What “traduction assermentée” actually means
A sworn translation is one whose author has taken an oath before a court or an authority and certifies it under their own seal. The trap is that the oath is national: a translator sworn in one country is an ordinary translator in the next, and Türkiye works differently again.
Checked on 8 September 2026 Last updated 8 September 2026
You will meet this phrase in almost every instruction sheet written in French. It describes a translation produced by a translator who has sworn an oath before a court or an administrative authority, and who signs, stamps and certifies the translation personally. The signature and seal are what make the document official; no further step is normally added on top.
The oath is national, not universal
A translator sworn in France is sworn for France. In Belgium the equivalent status sits on a national register and the title used is traducteur juré; in Switzerland the arrangement is cantonal and varies between Geneva, Vaud and their neighbours; in Québec the equivalent is not an oath at all but membership of a professional order, and the title is traducteur agréé.
This is why a single phrase in your instructions can mean four different procedures. Before ordering anything, work out which of those systems is going to read your document. The two you are most likely to be sent to are described in “traducteur agréé” explained and “traducteur juré” explained.
What the Turkish equivalent actually is
Türkiye also uses the words “sworn translator” (yeminli tercüman), but the machinery underneath is different. A translator here takes an oath before a Turkish notary, and that notary holds the specimen signature. The translation becomes an official document only when the notary certifies the translator’s signature on it. The translator’s stamp alone is not the certifying act.
The practical consequence: a Turkish sworn translation travelling abroad is really a notarised document, and it usually needs an apostille on the notary’s certification before a foreign office will look at it. The difference between the two certifications is set out in apostille versus légalisation.
What it does not mean
- It does not mean a licence granted by a ministry. There is no single European or Turkish register of sworn translators, and no state issues a translator a universal permit.
- It does not mean the translation is guaranteed to be accepted. Acceptance is decided by the office receiving it, on its own rules about which register it recognises.
- It does not mean certified for content. The translator certifies faithfulness to the source; nobody is certifying that the underlying document is true.
- It is not interchangeable with “certified translation” in the sense used by Canadian federal bodies, which accept a translation made anywhere provided the translator’s declaration is attached.
Which one does your file need?
Ask the receiving office one question in writing: which register must the translator appear on? If the answer names a foreign register, the translation has to be produced in that country and the Turkish end of the work is limited to obtaining, certifying and dispatching the original documents. If no register is named — common in Canadian federal files — a translation prepared in Türkiye with the translator’s declaration is normally usable.
Frequently asked questions
Generally not on its own. Those systems recognise their own sworn or registered translators. A Turkish notarised translation is usually treated as a foreign document that itself needs certification, and in Belgium and Québec the translation is normally redone locally.
The translation does not, but the underlying document often does. A criminal record certificate or a civil status extract has a validity window set by the receiving authority, and once the source document is stale the translation of it is stale too.
No. The status is formal, not linguistic. Where a sworn or registered translator is required, only a person holding that status can produce a translation that counts, however good the alternative translation is.