Portuguese Certified, Notarised and FCO Legalised Translation

Completed by qualified Portuguese translators

Getting married? Studying abroad? Do you have legal documents you must have translated? Some authorities demand that you supply certified translations of your official documents. This means that even if you are bilingual, the relevant authority is unlikely to accept your own translation. They will be looking for a translation independently carried out and by an appropriately qualified Portuguese linguist.

We offer 3 main types of certification in Cumbria

It is important that you check with the appropriate authority which type of certification they will accept.

Digital certification

The first type of certification comes in the form of a letter printed on Knockhundred’s letterhead certifying that, as a professional translation company, Knockhundred has undertaken the translation. Each page of the translation itself is also stamped. This type of certification is generally supplied in digital format. By special arrangement, we can also provide the certification in hard copy format by post.

Notarised, sworn or legalised translation

The second type of certification is where the translation is stamped and signed by a Notary Public. A notarised translation is also sometimes referred to as a “sworn” translation, but this phrase isn’t often used in the UK. It can also be called a legalised translation.

A Notary Public is an officer of the law empowered to attest or confirm certain oaths, statutory declarations and documents under his seal.

Working from your documents, our qualified linguists will provide an accurate translation, carefully checking the details. Once certified by us, a Notary Public will add the official seal.

You do not need to be located near our offices as the entire process is conducted digitally and by post.

British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) legalisation of translated documents

Some authorities insist on this extra step. Once notarised by a Notary Public and confirmed as true translations, the translations and any associated original documents are further verified and stamped by the FCO.

Whom do we work with?

We work with a wide range of clients in the legal sector as well as private individuals including:

• Embassies
• Solicitors
• Courts
• Police forces
• Prisons
• Accountants
• Public sector organisations
• EU organisations
• Businesses
• Financial organisations

What sort of material?

• Letters
• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• Marriage certificates
• Divorce certificates
• Academic certificates
• Passports
• Statements

How is the cost for certified Portuguese translations calculated?

• The cost depends on the language(s)
• The cost depends on the number of documents
• Translation is calculated per source word of original content
• The cost depends on the level of certification: digital, notarisation or FCO legalisation.

While you’re here… some quite interesting facts about the Portuguese language.

Portuguese is a Romance language spoken by about 220 million people mainly in Portugal and Brazil (Brasil), and also in Angola, Mozambique (Moçambique), Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), Guinea-Bissau (Guiné-Bissau), São Tomé e Principe, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Equatorial Guinea and Macau. There are also communities of Portuguese speakers in Goa, Daman and Diu in India, and in Malacca in Malaysia. Portuguese is a descendent of Latin, which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by Roman soldiers, settlers and merchants from 218 BC. The earliest records of a distinctly Portuguese language appear in administrative documents dating from the 9th century AD. In 1290 King Denis decreed that Portuguese, then simply called the “Vulgar language” should be known as the Portuguese language and should be officially used. A reformed Portuguese orthography (nova ortografia), in which words were spelled more in accordance with their pronunciation, was adopted is Portugal in 1916. A slightly modified form was adopted in Brazil in 1943 and revised in 1970. A new orthography which aims to unify the written Portuguese of all the lusophone countries was adopted in Brazil in 2009. Dates have yet to be set for its adoption in the other Portuguese-speaking countries.

Where is Portuguese most widely spoken?

Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Timor-Leste, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe and China (Macau).