The CAO defines an official translation in a single sentence. Here is that rule in full, the deadlines around it, and how QQI recognition, direct university applications and SUSI grants fit in.
Students applying to Irish third level with a Matura, an Abitur, a Bacalaureat or a Brazilian Certificado de Conclusão do Ensino Médio usually ask the same thing first: who is allowed to translate my results? Ireland has no sworn-translator system, so the answer is not a list of authorised individuals. The Central Applications Office answers it in one line, printed in its 2026 Handbook and on its information sheet for Other School Leaving Examinations:
That definition is useful well beyond the CAO. Admissions pages across Irish third level ask for an "official" or "certified" translation, and the CAO's sentence is the clearest official statement of what that means in the Irish admissions system. This guide walks through the CAO rules, the separate question of recognising a qualification through QQI, how universities handle direct applications, and the translation rules for SUSI grant applications.
The CAO Handbook's section on sending documents sets out the ground rules. Certificates and transcripts should be supplied in their original language and show dates, subjects and results. They should be A4 photocopies rather than originals, except for Graduate Medicine, where original transcripts of results for all years are required. The CAO does not return original documents. Then comes the translation rule:
Two points follow from that sentence. The translation goes in addition to the photocopy of the original, never instead of it. And a translation is only needed where the qualification was not issued in English or Irish; results issued bilingually with an English version may not need one.
The CAO's Entry Requirements Criteria for EU/EFTA/UK applicants repeats the principle from the institutions' side:
The same guidelines warn that "in the absence of these documents and translations the application may not be processed", and that an institution may request verification from the issuing authority of any details on the documents you present.
For examinations already completed, the CAO says evidence should reach it within 10 days of registering. Results of examinations taken in the current year must be sent as soon as they are available and must be with the CAO a minimum of 12 days before the relevant offer round. Institutions may consider later documents, but there is a risk they will not be considered until a subsequent round.
In practice, that means the translation should be ordered the day your results are published. A translation of a school leaving certificate is usually one or two pages, so it fits within our 24-hour standard turnaround.
Translation tells an admissions officer what your certificate says. Recognition tells them what it is worth. In Ireland, academic recognition advice comes from NARIC Ireland, which is hosted by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI). Its free online database compares foreign qualifications to award types and levels on the Irish National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), a ten-level system that runs from Junior Cycle certificates up to doctoral degrees.
QQI is careful about what a comparability statement is and is not:
QQI also points out that comparability statements are generic rather than personalised, and that the decision on recognising a qualification rests with the employer, institution or competent authority. If your qualification is not in the database, you can request advice through an online form. QQI does not comment on professional qualifications or regulated professions; for nursing, medicine or health and social care, see our guide to NMBI, CORU and Medical Council translations.
Not every applicant goes through the CAO. Citizens Information notes that for postgraduate courses you generally apply directly to the university or college, and non-EU students should ask the admissions office whether to apply directly or through the CAO. Some institutions require applicants presenting non-EU qualifications to apply directly rather than through the CAO.
Each institution publishes its own document rules for direct applications, so check the admissions pages of the university you are applying to. What you can rely on is the principle that runs through the CAO system: a complete translation, prepared by a professional translation service, submitted together with a copy of the original.
Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) assesses grant applications on documents such as birth certificates, evidence of nationality and residence, and income. Its guidance on submitting documents says it only requires photocopies of original documents, and adds:
For specific items, the wording varies slightly. A foreign-language birth certificate "should be accompanied by an official English translation", while evidence of foreign income, such as payslips, tax statements or social security payments, "should be accompanied by a certified English or Irish translation". Pensions paid from overseas follow the same rule. If you are sending income evidence, see our page on pension and income documents and on bank statements.
The CAO normal closing date for 2026 applications was 1 February at 5pm (€50 fee), with a discounted €35 fee until 20 January and late applications to 1 May (€65).
Documents sent to the CAO are shared electronically with the institutions you apply to, so you do not need to send duplicates for each one.
The CAO Handbook says candidates born and fully educated outside the Republic of Ireland who present qualifications other than the Irish Leaving Certificate for matriculation are automatically exempt from Irish.
NARIC Ireland's database lists over 2,000 qualifications and offers user guides in languages including Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian.
Documents from a previous year's CAO application cannot be transferred to a new application.
A good translation for the CAO or a university is complete, including grading scales, stamps, signatures and any explanatory notes on the certificate. It keeps subject names recognisable, so an admissions officer can match them to entry requirements, and it reproduces grades exactly as printed rather than converting them. Conversion to CAO points is the institution's job, not the translator's.
Our translations are prepared by professional translators and come with a signed Certificate of Accuracy, the translation date, the translator's name and signature, our company address, phone number and email, a company stamp and a reference number. That is what "a professional translation service provider" looks like on paper.
The price is €29.95 per page (up to 300 source words), and most orders of one to three pages are delivered within 24 hours, with a 12-hour service on request. You receive a PDF by email, which you can upload to your CAO account. If a receiving body rejects the translation, we revise it free of charge or refund you in full. Start an order, or get a quote for a full set of transcripts. We work in more than 100 languages.
Checked 25 September 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the receiving body before you apply.
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