Dutch to German Translation

This direction is used when a Dutch document has to be put before a German-speaking country. The typical applicant moves to Germany, Austria or Switzerland with documents drawn up in the Netherlands or in the Flemish region of Belgium; the shared border of the two countries and cross-border employment keep this direction in frequent demand. The document carries the Dutch administrative order, while the authority that will read it assesses it under the German regime.

Concrete examples make the direction clear: a person seeking professional recognition in Germany with a Dutch diploma, a family carrying the registration of a child born in the Netherlands over to a German registry office, a business presenting the registry documents of a Dutch company to its German partner. What these documents have in common is that the Dutch administrative structure and name order are not directly readable for a German authority.

Cross-border day workers make up an important part of this direction; service, insurance and tax documents travel regularly between the institutions of the two countries. In those files, date ranges and employers’ titles are conveyed exactly.

Translating these documents is a matter of translating institutions and not only language; Dutch concepts are rendered according to their function within the German administrative order.

Because labour moves so heavily across the border region, a file in this direction often consists of several documents; service, insurance and civil registry papers are submitted together, and all of them are expected to be translated with one spelling of the name and with consistent terms. Consistency in surnames that carry a middle particle is watched with particular care.

Dutch institutional abbreviations are not carried into the German text as they stand; they are expanded and, where needed, given with the original form in brackets. In professional recognition files the curriculum and the practical hours are asked for as well, which enlarges the volume of translation.

In terms of length, the German rendering has fewer words but longer individual ones; where sealed documents leave little room, the problem of line breaking is solved by rebuilding the table layout. The address field is set out afresh to follow the German order for service of notice.

Technical matters peculiar to Dutch into German

The distinguishing problem of this pair is the tussenvoegsel: middle particles in Dutch surnames such as van, de or van der call for special treatment in alphabetical ordering and in the layout of the name field. Dutch records may hold these particles in a field separate from the surname; as they pass into a German form, the whole as it stands in the passport is preserved, and the particle is not arbitrarily glued to the surname or thrown away.

The Dutch digraph ij counts as a single sound and is preserved. Dutch, like German, builds compound nouns, but their structures do not coincide; terms are rendered by their function and not word for word.

The grading system (1–10) is not converted to the German scale but explained, because 10 is the highest achievement and a German reader may read it the wrong way round. Institutional names are rendered according to their function.

The seal and registration date on the document are preserved in place; registry numbers are not translated but given with a reference to the record. Dates are written in day-month-year order and with full stops.

Since the Dutch diploma system rests on the European higher education framework, the credit and level information in the transcript is preserved openly; the German recognition body assesses on those data.

It is stated openly that on the Dutch 1–10 grading scale 10 is the highest achievement; if the direction of the scale is left unstated, a German reader may read the result the wrong way round.

Across documents belonging to the same person, the form of the particle and of the name is kept consistent; a particle glued to the surname in one document and separated in another makes the identity match harder.

Which documents call for this direction

• Diplomas, the cijferlijst (transcript of marks) and course descriptions
• Birth, marriage and civil registry records (uittreksel)
• Employment, service and criminal record (VOG) documents
• Pension and social security correspondence
• Trade registry and tax documents

It is stated openly that on the Dutch 1–10 grading scale 10 is the highest achievement. In diploma files a detailed breakdown of the courses and credits is needed for the German recognition body to make its assessment.

In family files the consistency of surnames that carry a middle particle is preserved. In commercial documents the company type and the registry number are given in their original form.

Chain of certification

If the target is Germany or Austria, a translation by a court-sworn translator is expected; if it is Switzerland, cantonal notarisation. A document arriving from the Netherlands or Belgium has to carry an apostille.

To see these expectations and the certification regime of the target country, look at the country page and at the requirements for the document type. Tell us the spelling of the middle particle in the surname as it stands in the passport, and the receiving institution, before you send the document.

Upload your document to see the page count and the current fee, and compare the unit prices.

The values here are for a typical file; the page count and the difficulty of the subject may affect the result. For the conditions in force, look at the institution’s current list of documents.