ad hoc is your translation services provider for certified translations
ad hoc provides certified translations in all languages. Certified translations have official status and may only be produced by court certified translators whose signature, oath, and stamp appear on the translation. Should you require translations from or into languages for which there is no court certified translator in Austria, we will be happy to assist you by elaborating an individual solution together with you and the final beneficiary!
Important information on certified translations
When must translations be certified?
For submission to authorities and public institutions and whenever you need to provide an official translation. In general, certified translations can be produced for any document and text.
How much will it cost you?
We charge a flat base fee per document which covers the certification plus a volume of text equalling a standard certificate. Additional text will be billed per standard line.
If you wish to receive your translation by post or courier service we will charge you for the costs.
What can you do to minimise costs and speed up the translation process?
- Never wait until the last moment to commission your certified translation. Since the number of certified translators registered in Austria is limited it is wise to avoid peak times such as holiday seasons or vacation periods which will also spares you express fees.
- For documents written in characters other than Latin please make sure to also provide a copy of the respective passport giving the name also in Latin alphabet. The spelling of names in certified translations must be identical with the version in the passport to be legally valid.
- Remember that the validity of certain documents (e.g. extracts from criminal records, certificate of no impediment to marriage) is limited in time and commission your translation well before the expiration date.
- With hand-written texts and entries please make sure to clarify legibility in advance and provide a typed transcript along with the text to be translated.
- For translations destined for other countries it is wise to verify whether an apostille will be needed and if so, let us know directly!
- Please consider that certified translations must generally be submitted in the original and allow for the additional time required.
Checklist for clients
Are you planning to get your documents translated? ad hoc is at your service! To speed up the process and make things as uncomplicated as possible please make sure you read through the following:
- Find out the details of what you really need
You are probably planning to get married, have a baby registered, accept an inheritance, apply for a pension, citizenship, visa, or something similar. Please contact the competent authority in good time and inquire into what specific documents you will need and whether their translation must be certified or whether a simple translation will do. In either case we are your partner of first choice! - The time factor
In most cases the answer will be “certified“. Certified translations must be submitted in the original which rules out delivery of the finished translation by email or fax. Most translations will take 1-5 days depending on the length and number of documents as well as on the language. During the summer months as well as the Christmas holiday season and for rare languages, however, things can also take considerably longer. Make sure you order in time and provide for a safety cushion of two to three days. If you leave things for too long, in the worst case your translation simply cannot be finished in time or you might at least face express charges or substantial extra expenses that would not have been necessary otherwise (taxi, courier services, express mail surcharges etc.). - State of the documents to be translated
Since certified translations qualify as official documents it is absolutely necessary that legibility is not impaired in any way. Before you commission your translation please make sure that the entire document is clearly legible (no blurs or smears, deletions, fadings etc.) and get a new copy if necessary. If any part of the document is in hand-writing, it should be typed out on an extra sheet to be submitted together with the document to avoid misreadings. - Documents containing errors
Any errors contained in the document (e.g. name spelt wrongly, wrong date etc.) cannot be corrected in the translation as a certified translation must reflect exactly what is written in the original. This even applies if with the help of other documents you can prove that a mistake has been made. Therefore it is best to contact the authority which had issued the original document and have the mistakes corrected prior to commissioning the translation. This will save you much time and trouble and will help you avoid unnecessary costs. - Documents in non-Latin script
If parts or all of your documents are written in a script other than Latin, please verify the Latin-script version of the name in the passport prior to placing your order (to be found on the page with the photo). Names originating from languages using a script other than Latin might be transcribed in different ways, but documents will only have legal value and translations be correct if the spelling of names is identical with the Latin-script version in the passport. - Placing your order
You are welcome to send us any documents to be translated by post, fax, or as a scan attached to an email. Of course, you are also welcome to drop by at our Vienna office, but please remember to give us a call before you do so since we quite often go virtual, i.e. our office is operated remotely. If you send in your documents by post, fax, or email, they must be accompanied by a written order (“I herewith commission you to translate the enclosed documents to….”) as well as your personal data (name, address, telephone number). We will also need a deposit which needs to be credited to our bank account before we can start. Unless otherwise agreed the final total will be established on the basis of the amount of standard lines translated and the remainder will have to be settled before you pick up your translation/before we can send it to you. - Apostilles and supplementary attestations
Some countries as well as certain circumstances also require an apostille and/or supplementary attestation for certified translations to verify that the translator is actually court-certified. Please contact the authority to whom you plan to submit the translated documents whether they will require a supplementary attestation or an apostille. If so, we will be happy to arrange it for you. Please note: In certain circumstances apostilles will also be required for originals, sometimes for both originals and translations. Occasionally you might also need stamps and authentications by ministries of both the issuing as well as the destination country. To avoid any unpleasant surprises and delays we recommend you to inquire about the details in time before placing your order. - Number of copies
Will you need two, three, or x copies of your translated documents? No problem - and most economical if you let us know right when you place your order! Your translations will stay archived for many years to come - so provided you can tell us when you ordered it, you will also be able to get further copies at any time in the future. Truly sustainable quality - truly ad hoc! - Delivery
If delivered by post, your translation will arrive by registered letter (i.e. the remainder will have to be paid into our account prior to delivery). Of course, we can also arrange express deliveries etc.. Any expenses incurred in the process will have to be assumed by you. You are also welcome to personally pick up your translation at our Vienna office. Please give us a call in advance and make sure that the remainder is in our account before you drop by.
