Why paying professional rates is vital when it comes to translating official documents and certificates
Translating official documents such as birth, marriage and inheritance certificates, degrees and diplomas, contracts and legal rulings isn’t something that can be done in a couple of minutes with the help of automatic translation; it’s a process that engages the translator’s liability and ensures the translations are officially recognised.
At a time when international mobility is increasingly common, there’s a growing need for certified translations – but when it comes to prices, there’s also been a race to the bottom. The only possible explanation is that providers are using machine translation or translators located abroad who are not registered or qualified in Switzerland.
Paying official rates isn’t about businesses making money; it’s about ensuring legal security, linguistic quality and business ethics, not least by enabling Swiss translators to earn a decent wage.
The cost of expertise and responsibility
The price quoted for a certified translation should reflect a translator’s specific expertise and commitment. Unlike translations for marketing and transcreation for tourism, official certificates and diplomas use specific legal and administrative terms. If they aren’t translated accurately, the translation may be refused by the authorities or lead to incorrect details being entered on official registers. Translations that are certified, stamped and signed by the translator engage the latter’s liability as to the accuracy of the translation and the appropriate layout, in line with different administrations’ formal requirements.
Rates that don’t reflect the realities of the time and training that go into such a process inevitably mean poorer quality results. In addition to actual translating itself, professional translation involves proofreading, terminology checking, reproducing the format of the original document – and a signed undertaking certifying the accuracy of the translation. The price includes administrative and accounting overheads as well as the costs of related lifelong learning, equipment and software. Skimping on any or all of the above to cut costs leaves customers open to significant risks: administrative formalities being delayed, visas being refused, fresh translations being required, and so on. Paying professional rates ensures your translated documents will be accepted without any fuss.
Translators’ professional ethics
Translators’ organisations such as ASTTI in Switzerland have codes of ethics that include commitments relating to pricing. The principle of ‘fair pay’ dictates that professionals’ earnings should allow them to maintain their skills and engage their liability without compromising on proper levels of service.
Cut-price translation rates are often a form of unfair social dumping and thus threaten the profession as a whole; offering translations at bargain-basement prices skews competition and devalues the hard work of professional translators who have completed demanding university studies, leading to an environment in which quality ends up being an unaffordable luxury and customers feel pressured into choosing the lowest price without understanding the risks involved.
As in all other areas of business, paying a fair price is also a way of supporting a healthy professional ecosystem. Qualified translators invest in lifelong training and a properly fitted-out working environment. Rates that don’t cover these kinds of overhead should raise alarm bells about the related service levels, and customers who opt for the cheapest offer are unwittingly contributing to declining standards in translation overall.
Protecting the customer: an investment, not a cost
It must be borne in mind that the prime beneficiary of fair prices is the customer themselves. Paying official, recommended rates provides the peace of mind that comes with knowing the language provider in question will take their customer seriously. There’s a genuine risk of mistakes in low-cost translations; paying a fair price is the first line of defence against rushed, negligent work, and offers customers the assurance that the provider is a professional and that the final result will be acceptable in every way.
In summary, translation cannot be seen as a consumable, bought ‘off the shelf’ by customers on the basis of low prices or special offers.
Paying a fair price is a key condition in ensuring translated documents are legally valid – and that professional translators continue to receive the respect they deserve.
Whether you’re an individual or business customer, paying a fair price rather than a rate that can’t possibly reflect a professional approach isn’t an unnecessary expense; it’s a vital investment that secures both quality and peace of mind. If you choose to pay less than professional rates, you’ll be disregarding the fundamental principles that apply to the translation of important documents. Paying the official rate is thus essential to ensuring the long-term survival of the business and legal security for all.
In this field, quality has a price – one that ensures the result is just as it should be.