English to German Translation

This direction comes into play when an English document has to be submitted to a German-speaking authority. The source text is usually a degree awarded in the UK or the USA, the English articles of association of an international company, a birth record issued in Ireland, or correspondence conducted in English; the target is Germany, Austria or the German-speaking canton of Switzerland. The first point to note is that this direction is wholly different from translation out of Turkish into German: here the source language is English, the target language is German, and the legal culture of the authority that will read the document is the German administrative tradition.

The typical applicant is someone who completed a first degree in the UK or the USA and has moved on to a Blue Card or work permit in Germany. To these are added companies obliged to present an English contract in German to a German or Austrian counterpart; families using the birth record of a child born in an English-speaking country for family reunification in Germany; and documents concerning the German subsidiary of a company established in the UK. What these people have in common is that the file in their hands is in English while the recipient wants German; the translation builds the bridge between those two worlds.

Challenges specific to this pair

Because both languages use the Latin alphabet, the transliteration of names causes no trouble; the real breaking points are format and legal terminology. In American documents the date is written month/day/year, so 03/04/2026 means 3 April to a German reader and 4 March in the source; that ambiguity can only be removed by writing the month out in words. Number format reverses as well: the English thousands comma and decimal point turn into their exact opposites in German, and unless something is done an amount can be out by a factor of a thousand. Units of measurement (mile, pound, Fahrenheit) are not converted into the metric system but explained in brackets; touching the numerical content of a document goes beyond the translator’s authority.

The hardest layer is legal language. Concepts of common law origin such as trust, consideration or joint venture have no exact counterpart in German civil law; they are explained by their function rather than word for word. In the same way, English degree titles (BSc, LLM, PhD) are not forced onto a German title; the institution that will assess recognition makes that decision itself, and the translator’s task is to convey the degree in its original form and explain it. The certified copy that German authorities expect does not match the certified copy of English documents exactly either, so the form of presentation is planned from the outset.

English source documents may come from several countries, each carrying a different format: in the USA documents are issued at state level, the UK uses a central registration system, and Ireland follows a separate template. That variety means the same information reaches us in different presentations, and all of it has to be conveyed with consistent terminology and layout on its way to a German authority. In relocation files in particular, the diploma, civil registry record, criminal record certificate and employment contract are requested together; having these documents translated in one place, with the same spelling of names and the same institutional equivalents, removes the risk of refusal that arises when different translators present the same person differently. The positions of seals, stamps and wet-ink signatures in the source document are indicated with a note in the translation; their content is translated, while their official function is preserved as it stands. Whether the English original has obtained, in its country of issue, the layer of certification the target German authority wants (an apostille, for example) must also be checked from the start; a missing apostille can invalidate even a flawless translation.

Which documents call for this direction

Education and employment files form the backbone of demand. In recognition and university applications the marking system is not converted but explained, while course descriptions are conveyed in full detail, because the assessing institution reads every course separately. In family and residence procedures, English civil registry records have to be translated with a name that stays consistent across the whole file.

• English diploma, transcript and course descriptions (recognition and university applications)
• English employment contract, reference and employment record
• English birth, marriage and criminal records (family and residence procedures)
• Commercial contract, declaration of conformity and company documents

Chain of certification

What decides the matter is the country of the target language. Germany looks for a translation by a court-sworn translator (beeidigter Übersetzer); Austria applies its own list of court-sworn translators, while Switzerland applies cantonal notarisation, and which canton the application goes to can change the form. The translation can be prepared by a sworn translator at our single office in Türkiye (Ankara Kızılay) and completed with notarisation and an apostille; final acceptance, however, is determined by the certification regime of the target country, and some authorities may ask for the translation to be redone locally.

Telling us which institution the document will be submitted to before you send it means the right level of certification can be chosen from the start. You can review the requirements by document type, upload your document to see the page count and the current price from the card above, and compare unit prices item by item.

This page is for general information; the exact price and delivery date become clear once the document has been uploaded. Ask the competent authority to confirm before you apply.