Are you looking for certified translation services for your documents but want to know exactly how much it costs? Certified Translation Cost or budget for your documents, is a very important issue before selecting a translation agency near me.
This is what we’ll be teaching you in this article. Read further to learn more about what certified translation is, why is it important and where to get one, as well as the cost of hiring certified translation services to at least ease one of your possible worries:
Certified Translation Cost
What are Document Translation Services?
Translation is simply defined as a way to convey a message from one language to another by translating written information.
The purpose why we translate in general is to better understand others, despite cultural and racial differences. It aims to help us understand the reason behind the message, with consideration of their language and culture’s intricacies.
For years, translation has helped us cooperate in order to unite for the progression of the world. Even as early as ancient times, we already see the translation of tons of writing works into literature. Nowadays, we see the mechanization of translation through translation software to help simplify the complicated process.
Without translation, businesses, institutions, and organizations all over the globe would have a hard time getting things done. Additionally, it would be terrible for consumers of mass media as well. For one, you probably couldn’t imagine not being able to patronize Korean dramas and Japanese Anime just because subtitles in your target language don’t exist. Not only would it make globalization impossible, but it would also prevent the spread and appreciation of different cultures.
Lastly, without the help of translation, several laws, documents, reviews, materials, and collaborations would become impossible to comprehend and push through because of the language barrier and lack of common ground.
This is where document translation services come into the picture. These are basically services where language-specific versions of documents are produced in order to cater to users of the document from other countries.
Usually, these documents are made to make the following understandable for international users:
- user guides
- technical manuals
- data sheets
- online information systems
- marketing brochures
- knowledge-based content
- and many more
What is a Certified Translation?
Certified translations are usually asked and required in the process of legal document submissions. These certified document translations have a broad inclusion of documents, including marriage, death, or birth certificates, court transcripts, service agreements, business contracts, and other paperwork that are not written in the official language of the country of submission.
Where and why are Certified Translations Needed?
Certified translations are needed in order to confirm the legitimacy of your document in other countries. They are mostly required in the following fields:
Business
Businesses value certified translations. This is because when investing in overseas partnerships, official document translations play a huge role in helping them safeguard their company.
The best way to ensure this is to have an accurate interpretation of the other company’s policy, as well as their own, to ensure that their employees will practice this as well. This also pushes for preventing lawsuits in the future.
Courts
Courts need certified document translation as even a tiny bit of mistake may affect legal proceedings in an unfavorable manner. These are sometimes valuable pieces of evidence that may serve or deny someone justice as well.
Immigration
When you plan to move to another country, certified translations of your personal documents are deemed mandatory. Your immigration application will most likely be rejected if you don’t have a certified language translation of your document.
Certified Translation: How Much does it Really Cost?
We have a tendency to assume that when something is important, it is already grossly expensive. However, this is not always the case.
Certified translation costs differ significantly from country to country. It depends on the professional translator or global language company’s experiences as well.
Our average certified translation cost in the United States will depend on the language of origin and the country of origin. Some are very short and some are two pages long. Our minimum will be between $55 for 200 words or less in Spanish to more for other languages and the length of the document. Some professional translation companies offer fixed, affordable rates, although keep in mind that rates charged per page can be misleading since these rates are only applicable for a limited number of words, normally around 200 words. Hence, documents with more than 200 words are charged more.
Price will vary per state
This cost doesn’t include the certification, which is an affidavit signed in front of a Notary public. Price will vary per state and notary provider. However, the average is between $20 and $40.
How are these costs calculated? There are three types of pricing when it comes to a certified translation. First is the per-word rate, where the price is determined on the basis of the total word count in a document + certification.
The second is the Per-page rate, where translators estimate certified translations based on the page count and set a standard rate per page plus the cost of certification. This can be tricky, though, because if the pages are text-heavy, the odds are that the rate per page can double or even triple as when they calculate cost per page, they usually estimate the word count.
Lastly is the hourly rate for certified document translation, which is rare and typical only for contract-based translators. However, this isn’t popular in the United States, as this would compromise speed and quality.
The most favorable and accurate method of calculating certified translation cost is probably the per-word charging, as this is almost always advantageous to the customer.
To ensure that you aren’t being overcharged and that you are on the right track, check out the reviews and testimonials of your chosen certified translator or global language company on their website.
Also, plan ahead to be able to give your document up for translation early on. Additionally, if you can, try limiting the number of words used to lessen the costs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Most professional freelance translators and global language companies offer an average price of $0.12 to $0.15 per word. The translation of a standard page costs on average US $20 – $25, considering an average of 200 words per page, or 1,250 characters including spaces.
There are three types of pricing when it comes to calculating the cost of certified translation: per-word rate, where determine the cost based on the total word count in a document; per-page rate, where you calculate the cost on the basis of the page count and the translators set a standard rate per page; and the hourly rate, which is uncommon.
Translingua Translations provides certified translation for birth, death, and marriage certificates, passports, diplomas, or any type of personal document, and many more, from any language into English.
