FAQ

Apostille

An Apostille certifies public documents. It is a legalisation of a document by a competent court, making it valid for use abroad.
In Croatia, an Apostille is obtained at the Municipal Civil Court, in the morning hours from Monday to Thursday. It usually takes one day, but if you urgently need an Apostille, we recommend submitting your document to the court early in the morning (by 9 AM) so that you can obtain it on the same day.

The goal of a certified translator – court interpreter is to create a translation that fully corresponds to the original text in terms of content, style, and terminology. Therefore, the translation process is approached very systematically and with a lot of effort and attention.

The process itself begins with client’s inquiry – by submitting the document. You can submit the document for translation to us personally (by visiting our office), via email at info@prijevodiadacta.com or through a form. After reviewing the document, we prepare a precise offer with specified deadlines and prices. Our offers are not binding, which means we do not start the translation process until we receive your acceptance of the offer. Upon written acceptance of the offer, we issue an invoice and commence the translation process.

Before translation, the received document needs to be carefully read and analysed.

Then we start the translation process. If it is a highly specialized text, if necessary, we contact the client to ensure content, style, and terminological consistency with the original text. In exceptional cases, it may be necessary to create a special dictionary of professional terminology.

The translated text is then forwarded for proofreading, which involves correcting spelling and grammatical errors and adjusting to the spirit of the language. It is important to emphasize that the proofreader is another authorized translator – a court interpreter. Research shows that it is extremely difficult to control the text you have written yourself. For this reason, another translator, who did not translate the text in question, ensures the stylistic and linguistic correctness of the translated text. Once the document has undergone proofreading, it is ready for delivery.

We then contact you again, and upon proof of payment, the completed translation is delivered via e-mail and/or by post. If the client wishes, the translation can also be picked up at our office.

Unverified translations are issued in paper or electronic format (.doc, .excel, or .ppt format). If the translator is provided with the text in electronic format, they can write over the original text. The goal is to follow the original document format (text layout) as closely as possible. If the text contains images, diagrams, photographs, etc., it is necessary to follow the client’s instructions. Typically, each text located in visual representations is translated in italics below the representation to which it pertains. In this case, the foreign language expression is provided along with its translation. Sometimes, if the format allows, we can directly input our translation into the visual representation. Special text formatting (e.g., bold, italics, underline) remains in the same places in the translated document. The standard format is as follows: font – Arial or Times New Roman 12 pt; spacing – 1.5; page numbering – bottom of the page, centred; margins – 2.5 cm.
However, in the case of a certified translation, we follow the format of the original document to ensure that the target audience (the people for whom the translation is intended) can visually navigate the documents.

The basic visual difference between a certified and uncertified translation is as follows:

  1. Cover Page: In the top right corner, we indicate the number of pages/sheets of the translation, the certification number, and the completion date. In the centre, we specify the language from which we are translating (in the target language, e.g., Certified Translation from English), and optionally, the type of document (e.g., Birth Certificate). In the bottom right corner, there is the stamp of the interpreter who prepared the translation.
  2. The translated text follows. On the last page of the translation, immediately after the translated text, there is a clause of the authorized translator – court interpreter guaranteeing that the translation fully corresponds to the original. The clause also includes the date and certification number, followed by the stamp and signature of the interpreter.
  3. Along with the certified translation, we attach the document we translated. We bind them together using a string that binds the translation, and then ensure the authenticity of the document by placing an additional stamp on its back. This last step is also the most important as it ensures that nothing can be added to or removed from the document, making our translation a legal instrument.
Court interpreter and notary public

Although both court interpreters and notaries public work with documents and certify them, their jobs are entirely different.

A notary public certifies facts contained in the document with their seal and signature – confirming that the signature on the document is correct, meaning it is not forged, confirming that a copy is identical to the original, or that the document is not forged; or they draft deeds regarding legal transactions and statements, facts witnessed, actions taken, or attended.

A court interpreter certifies with their seal and signature that the translation they have made is identical to the original. Thus, they translate documents or oral text to be valid in legal transactions, and with their signature and seal, they guarantee the accuracy of the translation.

To ensure the shortest possible turnaround time, we recommend that you provide us with all documents you wish to translate neatly photographed or scanned via email. It is important to specify the language for translation and the specific deadline (date and, if applicable, time) by which the translation must be completed. Upon reviewing the documents, we will respond with a quote. The quote includes the price, confirmation, or offer of the fastest next deadline (if we are unable to deliver the translation within the deadline you specified), and possibly any guidelines or questions. Our quotes are not binding, which means we do not proceed with the translation unless we receive a written confirmation of the quote. As we are sworn translators before the court, all information contained in the documents is kept strictly confidential.

When collecting the completed translation in person, the following information is important to us: the language from which we translated and the last name of the person who requested the translation.

Additionally, we can deliver translations by post or, depending on the situation, by DHL. In the case of sending the documents by post, it is necessary to provide the exact and full address, specify whether the shipment should be sent by registered mail, and pay shipping charges.

Precisely because the certification and binding guarantee that the translation fully corresponds to the original and that it is an authentic and legally valid document, a certified translation must always be bound.

There are documents that may not necessarily need to be certified in every situation, but this is determined by the institutions or officials to whom the translation is submitted for inspection. For example, if we are translating medical documentation as part of a legal dispute, it must be certified. However, if the translation is needed to present documents to a selected general practitioner, he (in very rare cases) may state that certification is not necessary.
Certified or not, every translation we produce is made by court interpreters – authorized translators.