English to Czech Translation

This direction is used when an English document has to be put before Czechia. The typical applicant submits a diploma, a registry record or a company document issued in an English-speaking country to a university, an employer or an authority in Czechia. Unlike the de|cs pair, the source is English rather than German; the most defining feature of the Czech target, however, is the same: a court translator binds the translation to the original document with a ribbon and seals it.

Concrete examples make the direction clear: taking a degree awarded abroad through recognition in Czechia, a foreign company entering the Czech market with its registry documents, criminal record and income documents submitted for a work permit. The source carries Anglo-Saxon reality, while the target assesses it against the Czech administrative language.

Education and work files carry the weight in this direction; because the ribbon requirement is strictly applied, which documents are to be brought together in a single file is planned from the outset. That keeps the process from being delayed.

Translating these documents calls for Anglo-Saxon concepts to be settled into their Czech administrative counterparts, and for the requirement of physical form to be met.

What sets this direction apart is that the Czech court translator binds the translation to the original document with a ribbon and seals it; since that requirement of physical form is applied strictly, which documents are to be brought together in a single file and how the translation is to be laid out are planned from the outset.

English diploma and degree names are given in their original form with an explanation rather than by their counterpart within the Czech higher education framework; the recognition decision rests with the Czech authority. Credit information is preserved in a comparable form.

Because the Czech civil registry and administrative system rests on set forms of record, the personal details in the English document are conveyed in a way that fits that order; name, date and address details are given consistently.

In commercial and residence files the documents are submitted as a set; the company name, the names of the parties and the amounts are conveyed with exact consistency from one document to the next. That coherence is what makes the file to be bound with a ribbon look consistent.

Technical matters peculiar to English into Czech

English names are preserved in the Czech text in their original Latin spelling. Although women’s surnames may take the -ová ending when inflected in a Czech context, in an official document the surname as it appears in the passport governs; no ending is added at will.

Company forms (Ltd., LLC) are not turned automatically into the Czech s.r.o.; the original abbreviation is preserved and explained. English legal concepts are rendered in Czech according to their function.

Because the translation will be bound to the original document with a ribbon, the page layout has to be prepared in keeping with that physical requirement. Dates are adapted to day-month-year order and the decimal separator to a comma.

The signature and date details on the document are preserved in place. Across documents belonging to the same person the spelling of the name is kept consistent; English abbreviations are unpacked and, where necessary, given in brackets.

In diploma applications the degree and credit information is conveyed openly; English degree names are not forced into equivalence with a Czech degree but explained, and the decision rests with the Czech authority.

In commercial files the company name, the partners and the amounts have to be conveyed with exact consistency; registry numbers are not translated but given with a reference to the record. The scope of the file to be bound with a ribbon is settled at the outset.

In work permit files the date and the issuing authority of the criminal record and income documents are stated openly; the official wording in these documents is settled into the administrative formulas established in Czech rather than freely rewritten.

Because of the requirement of physical form, the layout is prepared on the understanding that the translation and the original document will be submitted together; the order of the pages and the position of the seal areas are preserved.

Which documents call for this direction

• Diplomas, transcripts and professional documents
• Birth, marriage and residence documents
• Company registry records and commercial contracts
• Work and residence application documents
• Criminal record and income documents

Because the ribbon requirement is strictly applied, which documents are to be brought together in a single file is planned from the outset. The degree and credit information is conveyed openly.

In commercial documents the company form and registry details are preserved in their original form. On criminal record documents the date and the issuing authority are stated openly.

Chain of certification

In Czechia the translation is done by a court-appointed translator (soudní tlumočník), who binds it to the original document with a ribbon and seals it; this requirement of form is applied strictly. A document arriving from the English-speaking source country is expected to carry an apostille.

To see these expectations and Czechia’s certification regime, look at the country page and the requirements for the document type. Tell us which documents are to come together in a single file, and the receiving institution, before you send them.

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

The account here sums up the typical case; notarisation and apostille steps are costed as separate items. Settling the form the institution wants at the outset saves repeat work later.