What to Do When Your Translation Was Not Accepted

When a translation is not accepted, first get the reason in writing, because a rejected translation is rarely a bad translation. Usually the words are right and something around them is wrong: who made it, what it omitted, a name spelling, or its place in the chain. Most fixes are an amendment, not a fresh translation.

Key takeaways

• Ask the receiving authority for the exact reason in writing, and whether a corrected or supplementary translation would satisfy it.
• The receiving jurisdiction decides whose translation it accepts. A NAATI translation suits most Australian bodies, but not every foreign one.
• Five of the seven common causes are fixed by the same translator: missing details, omissions, spelling, identification and version.
• If the destination wanted the translator's signature notarised, the translation itself stands. Only the notary and DFAT steps are added.
• A notary certifies the translator's signature. A notary never certifies that the translation is accurate.

Why get the reason in writing first?

"Translation not acceptable" can mean any of the causes below. Each has a different fix, and some fixes cost far less than others. Ask the receiver exactly what is wrong. Ask whether a corrected or supplementary translation would satisfy it, and whether it has a list of acceptable translators.

Then show that written reason to the translator. A translator who can read the rejection can usually tell you within one conversation whether it is a correction or a restart. Without it, you are guessing, and people who guess usually pay for a whole new translation they did not need.

Cause 1: is the translator's credential one the receiver recognises?

The receiving jurisdiction decides whose translation it accepts. The rules differ sharply by receiver:

• For the Department of Home Affairs, translations made in Australia must be by a translator accredited by NAATI. Translations made overseas need not be, but must show the translator's full name, address, telephone number, and qualifications and experience in the language.
• For DFAT, a translation it is asked to legalise must be by a NAATI-certified or recognised translator, with the translator's name, signature, NAATI seal and practitioner ID, and the date, on every page. DFAT sets this out on its page of documents it can legalise.
• Foreign authorities may require a sworn translator on their own register, or a translation made in their own country, and may not accept a NAATI translation at all.

A translation missing the translator's details is a variant of the same problem, and it is often easier to fix.

Fix: if only the details are missing, the same translator can usually reissue the translation with a complete certification. If the credential itself is wrong for that receiver, a new translation by an acceptable translator is unavoidable. See NAATI and non-certified translations for what the credential does and does not cover.

Cause 2: is the translation incomplete?

A certified translation is expected to translate the whole document, not just its main text. Receivers reject translations that leave out:

• stamps, seals and endorsements;
• handwritten notes and marginal annotations;
• the reverse of a page;
• a registrar's or official's signature block;
• an attached certificate or schedule.

A translation labelled as an extract or summary will be refused wherever a full translation was asked for.

Fix: send the translator the full document, both sides of every page, and ask for a complete or supplementary translation covering what was missed. This is normally a correction rather than a restart.

Cause 3: do names and dates match your other documents?

Names from a non-Latin script can be romanised several ways. A translator who has not seen your passport will choose one. If it differs from the passport, the receiver cannot be sure the document relates to you. Dates recorded in a different calendar raise the same problem if the translation does not show the conversion.

Fix: give the translator your passport bio page and ask for the passport spelling, with the original spelling or a note where it differs. For dates, ask for the converted date alongside the original. If the mismatch is between two source documents rather than in the translation, the fix is a declaration, not a retranslation. See name mismatches and apostilles.

Cause 4: was it translated at the wrong point in the sequence?

If the document was translated before it was apostilled or authenticated, the translation does not cover the apostille, the authentication or the embassy's legalisation. Some receivers want those translated too.

Others require the translation to be attached before legalisation. A translation added afterwards is then not part of what the embassy certified. An apostille, remember, certifies the signature and seal on the document it is attached to, and nothing else.

Fix: ask the receiver for the order it requires. Where only the later certificates are missing, a supplementary translation of those pages may be enough. Where the translation had to be inside the legalised bundle, the chain from that point has to be repeated.

Cause 5: is the translation tied to the document?

A translation delivered as a separate file, with nothing identifying which document it translates, can be refused. The receiver cannot connect the two. This happens most with bundles of similar documents, such as several certificates, or a transcript and a degree.

Fix: ask the translator to identify the source document in the certification by its title, date, issuing body and any reference number. Where the receiver wants the translation physically attached to the original or a certified copy, a notary can bind them together and witness the translator's declaration.

Cause 6: did the translator's certification need to be notarised?

Some destinations want more than the translator's own certification. They want the translator's signature notarised and, if the chain requires it, apostilled or authenticated by DFAT. A translation that is correct and properly certified still fails if that step is missing.

Fix: the translator signs a declaration before a notary, and it then goes through DFAT. The translation itself stands. The notary certifies the translator's signature and identity, not the accuracy of the translation. If the destination is a Hague Convention member, DFAT adds an apostille; if not, DFAT authenticates it and the embassy legalises it. See NAATI translation with a notary for how the two steps join.

Cause 7: does it translate a different version of the document?

A translation of last year's certificate submitted with this year's reissue does not match the document on file. Nor does a translation made from an uncorrected draft. The receiver compares the two and finds differences.

Fix: translate the exact document you are submitting. If the source has been reissued, the translation must be redone, but only for that document.

How far back do you need to go?

Rejection reason	Restart from
Translator details missing	Same translator, reissued certification
Credential not recognised	A new, acceptable translator, full retranslation
Incomplete translation	Same translator, supplementary translation
Names or dates inconsistent	Same translator, corrected translation
Wrong point in the sequence	Supplementary translation, or the chain from that step
Not tied to the source	Same translator, then the notary if binding is required
Needed notarising	The notary, then DFAT; the translation stands
Different version of the document	The translator, for that document only

Who can fix what?

It helps to be clear about who does which job, because people often ask the wrong person.

• The translator fixes the words, the completeness, the spelling, the identification of the source and the certification wording.
• A notary witnesses the translator's declaration, checks the translator's identity, binds the translation to the original or a certified copy, and certifies copies. A notary does not translate and does not vouch for accuracy.
• DFAT apostilles or authenticates the notary's signature, or a NAATI translation that meets its rules.
• The receiving authority decides whether the result is acceptable. Nobody else can promise that.

A Justice of the Peace can certify a copy of a translation for many Australian uses. A JP certification is not recognised overseas and cannot be apostilled, so it will not fix a rejection by a foreign authority.

How do you prevent a second rejection?

Before commissioning the replacement, ask the receiver these questions and keep the answers in writing.

1. Who may translate? NAATI, a sworn translator on its register, or a translator in its own country?
2. Must the translator's declaration be notarised? And does it then need an apostille or embassy legalisation?
3. Must the apostille or legalisation also be translated?
4. Does the translation go in before or after authentication?
5. How must names and dates appear? Passport spelling, original spelling, or both?

Then give the translator the complete document, both sides of every page, your passport and the receiver's written requirements.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Brisbane engineer submits his Iranian marriage certificate, with a NAATI translation, to a European consulate for a residence card. It is refused. He asks for the reason in writing, and the consulate says the translation omits the registry stamp on the reverse and has no notarised translator declaration. His translator adds a supplementary page for the stamp. She then signs a declaration before a notary, and DFAT apostilles it. He does not pay for a new translation, because the words were never the problem.

In short

A rejected translation usually has a fixable cause, and five of the seven common causes go back to the same translator. Get the reason in writing, match it to the table, and ask the receiver its rules before the second attempt. A notary adds identity and a witnessed signature, never accuracy. See document translation for how translation fits the wider chain.

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Had a translation refused? Send us the rejection and the document, and we will explain each step before you book.