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legal translations - certified legal translator English German and 75 more languages

Fields › Legal & Court

Legal Translation Services for Law & Court.

Legal translation of contracts, judgments, terms and conditions and commercial-register extracts is handled by specialist legal translators who also know the target country's legal system, and certified by a sworn, court-authorised German translator wherever a court or authority requires it. For law firms, companies, authorities and courts. From €0.89 per standard line.

  • Sworn translatorswith certification note
  • Court-prooflegal terminology
  • Lawyer-linguistsdomain experts
  • 4.6 · Trustpilot
Customer servicePrices 0800 3333-3433

Contracts, judgments, filings & terms · legal terminology to the target legal system · certified for court and authority where required · NDA before we view your data on request

DIN EN ISO 17100registered · Reg. 7U517
Authorised translatorsCertification note · attested
ConfidentialGDPR-compliant · NDA on request
Price up frontbinding fixed price

Short & clear

Why legal texts need specialist legal translators.

Reviewed by specialists · FÜD editorial team · kept current

In legal texts every word counts. A single mistranslated clause can shift rights, deadlines or liability. That is why at the FÜD your text is handled by translators who specialise in law — our legal translators — who know not only the language but the legal system of the target country, on request with a four-eyes review.

Legal systems differ: a concept from the common law often has no one-to-one equivalent in German law. We render the legal substance correctly and transparently, secure terminology through glossaries and translation memories, and flag differences between systems rather than papering over them.

The legally sound translation of contracts, judgments, patents and official documents by specialist legal translators is one of our core competencies — as are legally relevant business papers such as annual reports and financial statements.

Who it's for

For everyone who depends on every word.

Legal translation is rarely a private one-off. It runs across firms, authorities and companies that need consistent terminology and clearly assigned responsibility — and, where a body requires it, certification.

Law firms & legal departments

Large volumes and tight deadlines, consistent terminology across matters — on request under a framework agreement with a fixed contact.

Authorities & parliaments

Multilingual, highly binding documents with clearly assigned responsibility and a transparent review process.

NGOs & international organisations

Sensitive content across many language directions — treated confidentially, terminologically consistent and delivered on time.

Notaries & courts

Notarised deeds, court proceedings and summonses — on request by court-authorised translators, and by sworn court interpreters where the body requires spoken interpreting.

Tax advisors & auditors

Annual accounts, audit reports and financial documents — terminologically consistent and confidential, in many language directions.

Private clients

Individual contracts, judgments or official decisions — at a binding fixed price and, where a body requires it, certified.

Why expertise matters

When a legal term has no counterpart in the target system.

Legal systems are not congruent — between the common law and German law in particular, a literal translation often misleads. A few classic pitfalls of legal translation and how our legal translators handle them. The decisive approach always depends on the specific document and target country.

Legal terms without a direct equivalent and how the FÜD translates them
Term (common law / EN)Why it rarely maps 1:1How the FÜD translates it
ConsiderationThe common-law doctrine of consideration has no counterpart in this form in German contract law.Rendered by describing its substance rather than equating it with Gegenleistung — its function in the contract is preserved.
TrustThe Anglo-American trust has no congruent equivalent in German civil law.Rendered explanatorily according to context, not flatly as Treuhand.
EquityIn the common law it names a distinct body of law alongside "law" — not "equity capital" or mere "fairness".Determined from context and, where needed, placed with a translator's note.
TortLaw of delict, but not congruent with the German provisions on delictual liability.Rendered as delictual liability with an eye to the specific claim in question.
Solicitor / BarristerThe split English legal profession does not correspond to the unified German Rechtsanwalt.Reproduced true to role rather than flattened to "lawyer".
DeedA particularly formal instrument — more than a simple "document" or "contract".Marked as a formal instrument, so its formal character stays visible.
Ltd. ↔ GmbHThe legal forms are not identical; equating them can mislead in law.The legal form is kept and explained where needed, not "Germanised".

Why a "linguistically able layperson" won't do here

None of these is a spelling error — most survive any check of the language alone. They arise at the seam between two legal orders, and they only surface where it matters: before the court, the authority, the contracting party. That is exactly where a specialist legal translator earns their place.

Typical documents

What we translate in the legal field.

Contracts & terms

  • Sale, supply & employment contracts
  • Terms & conditions & privacy notices
  • NDAs / confidentiality agreements
  • Powers of attorney & contractual documents

Court & authority

  • Judgments, orders & court decisions
  • Statements of claim, indictments, filings
  • Penalty orders, official notices & summonses
  • Expert opinions & statements

Company & statute

  • Commercial-register extracts
  • Articles of association & shareholder resolutions
  • Statutes, draft legislation & regulations
  • Petitions

Compliance & IP

  • Guidelines & policies
  • Patents & patent applications
  • Legal textbooks & specialist articles
  • Annual reports & financial statements

One clause wrong — and the contract means something else.

So: specialist legal translators, controlled terminology and a final check on every project.

Certification & recognition

Certified for court and authority — and interpreting in court, apart.

Reviewed by specialists · FÜD editorial team · kept current

Many legal documents must be submitted to courts or authorities as a certified translation — produced by a sworn, authorised translator (in German, ermächtigter Übersetzer, authorised by a German court under Section 142 (3) ZPO), with stamp, signature and a certification note, at a fixed price including delivery. This applies to written legal documents: contracts, judgments and filings.

