Recipient-led corporate document translation

Certified Translation of Company Documents

A company document should be translated in the form required by the person or authority that will receive it. The language pair alone does not establish the certification wording, translator status, format, attachment method or place of translation that will be accepted.

Coddan arranges certified translations through certified translators. The appointed translator prepares and certifies the translation and is responsible for the translation statement. Coddan does not describe itself as the translator and does not use translation to authenticate or correct the underlying company document.

What to Send for a Translation Assessment I am not sure which document route is required

Purpose before language treatment

Start with the recipient’s translation requirements

The same UK company document may be accepted in English by one recipient, require a certified translation for another or need translation only after notarisation, an apostille or consular processing has been completed.

Ask the recipient to confirm, where possible:

the exact document and the corporate fact, authority or transaction it must evidence;
the source and target languages;
whether the complete document, selected sections, stamps, seals, endorsements, attachments and later certificates must be translated;
the status, qualification, registration or location required of the translator;
the certification statement, signature, date, contact details, stamp or declaration required;
whether the translation must be notarised, apostilled, legalised or attached in a specified way;
whether paper, electronic or bilingual presentation is acceptable; and
any issue-date, validity, filing or delivery condition.

If written instructions are not available, say so. Coddan can determine the translation route within the agreed scope without asking you to diagnose the professional or institutional procedure.

The translator’s act

What a certified translation does—and what it does not

A certified translation presents the source document in another language and carries the translator’s required statement concerning the translation. For a UK-facing requirement, official guidance may call for the translator to confirm in writing that the translation is true and accurate, state the date and provide the translator’s full name and contact details. A foreign recipient may prescribe different or additional requirements.

The certification relates to the translation. It does not turn an ordinary source document into an official Companies House product, authenticate a signature or seal, prove that every underlying statement is true, validate a corporate act, or correct an inaccurate filing or internal record.

Translation also does not guarantee acceptance. The recipient may reject an otherwise accurate translation if the wrong document, translator category, language variant, certification wording, sequence or physical form has been used.

Identify the translation required

Certified, notarised or institutionally recognised translation?

Terms such as “certified translation”, “official translation”, “sworn translation”, “notarised translation” and “legal translation” are not safely interchangeable across countries and institutions. Translate the recipient’s request into the exact current requirement rather than selecting a label from habit.

Certified translation

The translator prepares the translation and supplies the required certification statement and identifying details. The exact wording and form must match the recipient’s rules.

Translation involving a notary

A notarial act may concern the translator’s signature, identity, declaration, qualification or another defined matter. The notary does not replace the translator and does not automatically certify the linguistic accuracy of a translation.

Destination-recognised translator

Some authorities require a translator registered, sworn, approved or located within a particular jurisdiction. A UK-certified translation should not be assumed to satisfy that separate framework.

Ordinary working translation

An informal translation may help you understand a document but may be unsuitable for official presentation. Do not confuse internal comprehension with an admissible certified product.

Define what must be translated

The translation scope is more than a language pair

Before work begins, establish the complete source set and the recipient’s presentation requirements. Relevant questions include:

whether every page must be translated, including blank, continuation or reverse pages;
whether handwritten entries, stamps, seals, signatures, logos, tables, marginal notes and illegible passages must be represented;
whether attachments, schedules, articles, resolutions or related certificates form one document set;
whether names, addresses and company forms must follow a specified transliteration or established spelling;
whether dates, numbers, currencies, legal references and abbreviations must retain a prescribed presentation;
whether an apostille, notarial certificate or consular endorsement will be added later and must also be translated;
whether the translation must mirror the source layout, appear side by side or remain separately attached; and
whether paper originals, signed electronic files or both are required.

A document should not be translated from an incomplete, cropped or superseded scan where the missing material may affect meaning or acceptance.

Translate at the correct stage

Translation may come before or after authentication

There is no universal order. The recipient or destination procedure may require the translation before a notarial act, after an apostille, together with a consular application, or after the full authentication chain so that later certificates are included.

Translation before notarisation

This may be appropriate where a person, company or notary must understand or execute text in another language, but the appointed notary decides what understanding and evidence are required.

