As a professional and qualified French to English legal translator and lawyer-linguist, it’s my job to ensure that my French to English certified translation services always meet current requirements so that they are accepted by UK authorities.

The UK Government has recently updated their guidance on certifying translations of documents on its “Certifying a document” page and in the Ministry of Justice’s Family Procedure Rules for PD7A.

I can confirm that my French to English certified translation practices are as good as they have ever been and my certified translations meet current requirements for French to English certified translation services in line with the updated gov.uk guidance and for any other official purpose. To ensure that my French to English certified translation services meet all my client’s requirements, I have always thought it was important to provide a statement of truth and my full name and contact details as standard on all my certified translations so that the receiving UK authority can always contact me directly to verify my credentials, ensuring that the certified translation process is as easy and stress-free as possible for my clients. I’ve never had one of my French to English certified translations rejected and I don’t intend to start now.

Any client who asks me to certify a translation of a French document that’s not written in English will receive a certified translation which includes the following information on the translation:

• that it’s a ‘true and accurate translation of the original document’
• the date of the translation
• my full name and contact details.

This is fully compliant with the new guidance on gov.uk.

With regards to the Ministry of Justice’s Family Procedure Rules for PD7A, the update amends PD7A so that where a French marriage or civil partnership certificate, document or certified copy is not in English, an English translation of that French document must be verified by a French to English translator or authenticated by a statement of truth. My French to English certified translation services have always and will continue to comply with this guidance.

This new guidance does not reflect existing and long-standing UK best practices outlined in the Certified Translation–Getting It Right best practice guidance for certified translation produced by the three leading translation bodies in the UK, the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the Institute of Translation and Interpreting, and the Association of Translation Companies. This means that some translators and translation agencies will have to update their certified translation practices to reflect the changed guidance on gov.uk and from the Ministry of Justice to ensure that their certified translations comply with current requirements.

I will continue to offer French to English certified translation services which are fully compliant with any current guidance from gov.uk, the Ministry of Justice and translation industry practices and ensure that I keep abreast of any updated guidance.

If you require French to English certified translations that meet current UK requirements please drop me an email at info@coleytranslates.com to discuss how I can help you. If you have any questions about the French to English certified translation process, please don’t hesitate to get in touch and I’ll be happy to talk you through the certified translation process. Any help with understanding the French to English certified translation process is always free and you’re under no obligation to use my services.