Certified translation / Translation by an authorized court interpreter

Certified translation is a form of translation applicable to all document types, performed by an authorized court interpreter who translates the original document and with their stamp and signature guarantees that the translation is faithful to the original text.

Certified translation of a document bearing the stamp of an authorized court interpreter is required when a document in a foreign language must be submitted or presented to a competent institution for the purpose of exercising certain rights or proving certain facts.

The process of compiling certified translation of a document is governed by the Ordinance on Permanent Court Interpreters issued by the Croatian Ministry of Justice (Official Gazette 88/08).

Even though authorized court interpreters translate texts delivered in different formats, including certified or uncertified copies, as well as scanned or faxed documents – with the text of attestation statement specifying the nature of the original document, we strongly recommend that the source language document be submitted in its original form. The reason for this is that embossed stamps or watermarks, as crucial components of every official translation, are not usually clearly visible on a copied or scanned version of the document, which can create difficulties for the court interpreter. Besides, official state bodies, such as different registrar’s offices, require that documents be submitted in their original form.

To put it simply: certified translation is a translation bearing the stamp and signature of an authorized court interpreter.