Translation after notarisation

The recipient may require the source document and notarial certificate to be translated as one set. Translating too early could omit the notarial wording.

Translation after apostille

Where the apostille itself must be translated, the final authenticated document should normally be available before the translation scope is closed.

Translation for consular or destination use

A mission or destination authority may prescribe the translator, certification, attachment and sequence. Its current rules govern that institutional stage.

The shortest appropriate route avoids translating a document that will be replaced, corrected or supplemented later.

Company-document recognition

Documents that may require certified translation

The following company-document families commonly raise a translation question, but no document requires translation solely because it is to be used abroad:

Companies House company certificates, summary statements and certified copies;
certificates of incorporation and change of name;
memorandum and articles of association, amended articles and filed resolutions;
confirmation statements, historic annual returns and other filed documents;
powers of attorney and company authorities;
board and member resolutions, minutes and written decisions;
certificates of incumbency and other privately prepared corporate certificates;
statutory-register extracts, ownership or governance evidence;
contracts, declarations, licences and transaction documents;
notarial certificates, apostilles and embassy or consular endorsements; and
supporting correspondence or evidential schedules expressly required by the recipient.

The exact source document, version, date and required target language must be confirmed. A public filing, internal company record and privately prepared statement may describe related matters but remain different documentary sources.

A controlled language advantage

When a language-competent notary may reduce unnecessary translation

Where available, Coddan can match a foreign-language company document with a UK notary professionally competent in that language. Some notaries used by Coddan also hold notarial qualifications in their countries of origin.

This may avoid a translation needed solely so that the appointed notary can understand the document. It does not remove a translation required by the receiving authority, destination procedure, FCDO route, embassy or consulate. It also does not mean that every language, document or notarial act can be covered.

The individual notary decides whether their language competence and professional scope are sufficient for the act. Where a translation remains required, the translator and notary perform separate jobs.

Notarisation of UK Company Documents

Source before translation

Check the company document before it is translated

A precise translation of the wrong, incomplete or inaccurate document remains unsuitable. Before commissioning the work, confirm that the source is ready for reliance.

Correct document and version

Confirm the company name and number, exact title, date, complete page set and whether later filings, amendments or a company name change affect the required evidence.

Public-register readiness

Check whether the Companies House information is accurate and current enough for the recipient’s purpose. Translation does not amend the register or convert an ordinary download into a certified copy.

Internal records and governance

Where the source depends on registers, minutes, resolutions, objects or authority, confirm that those records support it. The translator must not be asked to reconstruct missing facts.

Legibility and completeness

Supply a clear, complete source with all attachments, stamps, seals and endorsements. The translator may need to mark material as illegible rather than guess.

Company status

A historic document may be translated for evidential use, but translation does not permit a dissolved company to undertake a new act or remove the need for the correct restoration route.

A controlled translation route

How Coddan arranges certified translation

Identify the source document and complete page set

We establish the exact company document, authoritative source, date, format, attachments and the version intended for presentation.
Confirm the recipient, destination and purpose

We review the available instructions and identify the source and target languages, intended use and any required translator status or certification form.
Determine the translation scope and sequence

We identify what must be translated, whether later notarial, apostille or mission material must be included and whether translation belongs before or after another stage.
Check source-document readiness

We separate incomplete, illegible, inaccurate, disputed or superseded material and identify any public-register, internal-record, authority or company-status issue that requires another professional route.
Arrange the appropriate translator

Coddan arranges the work through a certified translator selected for the confirmed language and document requirements. The translator prepares and certifies the translation.
Check the agreed scope and direct the next stage

The returned translation is checked against the agreed document set and directed for delivery or a separately justified notarial, apostille, consular or managed route. The recipient retains the acceptance decision.

