy the only way to certify a translation with full legal effect is to swear it before the Court or a notary, by a translator registered with the Register of Court-Appointed Experts as an official translator or with the Register of Experts of the Chamber of Commerce.
The certified translation service has nevertheless become widely requested: the official translator attaches, directly in the required target language, a certificate of accuracy of the translation, signed and stamped on letterhead. Following the practice common in other countries, where the official translator certifies his or her own translations by signature and stamp, certified translations are frequently requested in Italy as well. This type of translation avoids court costs, may be sent directly in PDF format by e-mail (and also delivered in hard copy) and is accepted in many countries. A certified translation does not preclude a subsequent oath before the Court, in which case only the costs of the oath and the fees are added.
Certified translations, like sworn translations, are produced by specialised native-speaker translators registered with the Register of Court-Appointed Experts of the Court of Rome.
Guides and further reading
A certified translation is often sufficient for countries that do not require an oath before a court. For the United Kingdom, for example, a certified translation by an official translator recognised by the British State, such as Dr Michela de Julio, is accepted. A first contact with our office establishes whether, for the specific procedure, a sworn translation is required or a certified translation is sufficient.