What to Do When Your Translation Was Not Accepted
Table of contents
A rejected translation is rarely a bad translation. Far more often the words are right and something around them is wrong: who produced it, what it left out, how it spells your name, or where it sits in the sequence of certification and authentication.
That matters, because the fix for most of these is an amendment or a supplementary page from the same translator, not a fresh translation from scratch. Work out which cause you have before paying anyone again.
First: get the reason in writing
"Translation not acceptable" can mean any of the causes below. Ask the receiver exactly what is wrong, and ask whether a corrected or supplementary translation would satisfy them. Then show that reason to the translator.
Cause 1: the translator's credential is not one the receiver recognises
The receiving jurisdiction decides whose translation it accepts. For Australian government bodies that usually means a NAATI-certified translator where the translation is done in Australia; for documents translated overseas and sent to the Department of Home Affairs, it means a translation carrying the translator's full name, address and credentials. Foreign authorities may require a sworn translator on their own register.
A translation missing the translator's details is a variant of the same problem, and 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. The embassy-rejection guide covers the overseas version of this cause in more detail.
Cause 2: the translation is incomplete
A certified translation is expected to translate the whole document, not just its main text. Receivers reject translations that omit:
- 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: names and dates do not match your other documents
Names from a non-Latin script can be romanised several ways, and 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 that the converted date appear 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 the guide on name mismatches.
Cause 4: the translation was done 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 required the translation to be attached before legalisation, so a translation added afterwards is not part of what the embassy certified.
Fix: ask the receiver for the order they require. 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: the translation is not tied to the document
A translation delivered as a separate file, with nothing identifying which document it translates, can be refused because the receiver cannot connect the two. This happens most with bundles of similar documents: 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 and attest the translator's declaration.
Cause 6: the translator's certification needed 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: have the translator sign a declaration before a notary, then take it through DFAT. The translation itself stands. Note that the notary certifies the translator's signature, not the accuracy of the translation.
Cause 7: it translates a different version of the document
A translation of last year's certificate submitted with this year's reissue, or a translation made from an uncorrected draft, does not match the document on file. 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.
Working out how far back 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 — translation stands |
| Different version of the document | The translator — that document only |
Preventing a second rejection
Before commissioning the replacement, ask the receiver: who may translate, whether the translator's declaration must be notarised, whether the apostille or legalisation must also be translated, and whether the translation goes in before or after authentication. Give the translator the complete document, your passport and the receiver's written requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Can the translator just fix the original translation? Often, yes, for missing details, omissions, spelling and identification. A new translator is only needed where the receiver does not accept the first one's credential.
Does a NAATI translation fix everything? No. It satisfies most Australian receivers, but it does not address incomplete content or sequencing, and some foreign authorities do not accept it at all.
Should I have the translation notarised just in case? Only if the receiver asks for it. Notarisation adds cost and does not make an unsuitable translation acceptable.