Commercial clarity

What determines cost and timing

The commercial scope depends on the confirmed document and recipient requirements. Relevant components may include:

the source and target languages and available qualified translator coverage;
word count, page count, density, tables, handwriting, stamps, seals and layout complexity;
the document’s technical, legal, corporate or industry terminology;
certification wording, translator status and paper or electronic presentation requirements;
review of names, transliteration, established terminology and reference material;
translation of notarial certificates, apostilles, endorsements or supporting material;
Coddan’s professional work in defining and coordinating the route;
notary, solicitor, FCDO, embassy, consular or other institutional charges where separately required;
postage, courier, collection, return and international delivery;
urgency or exceptional research, formatting, amendment or resubmission work; and
Value Added Tax treatment where applicable.

A short document is not necessarily simple, and a page rate alone may not explain the professional work. The written scope should distinguish translation from external professional, official and delivery charges. No universal language coverage, acceptance, completion time or institutional decision is guaranteed.

Choose the appropriate next service

The overall route remains uncertain

Return to the entrance where the required document, acceptable form or international treatment has not yet been established.

UK Company Documents for International Use

An official copy of a filing is required

Use the certified-copy route where the recipient wants a Companies House-certified copy of a particular filed document before translation.

Certified Copies of Companies House Documents

Certified company facts or status evidence are required

Use the company-certificate route where the recipient wants available certified facts rather than an official copy of one filing.

Company Certificates and Status Documents

A notarial act is required

Use the notarial route to establish the individual notary’s act and decide whether translation is needed for the notary or recipient.

Notarisation of UK Company Documents

An apostille is required

Use the apostille route to determine the eligible paper or electronic treatment and whether the apostille must be included in the translation set.

Apostille of UK Company Documents

A mission stage is required

Use the mission route where current destination requirements establish an embassy or consular procedure and its translation sequence.

Embassy and Consular Legalisation

Confirmed sequences

When translation is one stage of a longer documentary route

A confirmed instruction may require an official document, notarial act, apostille, certified translation, embassy or consular stage and destination delivery in a defined order. This service identifies and arranges the required translation; it does not make every translation a managed legalisation service.

Where several verified stages require coordination, the written scope should identify the source set, languages, sequence, responsible professionals and authorities, certification wording, external charges, custody and delivery dependencies, exclusions and reserved matters.

Complete Document Certification and Legalisation Service

Translation is not correction

Resolve an unsuitable source through its proper route

Companies House information

If a filed fact or document is inaccurate, incomplete, disputed or historically inconsistent, identify the applicable filing, replacement or correction route. Translating the filed document does not amend the public register.

RP01 replacement filings RP04 correction service

Internal records and governance

Internal registers, minutes, resolutions, objects and authority documents must be investigated and corrected through the appropriate corporate route. A translator translates the supplied source; the translator does not reconstruct records or validate the underlying corporate decision.

Company Records and Statutory Registers Articles, Objects, Resolutions and Governance Work

Dissolved companies

A historic document may be translated, but certification or translation does not restore a dissolved company. Before restoration, work must be limited to investigation, retrieval, reconstruction, reconciliation and preparation. Administrative restoration and restoration by court order remain separate routes.

Company Restoration

Separate responsibility at every stage

Who controls the translation and connected acts

Coddan determines the translation route within the agreed scope and arranges the work through an appropriate certified translator.
The translator translates the source material and prepares and signs the applicable certification statement.
Companies House issues and certifies its official products and controls their content, availability and issue.
The appointed notary performs and controls any required notarial act and decides whether language competence or a translation is necessary for that act.
The FCDO Legalisation Office determines apostille eligibility and issues or refuses the apostille.
An embassy, high commission or consulate controls any official mission procedure and its language requirements.
A courier or postal provider controls carriage, tracking and delivery under its terms.
The receiving authority decides whether the translation and complete document set are acceptable for their intended purpose.

Coddan does not certify the translation as translator, perform another professional or governmental act, or guarantee acceptance, processing or delivery time.

Connected work only where revealed

Company work that may need to precede translation

Review of the source may reveal separate company work that must be completed first. Where that happens, continue with the appropriate professional or documentary service; certified translation does not absorb that work.

Controlled translation enquiry

What to tell Coddan so we can identify the appropriate certified translation

Provide as much as you know. You do not need to decide whether a certified translation is required, which translator status is acceptable or whether translation belongs before or after notarisation, an apostille or a mission stage. If any point is uncertain, say “Not known”.

