The Commercial Court Guide suggests a simple timetable for foreign-language documents: each side names the documents it wants translated, translations are exchanged, and any translation not challenged by the deadline is treated as agreed. Miss that window, and the other side's rendering of a key clause can become the version the judge reads.
That is the practical side of certified translations for UK courts. Planning, format and timing matter as much as the words.
This guide, for litigants and solicitors in England and Wales, covers what to translate, witness statements, certificates, bundles, disputes, timing and costs. The rules court by court are in our guide to HMCTS translation requirements.
Which documents need translating for a court case?
The ones you will rely on, in full, and the earlier you decide the better.
Disclosure itself does not require translation. In the Business and Property Courts, PD 57AD says Initial and Extended Disclosure do not "require any document to be translated", and the Commercial Court Guide (para E.6.2) and Chancery Guide (para 7.14) say the same unless the court orders otherwise. The catch is the next paragraph of the Commercial Court Guide: translations a party has "in fact obtained" of documents it discloses must be disclosed too (para E.6.3). A rough working translation can end up in the other side's hands.
Plan before the first case management conference. Where many documents are not in English, the Commercial Court Guide (para E.6.4) expects proposals to the court, and its case management information sheet asks directly: "What arrangements may be necessary for the translation of witness statements?"
Then translate each document you rely on completely, with its stamps, seals, signatures and handwritten notes. If a 400-page bank record makes that disproportionate, translate the relevant pages, mark the translation as a partial translation and list the pages it covers, so nobody mistakes an extract for the whole.
How do you prepare a foreign-language witness statement?
In the witness's language first, then in translation. The exact wording of each rule is in our HMCTS requirements guide; the working order is:
- Draft it in the witness's own language (PD 32 para 18.1). In the Business and Property Courts that includes any language the witness could be cross-examined in (PD 57AC para 3.3).
- Put the statement of truth in that language, signed and dated by the witness (PD 22 paras 2.2, 2.6 and 2.7).
- Translate the signed statement, and add the translation date to the top right corner of the first page (PD 32 para 17.2).
- Have the translator sign the original statement and certify the translation (PD 32 para 23.2). In family proceedings the translator signs the translation instead (FPR PD 22A para 8.2).
- File and serve the original with the translation. The court reads the English version; the original is what the witness signed.
The statement should also say how it was prepared, for example through an interpreter (PD 32 para 18.1). Immigration appeals follow a different practice direction; see immigration tribunal translation.
What should the translator's certificate say?
There is no single court form, so build the certificate around the strictest common wording. The service rules in CPR 6.45 ask for a statement that the translation is correct, giving the translator's name, address and qualifications, and the Upper Tribunal's immigration and asylum practice directions ask for details of the translator's identity and qualifications. A certificate covering those points, and identifying the document precisely, matches the wording of most rules that ask for one.
Two points people get wrong. A translator's certificate is not a statement of truth: the rules ask the witness, not the translator, for one. And a foreign-language affidavit needs more than a certificate: the translator must swear an affidavit verifying the translation (PD 32 para 10.2). If your step needs the translator's address and qualifications, a sworn affidavit or the translator's signature on the original statement, confirm before ordering that your translator can provide it. Our statement requirements guide covers certificate wording in more detail.
How do translations go into exhibits and bundles?
Next to the original, every time. The King's Bench Guide (para 14.5), the Chancery Guide (Appendix X, para 11) and the Commercial Court Guide (Appendix 7, para 8) all say a document in a foreign language should be translated, the translation "marked and placed adjacent to" the original, and either agreed or, if it cannot be agreed, "each party's proposed translation should be included".
Practical rules that follow:
- Pair them physically: original, then translation, with bundle page numbers that do not cover any text on either.
- Keep translated witness statements beside the original-language statement; the Chancery Guide asks for "any official translation" to sit adjacent to the statement, affidavit or expert report in its original language.
- Have originals available at trial. PD 32 para 27.6 expects the originals of documents in the trial bundle to be there.
- Transcribe handwriting. PD 32 para 27.11 asks for a typed copy next to any illegible document.
- Use one spelling for every name, company and defined term across all translations, from a glossary agreed at the start.
What if the other side disputes a translation?
Raise or answer the disagreement early and in writing. Where the court sets a translation timetable, each side notifies "any disagreement with a translation that has been provided" by a deadline, after which the rest are "treated as agreed" (Commercial Court Guide, para E.6.5). Any disagreement left unresolved goes into the bundle as two versions, and the judge decides.