Spoken interpreting in the courtroom is a separate service: it is provided by a sworn court interpreter under Section 189 GVG, not by a written translation. We clarify at the outset whether you need a certified written translation or interpreting in court, and assign the right professional — following the DIN EN ISO 17100 process with a specialist final check.

For international use we check in advance whether an apostille is additionally required. The apostille itself is issued by the competent authority — the FÜD does not issue apostilles.

Use cases

Legal translations: three typical cases from practice.

Field of law, target country and receiving body decide the terminology, form and whether certification is required. Three common jobs — from the starting point to the result.

Court & authority

Judgment & filing for submission to a court

Starting point
A judgment or statement of claim has to be submitted to a court or authority that requires a certified translation of the written document.
Process
A specialist legal translator renders the text to the target legal system; a sworn, authorised translator (under state law) adds stamp, signature and certification note.
Result
A certified translation the receiving body accepts — terminology intact, differences between systems flagged rather than hidden.

Corporate & M&A

Contract & commercial-register extract, DE ⇄ EN

Starting point
A cross-border transaction needs contracts, a commercial-register extract and powers of attorney rendered precisely — often at short notice and in several languages at once.
Process
Legal terms stay demonstrable and are secured through glossaries and translation memories; a legal specialist checks the terminology across the whole document package.
Result
Documents that are legally readable without replacing one legal system's institutions with another's — consistent from due diligence to signing.

Confidential

Compliance policy for an international group

Starting point
A company needs guidelines, policies and NDAs translated for foreign subsidiaries — sensitive content that must not leave the agreed processing route.
Process
Assigned specialists are bound to confidentiality; on request an NDA is signed and the work is done entirely without machine translation or AI, with a four-eyes review.
Result
A rollout that is terminologically consistent and confidential across every language direction — audit-ready.

Quote & price

What does a legal translation cost?

Every legal document is different. We review volume, language direction, field of law and deadline and name a binding fixed price — and, for ongoing needs, a framework offer with fixed terms. Professional translation, certification on request, and PDF advance and postal delivery are included.

Binding fixed price
from € 0.89 / standard linespecialist legal translation · certification on request
Price up front · no unannounced extra costs
Specialist legal translation to the target legal system✓included
Terminology via glossaries & translation memories✓included
Certification by a sworn, authorised translator on request✓included
PDF advance & postal delivery of the original✓included
Quality assurance & final check✓included

Legal texts start from € 0.89 / 0.99 / 1.09 per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces) by language group; we name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →

Request a quote

FAQ

Legal translation – frequently asked questions.

Who may translate legal texts and contracts?

A translator who specialises in law and knows the target country's legal system should do the work – not a linguistically able layperson. Where authorities or courts require it, a court-authorised translator (ermächtigter Übersetzer, publicly authorised under German state law) produces the certified version.

Is a certified translation required for court or authorities?

In many cases yes: for submission to courts, offices and authorities a certified translation is usually required. We check the requirements of the receiving body in advance; for internal use the professional translation alone is often enough.

Is the target country's legal system taken into account?

Yes. Our legal translators do not translate word for word but take the target country's legal system into account and flag differences between systems. Terminology is secured through glossaries and translation memories, on request with a four-eyes review.

How do you keep sensitive legal documents confidential?

Assigned specialists are bound to confidentiality; your data is processed only for the agreed purpose and only to the extent necessary. On request we sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) and handle the project entirely without machine translation or AI.

What does a legal translation cost?

The price depends on volume, language direction, field of law and deadline. After a review you receive a binding fixed price, and a framework offer for ongoing needs; professional translation, certification on request and PDF advance and postal delivery are included. Legal texts start from € 0.89 per standard line.

Do you also provide interpreting for court hearings?

Spoken interpreting in the courtroom is a separate service, provided by a sworn court interpreter under Section 189 GVG; written legal translation is certified with a certification note. Tell us which you need and we assign the right professional.
The English judgment was rendered to the terminology of German law, with the differences between the two systems flagged rather than glossed over. The certified translation was accepted by the court without a query.
★★★★★

Legal department · cross-border litigation, Frankfurt

Next

Where to go next: services, fields, documents and languages.

Services

Interpreter serviceProofreading & editingWebsite translationAcademic & research translationtranslate legal documents

Specialist fields

Engineering translationMedical translationPharma translatorMarketing translator

Documents

Marriage certificate translationDivorce certificate translationDegree recognitionContract translation

Languages

Certified English–German translationTurkish–German translationPolish–German translationHungarian–German translation

Work with us

A legal translator with a real specialism? Work with us.

Fluent in a language pair is where it starts, not where it ends. Legal work rewards translators who can read a ruling in the source language and render it into the terminology of the target legal system — and, for certified work, a court-authorised sworn translator. We work continually with specialist legal translators, employed or freelance.

The path

Language pair, plus a body of law you can defend

Command of the pair is your starting capital; the market rewards the legal knowledge you build on top. Reading a judgment, a contract or a filing without hesitation is the real gate, because legal work means rendering binding text with precision, not just understanding it. Add a field you can defend — contract, corporate, criminal or IP law — and the terminology that comes with it. That combination, not fluency alone, is what a court or a legal department actually relies on.

Why it holds up

Authorisation, and the expertise behind it

For certified translations you apply to the competent Regional Court (Landgericht) to be authorised under state law. And legal text is where a specialist earns their place: concepts that have no one-to-one equivalent across systems, a mistranslated clause that shifts liability, terminology that has to be right the first time. Careful human work here is not nostalgia — it is what the receiving body requires.

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