𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 3 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘴🕒
When it comes to legal content, the stakes are high. Whether you’re dealing with contracts, compliance paperwork, court documents or regulatory filings, even a small mistranslation can lead to delays and disputes.
That’s why translating documents for legal compliance requires deep subject knowledge, strict accuracy and an understanding of jurisdiction-specific rules.
In this blog, we’ll guide you through how to translate legal documents properly and how to avoid the common pitfalls that can put your organisation at risk.
We cover:
- Why legal translation requires a specialist approach
- When legal translation is required
- And how to translate documents for legal compliance
Why legal translation requires a specialist approach
Firstly, it's important to note that legal translation isn’t like general/standard translation.
It involves:
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Technical terminology – from contractual clauses to regulatory references
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Strict formatting – documents often follow legal structures or templates
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Jurisdiction-specific language – legal systems differ between countries
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No room for ambiguity – every word must be interpreted precisely
Translators need more than language skills. They also need training in legal systems and practices.
At Wolfestone, all legal translations are carried out by specialist linguists with legal backgrounds, and reviewed under our ISO 17100 and ISO 9001 quality processes.
When is legal translation required?
Contracts Service agreements NDAs GDPR documentation Terms and conditions Court submissions Compliance procedures Patent filings Immigration paperwork And more.Often, these documents will be submitted to courts, regulators or overseas partners.
How to translate legal documents compliantly
1. Work with legal translation experts
Not all translators are qualified to handle legal content.
Make sure you work with a localisation provider who:
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Uses native speakers with legal training
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Understands your target country’s legal system
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Can provide certified, sworn or notarised translations if required
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Has experience in your industry or sector
2. Ensure proper formatting and structure
Legal documents often need to follow a specific format, from clause numbering to layout.
Your translation agency should:
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Match the structure of the original
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Preserve headers, sub-sections and references
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Adapt country-specific terms appropriately
In some cases, you may also need multilingual DTP to match formatting for official submission.
3. Confirm certification or notarisation needs
Certain legal documents require:
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Certified translations – signed and stamped by an authorised provider
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Notarised translations – where the translator swears an oath in front of a notary
Some documents may also need to be sworn or apostilled.
Check with the receiving institution first, as requirements vary.
4. Keep compliance in mind (e.g. GDPR)
If you're translating documents that contain personal or sensitive information, you’ll also need to consider:
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Data protection regulations (e.g. GDPR)
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Secure file handling
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Information security standards
Legal translation leaves no room for guesswork.
If your documents are going before a regulator, court or legal partner, you need absolute accuracy and total clarity on what’s required.
At Wolfestone, we handle legal translation for global law firms, in-house legal teams and public sector bodies.
Every project includes:
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Specialist legal linguists
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Certified, sworn, apostilled and notarised options
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Full QA and review
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Secure, ISO-certified processes
Need help with legal documents? We’re happy to provide a free consultation or a test translation if you’d like to see our quality for yourself.
Get in touch for a free consultation, quote or test sample.
𝘒𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 2021 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘨𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵. 𝘏𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴.