Information for a translation assessment

When you contact Coddan, include as much of the following information as is available. The purpose is to identify the correct source, language treatment, translator requirements, presentation and sequence—not to test whether you already understand the translation procedure.

The companyThe UK company name and company number, where relevant.
The exact source documentIts title and date, who issued, signed, certified or prepared it, and whether the complete document already exists.
Source form and conditionWhether it is an original, official copy, certified copy, ordinary copy, paper document or electronic document, and whether every page and attachment is complete and legible.
LanguagesThe document’s current language and the language into which it must be translated.
Recipient, purpose and destinationThe person, organisation or authority that will receive it, the intended purpose or transaction, and the destination country or territory.
Written instructionsAny recipient checklist, sample wording or other written instructions.
Translator statusAny required translator qualification, registration, accreditation, sworn status or location specified by the recipient.
Certification requirementsAny required declaration, certification wording, signature, date, stamp, seal, contact detail or attachment.
Names and document featuresAny required treatment of names, addresses, company details, transliterations, stamps, seals, handwriting, annotations or illegible material.
Presentation and formatWhether the source and translation must be attached, bound or supplied together, and whether paper, electronic, bilingual or another presentation has been specified.
Other documentary stagesWhether notarisation, an apostille or embassy or consular legalisation has been requested or completed, and whether the instructions specify translation before or after another stage.
Timing and deliveryThe deadline and delivery destination.
Readiness and company statusWhether the source, filing, company record, authority or company status may be inaccurate, incomplete, disputed, inconsistent or historic, and whether the company is dissolved, being restored or has been restored.

If something is not known, say “Not known”. Coddan can identify what must be verified before arranging the translation. You are not expected to select the translator category, certification wording, documentary stages or their correct order.

Send the information above using Coddan’s normal contact details shown on this website. Do not send personal identification, original documents or confidential company records until an appropriate transfer method has been confirmed. Coddan can then identify the apparent translation route and check source-document readiness; the appointed translator controls the translation and certification, and the receiving authority retains the acceptance decision.

Questions about certified translations

Certified translation of company documents: questions and answers

What is a certified translation?

It is a translation accompanied by the translator’s required certification statement and identifying details. The exact wording, translator status and form depend on the recipient. Confirm those requirements before arranging the work.

Who prepares and certifies the translation?

The appointed translator prepares and certifies it. Coddan arranges certified translations through certified translators and coordinates the agreed route, but Coddan does not describe itself as the translator.

Does the United Kingdom have one translation format accepted everywhere?

No. UK-facing guidance may accept a translator’s true-and-accurate statement with the date, full name and contact details, but foreign authorities may require a sworn, registered, notarised or locally recognised translator and different wording or presentation. The recipient’s current rules govern.

Does a certified translation authenticate the original document?

No. Certification addresses the translation. It does not convert the source into an official document, authenticate its signature or seal, or prove that every underlying statement is correct.

Is a certified translation the same as notarisation?

No. The translator’s certification and a notary’s act are separate. A recipient may require both, but one does not automatically include the other. Continue to Notarisation of UK Company Documents where a notarial act is required.

Is a certified translation automatically eligible for an apostille?

No. Apostille eligibility depends on the relevant public-official signature, seal or stamp and the FCDO’s requirements. The translation route must be coordinated with the act intended for authentication. Use Apostille of UK Company Documents to determine that stage.

Should the document be translated before or after the apostille?

That depends on the recipient and destination procedure. If the apostille must also be translated, the authenticated document may need to be completed first. If the translation itself must enter a notarial or authentication chain, another order may apply. Confirm the sequence before work begins.

Must the apostille or notarial certificate also be translated?

Only if the recipient requires it. Ask whether later certificates, stamps, seals and endorsements form part of the translated set. Translating too early may leave the final authentication material untranslated.

Can a foreign-language notary remove the need for translation?

Only in a limited sense. A UK notary professionally competent in the document’s language may not need a translation solely to understand it. That does not remove a translation required by the recipient, FCDO route, embassy, consulate or later procedure, and language coverage is not universal.

