NAATI or Non-Certified Translation and When Each One Is Right

Use the translation standard the receiving body specifies. Home Affairs requires a NAATI practitioner number for translations made in Australia, while its rules differ for translations made overseas. A non-certified translation may suit personal understanding or a process that expressly accepts one. For overseas use, ask the actual recipient.

Key takeaways

• Non-certified means the translation lacks the particular certification being compared; it does not by itself reveal who prepared it, its quality or whether a recipient accepts it.
• A NAATI-certified translation carries the translator's statement, stamp and practitioner number, checkable against NAATI's directory, for a particular language direction.
• For Home Affairs, translations made in Australia should be NAATI; translations made overseas need the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications.
• A notarial certificate must state the act performed. Witnessing a translator's signature does not by itself establish linguistic accuracy.
• For documents going overseas, ask the receiving authority who may translate, and at which point in the sequence.

What the terms mean

A non-certified translation lacks the certification statement or credential required for the comparison being made. It might be a machine output, a bilingual person's version or a professional working draft. Quality and accountability depend on who produced it and the engagement terms; the label alone proves neither.

A NAATI-certified translation is produced by a translator holding a credential from NAATI, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, Australia's national certification body for translators and interpreters. The translation normally carries the translator's statement, stamp and practitioner number, which the receiver can check against NAATI's online directory at naati.com.au. Credentials are issued for a particular language and direction, so a translator certified to translate into English is not necessarily certified to translate out of it.

Two other things often get confused with these.

A translation by an overseas professional, with the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications stated on it. For documents going to Home Affairs, translations done outside Australia are generally accepted in this form.

A translation supported by a notarial act. Depending on the instructions, a translator may sign a declaration before a notary, or a notary may certify a copy and bind a document set. The certificate should describe exactly what was witnessed or verified. A witnessed signature is not an independent linguistic review. See notarised translations.

The practical differences

Question	Non-certified	NAATI-certified	Overseas translator with details	Notarised translator's declaration
Who is identified	Depends on the document and provider	The NAATI-credentialled translator	The named translator	The translator, plus the notary for the stated notarial act
Home Affairs, translated in Australia	No	Yes	Not applicable	Only if it is also by a NAATI translator
Home Affairs, translated overseas	No	Yes	Generally yes	Depends on the translator
Other Australian agencies	Rarely	Commonly expected	Check	Check
Foreign authorities	Only if expressly accepted	Sometimes; ask for the exact route	Sometimes	Only when the recipient requires that act
Typical use	Personal or internal review, or an accepting process	Many official Australian uses	Processes accepting an overseas translator's details	A recipient-specified notarial route

When a non-certified translation is the right choice

More often than people expect. Paying for certification is wasted when:

• you received a document in another language and simply need to know what it says;
• you are checking whether a document is the right one before ordering a certified translation of it;
• the translation is for internal business use or your own records;
• you are gathering documents early and do not yet know who will receive them or what they will require.

Do not use an informal translation for an official submission unless the recipient expressly accepts it. “Non-certified” is not a universal rejection category: some processes accept a named overseas translator with specified details even though the translator has no NAATI credential. If a body merely asks for “a translation,” ask who may prepare it and what statement, credential or contact details must appear.

When NAATI certification is the right choice

• Home Affairs applications where the translation is made in Australia; current guidance requires the translator's NAATI practitioner number. Check the instructions for the particular visa or citizenship process.
• Most other Australian government agencies, registration bodies and licensing authorities, which commonly expect NAATI-certified translations. Check the agency's own published requirement.
• Australian courts, universities and professional assessment bodies, subject to their own rules. A court may also want the translator to swear an affidavit about the translation.

For languages where NAATI does not offer certification testing, it has issued a different form of credential. If your language is less common, ask the agency whether that credential satisfies it. See what a NAATI certified translation is.

For Home Affairs, a NAATI translation does not automatically need a notary or JP. Add another certification step only when the applicable application checklist requests it.

When NAATI may not be what you need

The document is going overseas. NAATI is an Australian credential. A recipient may accept it as issued, require direct DFAT legalisation, request a translator's declaration before a notary, or require a translator recognised in its own jurisdiction. Convention membership alone does not decide whether legalisation is needed. Ask the receiving authority who may translate and the order of steps; DFAT's current legalisation guidance explains when an eligible NAATI translation can be legalised directly.

The document is coming from overseas for use in Australia. You may not need an Australian translator at all. A translation done where the document was issued, carrying the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications, is often acceptable. Check the Australian receiver's instructions first. See translations from overseas.

"Certified" does not mean the same thing everywhere

Part of the confusion is that “certified” is not one international status. In Australia it commonly refers to work certified by a NAATI-credentialled translator. Elsewhere it may mean a signed translator statement, work by a sworn or court-appointed translator, or a translation from an approved provider list. The recipient's definition controls.

So when an overseas body asks for a "certified translation", do not assume it means NAATI, and do not assume it does not. Ask it three things in writing: who may make the translation, whether the translator's signature must be notarised or apostilled, and whether the translation should be made before or after any apostille on the original document. The answers decide which of the four kinds on this page you need.

Business and legal documents

Contracts, company records and court documents follow the same logic, with one addition: the stakes of a wrong translation are higher, and the receiver is more likely to want someone accountable. For a contract that will be relied on in a dispute, or a court document, an informal translation is rarely enough even for internal use, because the parties may later disagree about what it said. A NAATI-certified translation, or a translation sworn before a notary where a foreign court asks for it, gives the receiver a named translator who stands behind the words. Whether the translated document has legal effect in another country is a separate question, for a lawyer in that country, not for the translator or the notary.

For company documents going overseas, the order often matters: the original is notarised, DFAT apostilles or authenticates it, and the translation follows in the form the destination specifies. See document translation.

What affects price and turnaround?

Certification is only one cost factor. Quotes also depend on language direction, length, technical subject matter, handwriting, poor scans, layout, urgency and whether the translator must mark every source and translation page. Notarial work, DFAT legalisation, destination-country translation and courier delivery are separate. Obtain the recipient's requirements first, then request itemised quotes for only the steps it needs.

Checking a certified translation before you submit it

1. Check that the translator's name, stamp and practitioner number appear on it.
2. Check that the practitioner is listed in NAATI's directory for that language and direction, or ask for the credential number.
3. Check that every page is translated, including stamps, seals, handwritten notes and the reverse of each page.
4. Check that names are spelled as they appear on your passport, with the original spelling noted where it differs.
5. Keep the original-language document with the translation, since most receivers want both.

If a translation is rejected despite all this, get the reason in writing before paying for another. See what to do when a translation is rejected.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Canberra family receives a Vietnamese letter about overseas property. They use an informal translation to understand its subject, but do not rely on it for signing or submission. The foreign lawyer supplies written instructions for the power of attorney, translator and legalisation sequence. Separately, the father's Home Affairs application needs an English translation of his birth certificate made in Australia, so he uses a translator with the required NAATI credential and practitioner number.

In short

Use a non-certified translation when you only need to understand a document. Use a NAATI-certified translator for Home Affairs and most Australian official bodies when the translation is made here. For documents going overseas, ask the receiving authority who may translate and in what order, because it may want a notarised declaration, an apostille or its own sworn translator instead.

Related questions

• What is a NAATI certified translation?
• What counts as a certified translation in Australia?
• When does a NAATI translation need a notary?
• Can I get a certified translation online?
• What is a notarised translation?

Not sure which kind of translation your receiver wants? Send us the complete document, language direction, receiving body, destination, deadline and its written certification, translator and legalisation instructions.