My search for a certified French translator began when I decided to trade in my American driver’s license for a French permit. I am still in the middle of that process, thanks to a few mistakes I made in the documents I submitted as part of my dossier (French for file). However, that’s a reflection for another day. For now I want to share my journey of attaining a certified translation of my English documents from the United States for my numerous French bureaucratic ventures.
My first bit of research led me to a company that created certified translations based in Dallas, Texas. The price was $62 for two pages, which felt reasonable. Great, I thought. As I already alluded to, I thought wrong. Yes, it’s true, I went on to purchase a certified translation; however, that certification was in the eyes of the US government — and not the French. I thought I was ahead of the game to try to start this process before I left the States, but I was mistaken. A certified French translator will most likely offer their services in French. I made the blunder of searching the internet in English.
It was not until many months later that I realized my error on receiving a notification from ANTS (l’Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés) that my file was on hold due to “uncertified translation.” They informed me that I needed a “Traduction Assermentée,” a translation certified by a court-certified translator. Cue deep sigh. Their reply pointed me down a rabbit hole that ended in a PDF list of certified translators in France —a 356-page document with translators of every language imaginable. From the extensive list, I chose to reach out to two who were certified to translate from English to French. From one, I received no response. The other quoted me 66 € per page of translation. I had two pages, so this was going to be a 132 € expense for a translation I technically already had.
Solving the Problem
In the midst of my regret and indecision, I decided to search “traduction assermentée” on the internet to see what I could find, this time in French. Sure enough, I found plenty of translation services, with promises to have a quoted price before the end of the day. The first quoted me 66 € total, 39 € for my rights as a driver in the state of Texas, and 27 € to translate my driver’s license from English to French. Their reviews were fine and the price was right, so I used their services. Five days later I received an email with the translations attached. I added them to my driver’s permit request and reactivated the online request.
Recently in need of translation for documents concerning my upcoming marriage in France, the stakes felt much higher. Instead of using the company I had used previously, or even searching on Google, I searched on Trustpilot. I found companies with high reviews, quick turnarounds, and reasonable prices. I ended up going with ML Traduction. Though they claim a 48-hour turnaround, I received a digital copy of the translation I needed in less than 24 hours.
Additionally, in search of a full-time teaching position, it became apparent that I would need a translation of my university diploma. This process of approval for foreign studies requires a certified translation of the diploma and the corresponding transcript; however, the submission portal specifies that the certification can be made in the eyes of France or the issuing country. If this had also been the case for my driver’s license application, my original translation would have been as good as gold, but I digress.
Takeaways
This may seem obvious — it certainly does to me in hindsight — but if you’re looking for a “traduction assermentée,” you’ll most likely be navigating a website originally in French and be charged in euros. Average prices run from 25-70 € a page, depending on the word count and complexity of the document in question. When seeking out a translation for a legal process, ensure that your document can be a digital copy, or find a service that will send you the original signed version by post. This additional service could cost somewhere between 3 and 15 €. For an American in Paris, or any part of France for that matter, you’ll likely find yourself in need of certified translation sooner or later. Finding a provider you trust is one less reason to stress as you navigate the kinds of legal procedures that require them.
Have you acquired a certified translation while in France? Would you recommend your translator to our community? We would love to hear about your experience.
Photo taken of an English to French dictionary by your truly.
Did you enjoy this article? TAIP is 100% reader-supported through tipping. If you want to leave us a tip of any amount it would be highly appreciated. These tips help support our efforts to keep TAIP an ad-free environment. Just like at a cafe, the tips are split evenly among the team.