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Greek translation services deliver certified German ⇄ Greek documents, produced by sworn, court-authorised translators for authorities, courts and inheritance matters here. Because a German Regional Court (Landgericht) appoints each translator, registry offices, the courts and probate proceedings accept the certification without a further step. Names are transliterated to the required standard, and Greece and Cyprus paperwork is handled alike. Pricing is transparent from €0.99 per standard line.
Native Greek specialists · ELOT 743 / ISO 843 transliteration · certified translations recognised by German authorities
Short & clear
Greek forms its own branch of the Indo-European family and has been written for some three millennia in the Greek alphabet — with three genders, four cases and a final-sigma quirk (σ inside a word, ς at the end). Whether it is a birth certificate for naturalisation, a will and land-registry extract for an inheritance in Greece, a diploma for recognition or a contract with a Greek partner: the work is done by native Greek specialists with a proven field, precisely and in both directions.
We work in both directions and both pairings. Greek ⇄ German is what German authorities and courts need when Greek documents are submitted certified — including standard-compliant transliteration of names. Greek ⇄ English covers international life and business, for addressees in Greece and Cyprus or partners who work in English.
Who it's for
Most people who search for this in English are fluent Greek speakers dealing with a German system — or internationals who use English as the working language. Both are covered.
Birth, marriage and name-change certificates, diplomas and police records for a registry office (Standesamt), the immigration office or recognition of qualifications — as a certified German translation with the name transliterated to the required standard.
Diplomas, transcripts, references and company papers your university, employer or a partner abroad expects in English rather than German. Same specialists, same care with the alphabet and terminology.
Wills, land-registry extracts, powers of attorney and certificates of inheritance for authorities, notaries or courts in Greece — in the form valid there, with names reconciled across passport and documents.
German certificates, contracts and rulings to be presented to authorities, courts or family in Greece or Cyprus — in standard modern Greek (Dimotiki).
Language & script
German registry offices generally require a letter-faithful transliteration of Greek names to ISO 843; the Greek passport follows the national standard ELOT 743, and in everyday life many carry a pronunciation- or English-based form — so Γεώργιος becomes, depending on the source, Georgios, Yorgos, Giorgos or George. Where the versions diverge, an authority has reason to question the identity.
We apply the required standard — for the registry office usually ISO 843 — and note the passport spelling, so all forms are unambiguously assigned to the same person. Modern Greek (Dimotiki) uses a single accent (the monotonic system) since 1982; older texts and church certificates stand in the polytonic system with several accents and breathings, and official documents into the 1970s are often written in the archaic high register Katharevousa. For official use, an authorised translator issues a certified translation; whether an apostille is also required, we check in advance — Greece and Cyprus are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, and it is issued by the competent authority, not by the translation agency.
Quality you only notice at the receiving end
It is not the grammar that traps you, but the script, the transliteration and the register. These pitfalls separate a native professional translation from one passed through — each DE⇄EL-specific and demonstrable.
| Pitfall | Why it goes wrong | How the FÜD solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Transliteration: ISO 843 vs. ELOT 743 vs. passport | The registry office wants ISO 843 (Γεώργιος → Georgios), the passport carries the ELOT 743 form, relatives write "Yorgos" or "George". Where the versions diverge, the authority doubts the identity. | We apply the required standard and note the passport spelling, so all forms are assigned to the same person. |
| Katharevousa read as modern Greek | Documents into the 1970s are often in the archaic Katharevousa, with grammar and vocabulary that differ from today's Dimotiki. Read as modern Greek, terms and endings are misconstrued. | Native specialists familiar with Katharevousa render older certificates in their historical register, not by modern analogy. |
| Polytonic accents and breathings dropped | Older and church documents use the polytonic system (several accents, the rough and smooth breathings). Stripped or misread, a word or name shifts. | The polytonic marks are read correctly and their bearing on the word retained. |
| Final sigma ς confused with σ | Greek writes σ inside a word and ς at the end (Οδυσσέας). Mixed up, a name looks wrong to the receiving office. | The correct sigma form is set by position, and names checked character by character against the source. |
| Cases and genders flattened | Greek has three genders and four cases; endings carry who acts on whom. Rebuilt from German word order, relations in an official text go wrong. | We write from Greek case grammar, with the correct endings, not reconstructed from German. |
| Greek ≠ Cypriot administrative usage | Greece and Cyprus share the standard language but differ in some administrative terms and document forms. The wrong convention misses the receiving body. | We set the terminology and document form for the target country — Greece or Cyprus — deliberately. |
| Certification abroad ≠ German authorisation | A German court-authorised translator is not automatically admitted in Greece, and for use there the apostille question and local forms differ. | We clarify where the document applies and set the right form — a certified translation for Germany, or the route valid in Greece or Cyprus, with the apostille checked in advance. |
None of these is a simple spelling slip — most survive any spell-check. They arise where an old alphabet, competing transliteration standards and a historical high register meet German administrative practice, and they only surface at the receiving end: the registry office, the Greek court, the recognition body. That is where native professional translation earns its place.
