Ireland has no statute and no register of translators, but ISD and the DFA publish exactly what a certified translation must show. Here is that wording, who can sign it, and the three situations where it is not enough.
Ask five people in Ireland what a "certified translation" is and you will hear about stamps, solicitors, notaries and a mysterious official register. None of that is quite right. Ireland has no statute that defines a certified translation and no state list of translators. What it does have is a short, consistent set of instructions published by Immigration Service Delivery (ISD) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and most other Irish bodies follow the same logic. Once you know those instructions, you can tell in a minute whether a translation will do the job.
ISD's guidance on certified documents starts with a one-line definition that the DFA repeats almost word for word on its Foreign Births Register pages:
Two things stand out. First, the definition covers both copies and translations, which is why people confuse the two. Second, what makes a translation "certified" is not a special qualification or a register entry. It is a signed, dated statement by a recognised person or organisation that the translation is true to the original.
ISD separates the people who can certify a copy from those who can certify a translation. For copies it lists a solicitor, a notary public, a Commissioner for Oaths and a Peace Commissioner. For translations the test is different:
In practice this means a solicitor cannot turn your own translation into a certified one by stamping it, and a translator cannot certify that a photocopy is a true copy of your passport. They are two separate acts, often done by two separate people. Many applications need both: a certified copy of the original (from a solicitor or Commissioner for Oaths) and a certified translation of it (from a professional translator).
It also means you cannot translate your own documents, even if you are fluent in both languages. The whole point of certification is that someone independent, with a professional reputation to lose, stands behind the accuracy.
ISD tells applicants to ask the translator to do four things. The translator should:
The DFA's Foreign Births Register guidance uses the same steps and adds a fifth, which is worth meeting even when nobody asks for it:
ISD's visa pages phrase the same idea as a checklist. Each translated document must contain confirmation from the translator that it is an accurate translation of the original, the date of the translation, the translator's full name and signature, and the translator's contact details. If you compare the three versions, the common core is clear: an accuracy statement, a date, a name, a signature and a way to contact the person who signed.
Irish officials do not keep a register of translators to check against, so the contact details are the verification mechanism. An officer who doubts a translation can ring or email the translator or company. A certificate with only a first name and a mobile number gives them nothing to verify, and that is often the real reason a translation is queried.
English and Irish are both official languages, so a document already in either language needs no translation for an Irish body. The Passport Office, for example, asks that foreign proofs of name and address "must be accompanied by a translation into English or Irish" (DFA, documents for adult passport applications). Translations for Irish use are almost always into English, but the rules do not rule out Irish.
You will see slightly different words elsewhere, but the substance rarely changes:
ISD asks for a "full translation", and officials read that literally. A certified translation should cover every stamp, seal, marginal note, handwritten annotation and the reverse of the document if anything is printed there. Illegible parts should be marked as illegible rather than skipped. Names should be spelled exactly as they appear in the person's passport, because a single transliteration mismatch between a birth certificate and a passport is enough to trigger a query.
Layout matters less than completeness, but a translation that follows the order of the original is far easier for an officer to check line by line.
For most Irish uses, a certified translation with the details above is the whole requirement. There are three important exceptions.
The Rules of the Superior Courts require a foreign language affidavit to be translated "by a translator who is suitably qualified for the purpose", and the translator must file their own affidavit setting out their qualifications and confirming that the translation is accurate (Order 40, rule 18). A certificate of accuracy does not replace that affidavit. Our court and probate guide explains the process.
ISD visa pages add a rule that appears nowhere else: translations done outside the EEA or Switzerland must also be attested or apostilled in the country where the translation was made. For a visa application, our translation is certified and signed in the EU, inside the EEA, so ISD does not need it apostilled, although visa documents must still be sent as hard copies. The visa translation guide sets it out in full.
If you want the DFA to apostille a translation of an Irish document for use in another country, its rules are strict:
That route needs an Irish notary as well as an Irish-registered translator, and we do not offer it. Our apostille guide explains the alternatives.
If your birth, marriage or death certificate was issued in another EU country, you can ask the issuing office for an EU multilingual standard form. ISD states that a translation is not required where one is provided. Many applicants never hear about this option. Read the multilingual standard forms guide before you pay for a translation of an EU certificate.
Ireland has no statutory definition of a certified translation. The working definition comes from ISD and DFA guidance.
Certifying a copy and certifying a translation are different acts. Solicitors, notaries, Commissioners for Oaths and Peace Commissioners certify copies; professional translators certify translations.
The DFA's Foreign Births Register asks for a stamp or seal, a business card or a professional register reference number on top of the ISD wording.
A translator's certificate of accuracy is not an affidavit. Irish courts want a sworn affidavit from the translator for foreign language affidavits.
Documents in English or Irish never need translating for an Irish body.
Every translation we deliver for use in Ireland carries a signed Certificate of Accuracy using wording that mirrors ISD and the DFA ("Certified to be a true translation of the original"), the translation date, the translator's name and signature, our company address, phone and email, a company stamp and a reference number. Translations are done by professional human translators in 100+ languages, at €29.95 per page (300 words), with a standard turnaround of 24 hours for 1 to 3 pages. Digital PDF delivery is free, and a hard copy by tracked post can be added at checkout. If a receiving body rejects the translation, we revise it free or refund in full.
The most common requests are birth certificates, marriage certificates and diplomas. Check your language, or get a quote in minutes.
Checked 25 September 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the receiving body before you apply.
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