Articles of Association Translation Services UK: Companies House-Compliant, ISO 17100 Certified, from £30 per Page

Requesting a quote is a straightforward four-step process designed to give you a fixed, transparent price before any work begins. Pricing starts from £30 per page, and the quote you receive will specify the per-page or per-word rate, the certification format, the named project manager, the named legal reviser, and the confirmed turnaround — all in writing, before the instruction is accepted.

Send the following four items to start:

1. The source articles as a PDF (or the clearest available scan — legibility directly affects turnaround).
2. The target filing date or transaction deadline, so the project team can confirm whether same-day, 24–48-hour standard, or a milestone-based schedule for larger bundles applies.
3. The destination for the certified translation — Companies House OS IN01, a notary for overseas legalisation, or a foreign registrar — because the certification format differs by destination.
4. Any group termbase, preferred defined-term wording, or previously translated related documents, so translation memory can be applied and consistency is guaranteed across the bundle.

Turnaround is confirmed at quote stage: documents under 1,000 words placed in London before 11:00 GMT qualify for same-day delivery; standard legal packs are completed within 24–48 hours; and bundles above 10,000 words are handled on a milestone schedule agreed with your project manager. For corporate transactions involving a full document bundle — articles, certificate of incorporation, memorandum, board resolutions, share transfer instruments, and beneficial-ownership declarations — a single quote covers the entire set, with consistent terminology locked across every document from the outset.

UK-based language service providers (LSPs) operating under ISO 17100 certification are the most reliable source for legal document translation, including Articles of Association, shareholder agreements and board resolutions. Look for providers with a dedicated legal or corporate practice, a translate-edit-proofread (TEP) workflow, legally qualified or experienced translators, and the ability to issue a signed statement of accuracy for Companies House or court submission. Framework agreements and purchase orders are standard for law firms and in-house legal teams buying at volume.

Professional business translation in the UK is typically priced per word or per page, with rates varying by language pair, subject matter and turnaround. Per-word rates commonly range from £0.10 to £0.25 for standard European languages, rising for rare languages or specialist legal and technical content. Per-page certified translation starts from around £30 per page. Volume discounts, translation memory savings and framework agreements can reduce unit costs significantly for organisations with recurring or high-volume requirements.

No — a certified translation must be produced or verified by a person who declares they are competent in both languages and attests to the accuracy and completeness of the translation. In the UK there is no single statutory certification body, but accepted certifiers include professional translators (often members of the Chartered Institute of Linguists or ITI), accredited language service providers, and in some contexts notaries. Unqualified bilingual individuals cannot self-certify for official purposes such as Companies House filing or UKVI submissions.

A solicitor can certify a translation if they are competent in both the source and target languages, but this is uncommon in practice. More typically, a solicitor certifies a copy of an already-translated document rather than the translation itself. For Companies House-compliant or UKVI-accepted translations, the preferred route is a professional translator or accredited LSP who issues a signed statement of accuracy — this is the standard that regulators and registries expect.

A certified translation is one accompanied by a signed statement from the translator or LSP attesting to its accuracy and completeness — this is the standard required by UK bodies such as Companies House and UKVI. An ‘official translation’ is not a defined legal term in the UK; it sometimes refers to translations produced by a government-authorised or sworn translator in civil-law jurisdictions (e.g. a sworn translator in Spain or Germany). For UK corporate and regulatory purposes, ‘certified’ is the operative requirement.

Commission a translation from an ISO 17100-certified language service provider or a professional translator who is a member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) or the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI). The provider will deliver the translated document together with a signed and dated statement of accuracy on headed paper or as an appended certificate. For Articles of Association filed at Companies House, the translation must accompany the original foreign-language document; the certifying statement confirms the translation is a true and accurate rendering.

Certified translation in the UK typically starts from around £30 per page for common language pairs such as French, German or Spanish into English. Rates rise for rare languages, technical or legal content, or expedited delivery. For corporate documents such as Articles of Association, pricing is often per page or per project rather than per word, with the certification statement included at no extra charge. Organisations with recurring needs can negotiate volume pricing, retainers or framework agreements to reduce per-unit cost.

In the UK, a translation can be certified by a professional translator, an accredited language service provider, a notary public, or in limited cases a solicitor with relevant language competence. There is no statutory register of sworn translators as exists in many civil-law countries. For most corporate and regulatory purposes — including Companies House filings and UKVI applications — a signed statement of accuracy from a qualified translator or ISO 17100-certified LSP is the accepted standard. Always check the specific requirements of the receiving body.

No — a certified translation and an apostille are distinct things. A certified translation is a translated document accompanied by a translator’s or LSP’s statement attesting to accuracy. An apostille is a form of authentication applied to an original public document (such as a birth certificate or court judgment) under the Hague Convention, confirming the authenticity of the signature or seal on the source document itself. Some international filings require both: a certified translation of the document and an apostilled original.

A certified translation consists of the full translated text plus a signed statement — typically on headed paper — in which the translator or LSP declares that the translation is a true, accurate and complete rendering of the source document. The statement usually includes the translator’s name, qualifications or membership body, the date, and a description of the source document. For UK regulatory purposes (Companies House, UKVI, courts), this statement must be verifiable and the certifier must be competent in both languages.

The Memorandum of Association (MoA) is a short statutory document signed by founding shareholders at incorporation, confirming their intention to form the company; under the Companies Act 2006 it no longer carries substantive constitutional content. The Articles of Association (AoA) is the company’s main constitutional document, setting out the rules governing directors’ powers, share classes, decision-making procedures and member rights. When translating for Companies House or cross-border M&A, it is the Articles that require a full certified translation, though both documents may be requested by counterparties.

Together, the Memorandum and Articles of Association form a UK company’s constitutional documents registered at Companies House. The Memorandum records the original subscribers’ agreement to incorporate, while the Articles set out the internal governance rules — covering matters such as director appointments, share transfers, voting rights and dividend policy. For companies incorporated under the Companies Act 2006, a model set of Articles (Table A / Model Articles) applies by default unless bespoke Articles are adopted. Both documents are publicly available on the Companies House register.

A UK company’s Articles of Association are publicly available free of charge on the Companies House register at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Search by company name or number and download the filed constitutional documents. The company’s own registered office or company secretary should also hold a current copy. For overseas companies, equivalent constitutional documents are filed with the relevant national business registry (e.g. Handelsregister in Germany, Registro Mercantil in Spain) and may require certified translation before use in UK proceedings or filings.

Yes — a Memorandum of Association is a mandatory document required at the point of incorporation for every UK company registered under the Companies Act 2006. It must be submitted to Companies House as part of the incorporation application (IN01) and signed by all subscribers. However, unlike the Articles of Association, the post-2006 Memorandum is a brief, largely fixed-form document and cannot be amended after incorporation. Its constitutional role has been substantially reduced compared to pre-2006 law; the Articles carry the operative governance rules.

A Memorandum of Association (MoA) is a statutory corporate document filed at Companies House that records a company’s founding subscribers — it is a formal legal instrument governed by the Companies Act 2006. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a non-statutory commercial agreement recording the intent of two or more parties to collaborate or transact, typically prior to a binding contract; it is generally not legally enforceable on its own. Both types of document are commonly translated for cross-border transactions, but they serve entirely different legal functions.