Three spellings, one person — the authority needs them reconciled.
So: native speakers with a field, the required transliteration standard, and passport-matched names.
Certification & recognition
For submission to German authorities and courts, a court-authorised translator (in German, ermächtigter Übersetzer, publicly authorised under German state law) produces a certified translation with stamp, signature and certification note — recognised nationwide, with names transliterated to the required standard.
For use in Greece or Cyprus, the local body sets the form; we clarify before the project which country the document is for and apply the valid route — following FÜD's documented quality process; where the service is delivered under DIN EN ISO 17100, the required second-person revision is included. Whether an apostille is additionally required (Greece and Cyprus are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention) we check in advance. The apostille itself is issued by the competent authority — the FÜD does not issue apostilles.
Use cases
Alphabet, target country and transliteration decide the terminology and the form of certification. Three common jobs — from the starting point to the result.
Registry office & family
Inheritance in Greece
Study in English
Quote & price
We review volume, field, language direction and transliteration and name a binding fixed price. Standard certificates are usually a flat fee per document; longer texts are priced per standard line — certification on request, advance PDF and postal delivery included.
| Native Greek professional translation | ✓included |
| Standard-compliant transliteration (ELOT 743 / ISO 843) of names | ✓included |
| Certification by an authorised translator on request | ✓included |
| Advance PDF & postal delivery of the original | ✓included |
| Quality management & final check | ✓included |
Greek is priced in language Group 2, from € 0.99 per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces); we name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →
Greek documents & texts
We translate Greek – German and Greek – English – from certified records to specialist texts. Commonly requested from Greek: ληξιαρχική πράξη γέννησης (birth certificate), ληξιαρχική πράξη γάμου (marriage certificate), άδεια οδήγησης (driving licence), πτυχίο (diploma), ποινικό μητρώο (police clearance certificate).
FAQ
My name appears as Georgios in the passport but the office wanted ISO 843 — they set the standard form and noted the passport spelling, so there were no questions about my identity. The certified translation was accepted at once.
G. Papadopoulos · naturalisation, Stuttgart
Next
Work with us
Our Greek translations are produced by native-speaker specialists — the reason German authorities, universities and courts accept them without queries. Beyond the language itself, that rests on German at C2 level, a specialist field the translator can defend, and — for certified work — court authorisation. If you bring that combination rather than bilingualism alone, we work with Greek translators employed and freelance, and the way in is also open through an internship.
The path
Native Greek is your starting capital; the market rewards what you build on top. German at C2 — the level at which you read a German ruling or medical report without hesitation — is the real gate, because certified work means rendering official German with precision. Add a field you can defend (law, medicine, technology, finance) and its terminology. That combination, not language alone, is what a registry office or a Greek court actually relies on.
Why it holds up
For certified translations you apply to the competent Regional Court (Landgericht) to be authorised under state law. And Greek is exacting, specialist work: competing transliteration standards, the historical Katharevousa and polytonic register, and passport-exact names. Careful human work here is what the receiving authority requires.
FÜD