Certified translations

The terms 'certified', 'public appointment', and 'sworn in' translators or interpreters basically all refer to the same form of qualification. Different expressions might be used in different parts of Germany.
In Saxony, it is common to refer to translators/interpreters as 'officially appointed'. This process is described in and ruled under Sächsische Dolmetschergesetz. The requirements are extremely high and every single candidate must meet the following criteria:

“ ...§ 2 Preconditions for public appointment
(1) A person can apply for public appointment as a translator/interpreter/sign language interpreter if the person:

1. is a German citizen or citizen of any other member state of the European Union, or whose permanent residence is in Saxony, or whose place of professional establishment is in Saxony.
2. is of full age.
3. displays the personal reliability and
4. provided sufficient proof of their professional competence.
   (2) The required personal reliability cannot be deemed as given if... .“

You can get certified copies at the Zwickau 'Bürgerbüro' - Hauptmarkt 1. Should you have any questions or require more information please contact the 'Bürgerservice' via telephone (phone: +49 375 830).

Required documents

• ID or passport
• original document (copies are made by the admin staff)

Fees

• costs incur in accordance with the "statutes of the city of Zwickau"
• certification of copies per document (regardless of the number of pages): 2,60 € (at least 5,00 €)
• certifications of signatures and hand signals: 5,00 - 50,00 €

What can be certified?

• all copies of certificates or documents that have been issued by the city of Zwickau (exception: certificates of vital records);
• all copies of certificates and documents, that have been issued by any other German public authority;
• all copies and documents, that are required for submission by German authorities. For international documents it is required to add a certified translation by an officially appointed translator from Germany;
• signatures if the document is required by a German authority (the signature needs to be executed in person in the presence of an administration employee).

What cannot be certified?

• documents and certificates, whose certification is by statutory order reserved for other authorities only (e. g., certificates of birth or marriage);
• documents, whose original versions display any forms of changes;
• documents and signatures, that require public certification for certain legal acts (e. g., testaments, land registrations);
• signatures without text;
• international certificates, that are not required for submission by German authorities;
• international certificates, that do not have a certified translation by a translator who was officially appointed in Germany attached to them;

source:
Stadt Zwickau

If your normal residence is in Germany (i. e., for at least 185 days per year your residence is in Germany and you are at least 18 years of age) you can drive a vehicle on German streets with your license (and if required an additional certified translation of it) for 6 months. This goes for all types of vehicles your license authorizes you to drive.

After 6 months you are required to replace your license with a German version. The applicable procedure depends on the country that issued the original document. Depending on the origin of your document the license might simply be 'transferred' into a German equivalent, whereas in other cases you might be asked to obtain a new license through additional driving tests.

EU driver's license

Holders of a valid license issued in a EU or EEA member state can drive vehicles in Germany for which their license authorizes them to. These driver's licenses do not need to be replaced by a German version of the document and basically remain valid until they officially expire (there are some restrictions for truck and bus classes).

Documents

• Information sheet of Federal Ministry of Transport and digital Infrastructure
• Countries outside the EU

If your original document is in non-Latin script and contains your name, it is always the easiest way for all involved parties to contribute to a consistent and correct Latin spelling of your name, by verifying it with the help of your ID or passport.

Otherwise the following norms will be applied for the transcription:

ISO R9 for Slavic Cyrillic script
ISO R233 for Arabic script
ISO R259 for Hebrew script
ISO R843 for Greek script

Generally, our officially appointed translators can only certify documents they translated and checked to their best knowledge. With their stamp they certify that the translation corresponds to the original document. Therefore, we need to carefully check, whether the existing translation meets the required quality standards. If so, we can issue a supplementary certification. However, this often results in an immense labor input so that, in many cases, it will be more reasonable to produce a new translation.