How Much Does Legal Document Translation Cost in London?

Legal document translation in London costs from £30 per certified page or 10–16 pence per source word, with contracts averaging £300–£480, court bundles quoted per word with a volume discount, and affidavits from £45 per page including solicitor certification — all prices are VAT inclusive and include PDF delivery within 24 hours.

Every quote we issue is fixed in GBP and itemises the translation fee, certification tier, any notarisation or apostille, and postage of hard copies — so there are no invoice surprises after the work is delivered. The certificate of accuracy included with each certified translation is accepted by UKVI, the Home Office, HMRC, DVLA, NHS trusts, UK universities and courts across England and Wales.

What is the London price floor for a certified legal page?

The London price floor is £30 per certified legal page, matching our published ISO 17100 rate across all our London offices. This rate covers the signed certificate of accuracy required by UK courts, UKVI and the Home Office. The price is VAT inclusive and includes PDF delivery within 24 hours; printed hard copies are dispatched the next working day. For low-density documents such as birth or marriage certificates — typically 100–150 words per page — the per-page rate almost always returns the best value. For longer, denser instruments the per-word rate applies and frequently works out lower overall.

What is a typical per-word rate for legal translation in the UK?

The typical rate for legal translation in the UK is 10–16 pence per source word for common European language pairs such as French, Spanish, German, Italian and Polish. Rates rise to 14–18 pence per source word for Arabic, Urdu, Japanese, Bengali and Punjabi, reflecting the smaller pool of qualified legal linguists available for those languages. Rush surcharges and higher certification tiers stack on top of these base bands, and volume discounts apply to court bundles exceeding 20,000 source words.

Legal document translation in London is priced from £30 for a single certified certificate page through to £600 or more for a full court bundle. The exact figure depends on document type, word count and the certification tier required by the receiving authority. The table below gives current 2025 price references across the most common instruction types.

How much does contract translation cost in London?

Contract translation in London is priced at 10–16 pence per source word depending on the language pair. A standard 3,000-word commercial contract translates into English at a total cost of £300–£480. That price includes ISO 17100 revision by a second qualified linguist, a signed certificate of accuracy, and PDF delivery within 24 hours. Hard copies are dispatched the next working day at no additional postage charge when the instruction is placed through our London offices. For contracts in Arabic, Urdu, Japanese or Bengali, the rate moves into the 14–18p band, reflecting the specialist nature of those language pairs.

How much does court bundle translation cost?

Court bundle translation is quoted at 12–14 pence per source word, with a 10% bundling discount applied automatically to instructions exceeding 20,000 source words. Bundles are delivered in tranches to meet directions timetables set by the court, and pagination in the translated output matches the master bundle numbered pages used before London courts and tribunals. This formatting discipline is essential: a mistranslated or mis-paginated exhibit can result in the bundle being rejected at the listing stage. Where a bundle spans multiple languages — common in international commercial arbitration proceedings seated in London — each language pair is quoted separately and the volume threshold applies to the combined instruction.

How much does affidavit and statement of truth translation cost?

Affidavit and statement-of-truth translation starts at £45 per certified page, with solicitor certification arranged through our panel included in that price. Sworn-equivalent wording, required for affidavits used in Continental European proceedings where a sworn-translator stamp would otherwise be required, is handled through our EU-registered partner network. The translated affidavit is accepted by the Family Division, County Courts and Tribunals across England and Wales under a signed certificate of accuracy meeting ISO 17100 standards.

How much does power of attorney translation cost?

Power of attorney translation costs £60–£120 for a standard 2–4 page instrument. Where the power of attorney is to be used in a country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention, an FCDO apostille is required at a further £30 statutory fee plus courier charges, bringing the total for a notarised, apostilled POA to approximately £165–£270 depending on language pair and notary complexity. Standard turnaround from approval is 24–48 hours.

How much do certificate translations (marriage, birth, degree) cost?

Marriage, birth and degree certificate translations cost from £30 per certified page, making them the most accessible entry point for individuals and law firms with straightforward document requirements. The certified PDF is issued within 24 hours, and printed hard copies are posted the next working day. Certificates translated under our ISO 17100 process are accepted by the Home Office, UKVI, DVLA, HMRC, NHS trusts, GMC, Ecctis and UK universities without further endorsement in the vast majority of cases.