Can only part of a company document be translated?

Only where the recipient expressly accepts that scope. Omitting pages, attachments, stamps or qualifications may make the document misleading or unacceptable. Provide the complete source and written instructions before limiting the translation.

Can Coddan arrange translations into every language?

No universal language coverage is claimed. Availability depends on the language pair, document, certification requirements, translator status, deadline and destination. Coddan confirms whether an appropriate translator is available for the instruction.

Can a translation correct a Companies House filing?

No. A translator should accurately translate the supplied source, not silently repair it. The appropriate Companies House filing, replacement or correction route must be handled separately.

Can a translator reconstruct missing internal company records?

No. Internal registers, minutes, resolutions and authority evidence must be investigated and reconstructed through their proper corporate route without manufacturing facts. Translation can begin when an appropriate source exists.

Can a document relating to a dissolved company be translated?

Yes, an existing historic document may be translated for an appropriate purpose, but translation does not restore the company or permit every new corporate act. Company status and any required restoration route must be considered separately.

Does a certified translation guarantee acceptance?

No. The recipient decides whether the translator, certification wording, document version, language, format and complete documentary chain satisfy its requirements. Written instructions reduce uncertainty but cannot remove the recipient’s decision.

What information does Coddan need?

Provide the company name and number where applicable, exact source document and date, complete page set, source and target languages, recipient, destination, intended purpose, written instructions, required translator status and format, authentication sequence, deadline and any known source-record problem. “Not known” is acceptable.

What determines cost and timing?

The language pair, length, complexity, layout, legibility, certification form, translator availability, technical terminology, authentication sequence, delivery requirements, urgency and any exceptional research or amendment work determine scope. No acceptance, completion or delivery time is guaranteed.

The appropriate next step

Translate the correct document at the correct stage

Provide the complete source and the recipient’s instructions before translation begins. Coddan will identify the appropriate translator and sequence within scope. If the required document or documentary treatment remains uncertain, use UK Company Documents for International Use to identify the appropriate route.

What to Send for a Translation Assessment Return to route determination

Certified Translation of UK Company Documents.

Prepare UK company documents for use where a certified translation is required by checking the document, language and certification requirements before translation is arranged.

If your UK company document must be provided in another language, confirm what the recipient requires and arrange the appropriate certified translation for its intended use.

Follow the translation journey from identifying the document and language requirements to preparing a certified translation for its intended use.

Order Certified Translation of UK & Foreign Company Documents

Start with the recipient’s translation requirements

What a certified translation does—and what it does not

Certified, notarised or institutionally recognised translation?

01Certified translation

02Translation involving a notary

03Destination-recognised translator

04Ordinary working translation

The translation scope is more than a language pair

Translation may come before or after authentication

01Translation before notarisation

02Translation after notarisation

03Translation after apostille

04Translation for consular or destination use

Documents that may require certified translation

When a language-competent notary may reduce unnecessary translation

Check the company document before it is translated

01Correct document and version

02Public-register readiness

03Internal records and governance

04Legibility and completeness

05Company status

How Coddan arranges certified translation

Identify the source document and complete page set

Confirm the recipient, destination and purpose

Determine the translation scope and sequence

Check source-document readiness

Arrange the appropriate translator

Check the agreed scope and direct the next stage

What determines cost and timing

Connected document-certification services

When translation is one stage of a longer documentary route

Resolve an unsuitable source through its proper route

01Companies House information

02Internal records and governance

03Dissolved companies

Who controls the translation and connected acts

Company work that may need to precede translation

What to tell Coddan so we can identify the appropriate certified translation

Information for a translation assessment

Certified translation of company documents: questions and answers

Translate the correct document at the correct stage

Certified translation

Translation involving a notary

Destination-recognised translator

Ordinary working translation

Translation before notarisation

Translation after notarisation

Translation after apostille

Translation for consular or destination use

Correct document and version

Public-register readiness

Internal records and governance

Legibility and completeness

Company status

Companies House information

Internal records and governance

Dissolved companies