Everything English speakers need to know about sworn translation for French administrations: legal framework, accepted documents, apostille procedures, pricing, and rejection avoidance. Written by Legal230 legal experts.
If you are moving to France, marrying a French citizen, applying for French nationality, enrolling at a French university, or exchanging a foreign driving licence, you will almost certainly be asked for a certified translation (in French: traduction assermentée, traduction certifiée or traduction jurée) of your foreign-language documents.
A certified translation in France is a translation produced by a sworn translator · a court-appointed professional listed on the official register of a French Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel). The translator stamps, signs and binds the translation to a copy of your original document, giving the translation the same legal value as the source.
French and English use several interchangeable terms for what is legally a single, well-defined concept. All of the following refer to the same document produced by the same kind of professional:
Note that "certified translation" has a different meaning in the United States, the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries, where it can refer to any translation accompanied by a signed statement of accuracy (often by the translator themselves or by a notary). These are NOT valid for French administrative procedures. French authorities recognise only translations by translators appointed by a French Court of Appeal.
The certified translation system in France rests on several layers of legislation:
This legal foundation explains why the certified translation has automatic legal value throughout France · not only in courts, but also before every administrative authority.
Only a sworn translator registered with a French Court of Appeal can produce a translation accepted by French administrations. To be registered, a translator must:
Who cannot produce a certified translation valid in France:
At Transdoc, every translator in our network is registered with a French Court of Appeal. We verify current registration before every assignment, so you can be certain your translation will be accepted.
The following documents almost always require certified translation when submitted to a French administration:
Not every foreign document requires translation. Two legal mechanisms exempt certain documents:
Citizens of European Union Member States benefit from EU Regulation 2016/1191, which abolishes the requirement for apostille and translation of public documents between EU Member States when they are accompanied by a multilingual standard form.
This applies to:
To use this exemption, request the multilingual form (formulaire standard multilingue) from the issuing authority in the EU country of origin. The form accompanies the original document and allows French authorities to read the structured fields directly.
Twenty-four countries have signed the Vienna Convention, which creates plurilingual civil status certificates (formula A for birth, B for marriage, C for death). These are accepted in France without translation.
Signatories include: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey.
Important: the UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ, Ireland, India, Nigeria, South Africa and most other English-speaking countries are NOT signatories. Documents from these countries always need certified translation.
Here is what happens between the moment you order a certified translation and the moment you file it at your prefecture:
An apostille is a special stamp added to a public document by the issuing country's designated authority, certifying that the document is authentic. It is required when presenting foreign documents in another country that is party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961.
For France, here is the rule:
Below is a summary for the main English-speaking countries Transdoc works with:
| Country | Authority that issues the apostille | Typical time | Typical fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Secretary of State of the state of issuance (federal documents: US Department of State, Washington DC) | 1–8 weeks depending on state | $5–$20 per doc |
| United Kingdom | FCDO · Legalisation Office (Milton Keynes) | 2 days (premium) to 3 weeks | £30–£75 |
| Canada | Global Affairs Canada (since 11 January 2024 · Canada joined the Hague Convention) | 15 business days | No fee at federal level |
| Australia | DFAT · Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Canberra + state offices) | 5–10 business days | A$102 per doc |
| New Zealand | DIA · Department of Internal Affairs (Wellington) | 5 working days | NZ$55 |
| Ireland | DFA Consular Services (but EU Regulation 2016/1191 usually applies) | Usually not required | - |
| India | MEA · Ministry of External Affairs (via outsourced centres) | 5–7 business days | ₹50 per doc + service fees |
| Nigeria | Federal Ministry of Justice + Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs; then legalisation at the French Embassy in Abuja (Nigeria is not a Hague party) | 3–6 weeks | Varies |
| South Africa | DIRCO · Department of International Relations and Cooperation | 1–3 weeks | Free (DIRCO) |
Certified translation pricing in France typically ranges from €35 to €120 per page, depending on:
At Transdoc, our transparent pricing starts at:
| Document | Standard (48h) | Express (24h) | Urgent (10h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth certificate (1 page) | €39 | €59 | €79 |
| Marriage certificate (1 page) | €49 | €69 | €89 |
| University diploma | €39 | €59 | €79 |
| Criminal record | €39 | €59 | €79 |
| Driver's licence | €39 | €59 | €79 |
| Divorce judgment (5+ pages) | From €89 | From €119 | From €149 |
| Naturalisation pack (5 docs) | €149 -25% | €219 | €289 |
All prices include certification, stamp, signature, digital PDF and tracked post of the paper original. No hidden fees.
After digital PDF delivery, the paper original arrives 24–72 hours later by French tracked post (or international shipping for addresses abroad, at an extra fee).
A valid certified translation for France has the following features:
To verify that a translator is still registered, you can consult the public list of your Court of Appeal (search "liste experts cour d'appel [city]"). The national list is held by the Cour de cassation.
Although translation rejection is rare (our acceptance rate is 98.7%), when it happens, the causes are consistent and avoidable:
A sworn translator (traducteur assermenté or traducteur expert judiciaire) is a court-appointed professional listed on the official register of a French Court of Appeal (Cour d'appel). They have taken an oath before the court and are authorised to produce translations with official legal value. The status is acquired through a formal application, review by the Court of Appeal, and oath-taking.
Yes. Any foreign-language civil status, academic or legal document submitted to a French prefecture, sub-prefecture, town hall, court or consulate must be accompanied by a certified French translation produced by a sworn translator registered with a French Court of Appeal. This applies to naturalisation, residence permits, marriage, PACS, university enrolment, driving licence exchange, and many other procedures.
No. US notary-public translations (and certified translations from the American Translators Association, NAATI, ITI, ATC or any other foreign professional body) are not legally accepted by French administrations. French authorities accept only translations produced by sworn translators listed on a French Court of Appeal register · regardless of how the translation is certified in the country of origin.
Certified translations in France typically range from €35 to €120 per page depending on the language pair, document complexity and turnaround. Transdoc offers straightforward civil status documents from €39 per page (48h standard), with express options at €59 (24h) and €79 (10h). Pack offers are available for multi-document procedures (naturalisation, marriage file, etc.).
Yes in most cases. Documents from outside the EU must be apostilled in the country of origin before being translated · the translator then translates both the document and the apostille. EU citizens benefit from Regulation 2016/1191 and can present civil status documents without apostille when accompanied by a multilingual standard form. Documents from non-Hague Convention countries require double legalisation.
The certified translation itself has no expiry date. However, most French administrations require the underlying civil status document (e.g. birth certificate) to be less than 3 months old (or 6 months for some procedures like PACS). The translation should therefore be recent relative to the issue date of the source document. If your source is older than the limit, request a fresh copy before translating.
No. Self-translations, machine translations (Google Translate, DeepL), translations by friends or by non-sworn professional translators have no legal value in France. Only a sworn translator registered with a French Court of Appeal can produce a translation accepted by French administrations.
Rejection is rare: at Transdoc, the first-submission acceptance rate is 98.7%. When it happens, it is usually for procedural reasons (source document too old, missing apostille, missing physical binding between translation and source) rather than translation quality. Transdoc redoes the translation free of charge when the rejection is due to a translation defect on our side.
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