What is a Certified Translation?
Many of our clients request “certified” translations, and they sometimes have questions about what our certification entails. All of our translations are put through the same processes and rigorous quality assurance checks whether or not they are certified. However, some industries require a certificate of translation.
McElroy’s certificates are notarized documents that are signed by an authorized agent of McElroy Translation and indicate that the translation has been professionally and competently translated. Our certifications are accepted by the U.S. PTO, the FDA, and other U.S. and international regulatory agencies.
Normally we provide our notarized certifications on behalf of the company and not a specific translator. We do this because the final translation product is a compilation of the efforts of many individuals: a translator provides the initial translation, a second qualified translator serves as editor, our proofreading department performs QA and verifies that no omissions exist, our production department finalizes the layout, and a proofreader performs a final quality assurance check.
Specialty Certificates
Most of our clients prefer an electronic version of our standard certificate, but we can also accommodate requests for hardcopy certificates, hardcopy certificates specific to certain countries such as India and Australia, and translator-signed certificates if necessary.
If you know you will need a translator-signed certificate, please let us know when you request your translation. If a translator-signed certificate is requested after the translation has been completed, the translator will be given a special assignment to review and certify the final translation. This additional step is necessary because the final translation is also the product of McElroy’s editing, production, and QA departments, so it differs from the translator’s draft. The special translator review requires additional time and expense that we’d like to help you avoid by asking you to tell us up front when you need a translator-signed certificate.
We are glad to work with you to make sure you have the type of certification you need and to answer any questions you may have about certifications. Please let us know when you initially request your translation, so that we can have the certificate ready to deliver to you when your translation is complete.