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In depth
A sworn translator (also called a certified translator or official translator) is a translator who has been officially authorized by a court, government ministry, or professional body to produce certified translations that are accepted by legal authorities.
For CBD cases, sworn translations are required for: (1) foreign documents submitted to consulates or courts (e.g., US documents submitted to an Italian consulate must be translated into Italian by a sworn translator), and (2) documents in the country's official language submitted to foreign authorities (e.g., Italian documents submitted to USCIS).
Sworn translators are authorized differently in different countries: in Italy, translators are sworn before a court (tribunale); in Germany, they are appointed by a court (Landgericht); in France, they are approved by the Court of Cassation (Cour de Cassation); in the US, there is no federal system but many states have certification programs.
Related terms
A certified translation is a translation that has been certified by a sworn translator as accurate and complete, accepted by legal authorities for CBD applications.
An apostille is a certification that authenticates the origin of a public document for use in another country that is a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.
A traduction assermentée is the French term for a sworn/certified translation, produced by a translator approved by the French Court of Cassation.
The Hague Apostille Convention (1961) is the international treaty that established the apostille system for document authentication between member countries.
Legalization is the multi-step process of authenticating a document for use in a country that is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention.
Notarization is the act of a notary public certifying a document or witnessing a signature, often required before apostille in CBD cases.