A translator's note explaining a contested rendering, with the dictionary or legal sources behind it, is usually more persuasive than a bare assertion. Keep two questions apart, though. What the words say is a translation question. What a foreign legal concept means is foreign law, which "is a matter of fact to be proved by evidence" (Commercial Court Guide, para H.3.1), often by an expert. Expert evidence needs the court's permission (CPR 35.4) and must be "reasonably required" (CPR 35.1).
When should translations be ready?
Earlier than the bundle deadline suggests:
| Stage | Translation task | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Before the first CMC | Count foreign-language documents; propose a timetable | Commercial Court Guide E.6.4; Chancery Guide 7.15 |
| Disclosure | No duty to translate; disclose translations you hold | PD 57AD 5.7, 9.10; Chancery Guide 7.14 |
| Notice to prove | Challenge authenticity by the later of the deadline for witness statements and 7 days after disclosure | CPR 32.19 |
| Witness statements | Serve the original statement with its translation | PD 32 para 23.2 |
| Translation timetable | Notify disagreements or translations are treated as agreed | Commercial Court Guide E.6.5 |
| Trial bundle | Filed 3 to 7 days before trial, translations beside originals | CPR 39.5; PD 32 para 27.4 |
Most single-page documents are translated within 24 hours and longer documents in 1 to 3 business days, so order a large set of exhibits well before the trial bundle is due, leaving the other side time to review the translations.
Can you recover translation costs?
Sometimes, and the track decides. "Costs" in the CPR include "disbursements" (CPR 44.1), and on the standard basis they must be proportionate and reasonable (CPR 44.3).
- Small claims track: CPR 27.14 limits what the court can order the other side to pay to a short list, including court fees, travel expenses, capped loss of earnings and expert fees, and further costs for unreasonable behaviour. Translation fees are not on the list, so budget to bear them.
- Fast track: where fixed recoverable costs apply, CPR 45.59 allows "any interpreters' or translators' fees" in claims started under the relevant pre-action protocols, and any disbursement "reasonably incurred" in other fast track claims.
- Intermediate track: any disbursement reasonably incurred (CPR 45.60).
- Multi-track: translation fees are claimed as disbursements and assessed for reasonableness and proportionality.
Keep every invoice and a note of why each document needed translating.
Family court cases
The same preparation works in the Family Court, with one change at step 4: the translator signs the translation rather than the original statement. Family bundles follow PD 27A, subject to the judge's directions on translations, so read the order before commissioning them. See family court translation requirements.
Common mistakes with translated evidence
- Silent corrections: a translator "fixing" an error in the original instead of translating it as written and adding [sic].
- Machine translation signed off as certified, which collapses under the first question about a technical term.
- Late translations that miss the timetable and leave the other side's version unchallenged.
Checklist: preparing translated evidence
Questions people ask
Does a court translation need a statement of truth?
Not from the translator. The witness signs a statement of truth in their own language, and the translator signs and certifies that the translation is accurate. A foreign-language affidavit is the exception, because the translator must swear their own affidavit verifying the translation.
Can a friend or relative translate a witness statement?
The rules do not say who may translate, but the translator signs and certifies accuracy, and the other side can dispute the translation. For contested evidence, an independent professional translator is the safer choice.
Do I need to translate every document I disclose?
No. Disclosure does not require translation unless the court orders it, but translations you already hold of disclosed documents must be disclosed. Translate the documents you will rely on at the hearing.
What if the other side's translation is wrong?
Notify your disagreement in writing before any deadline the court has set, with your proposed rendering and the reasons for it. If it cannot be agreed, both versions go into the bundle, and a dispute about what a foreign legal term means may need expert evidence, which requires the court's permission.
Can I recover the cost of translations from the other side?
It depends on the track. On the small claims track translation fees are not among the costs the court can order, while on the fast track fixed recoverable costs rules allow translators' fees in protocol claims and reasonable disbursements in others. On the multi-track they are assessed as disbursements.
Do I need to file the original foreign-language document as well?
Yes. Foreign-language witness statements and affidavits are filed with their translations, and the originals of documents in the trial bundle should be available at trial. In the bundle, each translation sits next to its original.
When should translations for a trial be ready?
Well before the trial bundle is due: the claimant files it 3 to 7 days before trial, with each translation beside its original. If many documents are not in English, raise translation before the first case management conference so a timetable can be set, and leave the other side time to review your translations before any deadline for disagreements.
How much does a court translation cost and how long does it take?
Official Translations charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words of the source document, with a signed certificate of accuracy on every translation. Most single-page documents arrive as a signed PDF within 24 hours and longer documents in 1 to 3 business days; a printed hard copy by post is available.
