Document Translation & Certified Translation — 14 answers

Question 1

How does a certified translation differ from a plain translation?

Accepted Answer

A plain translation is only the transposed text. A certified translation adds a signed Certificate of Accuracy naming the translator, their qualification, the language direction, the date, and the agency seal. Most government offices and embassies reject files without that certificate because nobody is accountable for the wording.

Question 2

Who may sign a translation certification in Thailand?

Accepted Answer

Three groups in practice: a registered translation company signing corporately, a Ministry of Justice-listed translator for court matters, and a Notarial Services Attorney who certifies the translator's signature. Which one you need is dictated by the receiving authority, not by the document type.

Question 3

Can a notary certify the translation itself?

Accepted Answer

Not in the sense most people assume. The attorney attests that the translator signed in their presence; they do not vouch for the rendering. Linguistic accuracy stays with the translator under their own certificate. Confusing these two layers is one of the most common reasons files bounce.

Question 4

Why does language direction matter — isn't Thai→English the same as English→Thai?

Accepted Answer

They are not the same. In several certification systems accreditation is granted per direction, so a translator certified one way cannot certify the reverse. Official terminology also differs: Thai agency names must map to the recognised English title the receiving office already knows, not a phonetic transliteration.

Question 5

Which spelling of my name should the translation follow?

Accepted Answer

Always the passport, even where the Royal Institute transliteration produces a different string, because the officer matches your name against passport data first. If you have changed name or surname, attach a translated change-of-name certificate so older documents reconcile.

Question 6

Must stamps, signatures, and text on the back be translated?

Accepted Answer

Yes, everything: the Garuda emblem, faint ink stamps, handwritten notes, and reverse-side annotations, marked in square brackets such as [seal] or [signature, illegible]. Omitting them makes the rendering incomplete and can void the whole file.

Question 7

Is translation priced per page or per word?

Accepted Answer

Fixed-format civil records — birth certificates, house registration, marriage records — are quoted per document because the structure repeats and review is fast. Contracts, financial statements, judgments, and technical reports are quoted on source word count, with volume discounts typically starting above two thousand words.

Question 8

What is the normal turnaround and how far can it be rushed?

Accepted Answer

One to three short documents normally take two to three business days. Twenty-four-hour rush is feasible for fixed-format records, but once a government certification step follows, total elapsed time depends on that office's queue, which we cannot accelerate and do not promise to shorten.

Question 9

Is a digitally signed PDF accepted everywhere?

Accepted Answer

Not everywhere. Many online portals accept files whose digital signature can be verified, yet plenty of counters still want wet-ink paper. Confirm with the receiving office before ordering, and never print a digitally signed file and rescan it — that destroys the verification chain.

Question 10

Do you need the physical original?

Accepted Answer

For the translation stage a high-resolution colour scan works, provided seals and document numbers are legible. Some certification stages require the freshly issued original at the counter, so state the destination when requesting a quote; that sets the correct order and avoids re-issuing records twice.

Question 11

Can an old document still be filed?

Accepted Answer

Many receiving bodies treat civil-status records as valid roughly three to six months from the date of issue of the certified copy, not from the event date. An old marriage record is fine if you obtain a fresh certified copy. Time that copy close to filing so it does not expire while queueing.

Question 12

Should the translation mirror the original layout?

Accepted Answer

It should be comparable. Headings, tables, reference numbers, and seals must appear in the same order as the source so an officer can lay both sheets side by side and verify instantly. Reflowing content into prose slows review and invites extra questions.

Question 13

What is special about technical and medical documents?

Accepted Answer

They need a domain glossary and unit fidelity. Medical certificates must carry the physician's licence number in the rendering; engineering and patent files must preserve clause numbers and formulas in place. For long jobs we circulate a glossary for client approval first so terminology stays consistent across the set.

Question 14

What happens if a translation is rejected?

Accepted Answer

Send us the annotated page or the refusal wording immediately. We identify whether the fault sits in the translation layer, the certification layer, or the source document. If it stems from translator error we correct and reissue at no charge; if the authority changed its requirements we quote the incremental cost before proceeding.

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Apostille ตามอนุสัญญาเฮก 1961

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