The four main certification levels — certified, sworn, notarised and apostilled — are not interchangeable, and using the wrong one can result in a document being rejected by the receiving authority. Each level carries a defined additional cost that stacks on top of the base translation fee.

• Certified translation — from £30 per page; accepted by UK domestic authorities under a signed certificate of accuracy.
• Sworn-equivalent translation — handled via EU-registered partners for Continental court use; no UK sworn-translator register exists.
• Notarised translation — certified translation plus UK notary public attestation at £75–£150 per document.
• Apostilled translation — notarised translation plus FCDO Legalisation Office stamp at £30 statutory fee plus courier.

When is a certified translation enough?

A certified translation is sufficient for the overwhelming majority of UK legal and administrative proceedings. It is accepted by UKVI for visa and settlement applications, the Home Office for naturalisation, DVLA, HMRC, NHS trusts, HMCTS and UK universities — provided the translation is issued under ISO 17100 with a signed certificate of accuracy that includes the translator’s credentials and a dated statement of completeness and accuracy. No notary, solicitor or court officer needs to counter-sign the document for UK domestic use. This makes the £30 per-page certified tier the correct and most economical choice for the large majority of London buyers.

When do you need a notarised translation and what does the notary charge?

Notarised translation is required where a foreign authority — most commonly in civil-law jurisdictions — insists that a notary public attest to the translator’s identity and signature on the face of the document. Typical triggers include corporate filings with overseas company registries, foreign property transactions and certain overseas court or arbitration proceedings. The notary does not verify linguistic accuracy; the function is purely to authenticate the translator’s credentials as an officer of the court. UK notary fees run £75–£150 per attestation and are added on top of the translation fee. Where multiple documents are notarised in one sitting, notaries will sometimes apply a reduced per-document fee for subsequent instruments.

When do you need an apostille and what does the FCDO charge?

An apostille is a standardised certificate appended to a document to confirm the authority of the official who signed it, and it is required when a translated document is to be used in any country that is a signatory to the Hague Apostille Convention. It is added by the FCDO Legalisation Office at a statutory fee of £30 per document, plus courier charges for physical transmission. We manage the apostille process for London clients, with standard processing completing within 3–5 working days. The apostille is placed on the notarised translation — so the full chain for an apostilled legal translation is: ISO 17100 translation → notarisation → FCDO apostille.

What is a sworn translation and is it available in England and Wales?

A sworn translation is a concept drawn from Continental European legal systems, where an officially registered sworn translator signs and stamps a translation with legal force. England and Wales have no statutory sworn-translator register, so there is no direct equivalent available from UK-based providers. Where a foreign court or authority specifically requires a sworn translation — for example for proceedings in France, Spain, Germany or Italy — we arrange this through our network of EU-registered sworn translators, whose stamps and signatures satisfy those jurisdictions’ requirements. For all UK domestic purposes, a certified translation under ISO 17100 carries equivalent legal weight.

London prices sit at the same level as the wider UK market — from £30 per certified page and 10–16 pence per source word for common European pairs. There is no London premium: our rate card is identical whether the instruction originates in Westminster, Southwark, Belfast, Edinburgh, Bristol, Leeds or any other UK location, and all offices operate under the same ISO 17100 quality framework.

EU markets present a structurally different pricing model. Certified translation in most Western European jurisdictions is priced at €30–€60 per page, which is broadly comparable to the UK per-page floor when converted at current exchange rates. However, EU buyers in civil-law countries are almost always required to use a state-registered sworn translator, whose stamp carries a separate sworn-translator fee of €15–€125 per document on top of the per-page translation rate. That mandatory additional tier makes EU legal translation materially more expensive than the equivalent certified translation accepted by UK authorities, where no sworn-translator register exists and a signed certificate of accuracy under ISO 17100 is sufficient for domestic legal and administrative purposes.

For international instructions — where a document originates in London but must be used in a Hague Convention signatory country — the FCDO apostille adds a £30 statutory fee per document plus courier, and notarisation adds a further £75–£150 per attestation. Even with those additions, the total cost of a London-originated, apostilled legal translation is typically competitive against having the work performed locally in the destination jurisdiction, with the added advantage of English-language project management and a single point of accountability.