Frequently Asked Questions
What is a certified translation?
When is a certified translation required?
What is an official translation?
If I have to have a text translated into Hungarian in a certified manner, may I only contact the Hungarian Office for Translation and Attestation (OFFI)?
What am I supposed to watch out for when ordering a translation?
What forms the basis of the settlement of translations?
What surcharges can I expect?
How are high quality standards ensured?
What is an attested / certified translation?
Certified translation means a translation the agreement of which with the original text is certified with a certification clause by an authorised person or organisation. These translations are bound together with the original document, and usually a seal bearing a coat of arms is affixed to them.
Only OFFI ZRT. may prepare certified translations, may certify translations and may make certified copies in foreign languages in Hungary. In fulfilling its responsibilities, OFFI ZRT. prepares an instrument bearing the coat of arms of the Hungary and a round seal impression.
When is a certified translation required?
In Hungary, the laws only make it mandatory to have translations certified in a few cases. For example, in the case of the notification of foreign degrees, administration of various matters relating to the register of births, marriages and deaths (birth, marriage and death certificates) or treaties between states. If a translation has to be submitted to a Hungarian authority, it usually has to be certified. In such a case, it is worth inquiring in advance with the case officer of the authority and asking whether a translation provided with a clause added by a translation agency will be appropriate or only a translation of the Hungarian Office for Translation and Attestation (OFFI) will be accepted.
What is an official translation?
An official translation is a translation provided with an added clause by the translation agency, certifying that the translation is true and accurate. An official translation is sufficient in the case of school report cards, degree certificates, lecture [index] books and diplomas, curricula vitae, reference letters, medical laboratory findings, medical certificates, invoices and documents relating to company incorporation procedures (articles of association, minutes of members’ meetings, specimen signatures, extracts from the Register of Companies, etc.). In other cases, only the Hungarian Office for Translation and Attestation (OFFI) may prepare certified translations in Hungary.
If I have to have a text translated into Hungarian in a certified manner, may I only contact the Hungarian Office for Translation and Attestation (OFFI)?
According to the laws in force today, for the time being, yes, except for the documents required for the company incorporation procedure.
What am I supposed to watch out for when ordering a translation?
If you have a tight deadline, please forward the original text to our agency as soon as possible.
If you have it, it is always more worth sending the document to be translated in an electronic version instead of a hard copy, because this way we can determine the length of the source text more accurately and more simply.
Please submit your order always in writing by completing and returning the order form which can be downloaded from our website. Our quality control system prescribes that a record should be kept of the orders.
The document to be translated can be forwarded to us by one of the following means, and the same alternatives are available to you for receiving the completed translation.
- In electronic format, by e-mail or as an e-mail attachment
This is the quickest method. For this, you only need to scan the documents available in a hard copy into a pdf document, then to send it to us as an attachment to an e-mail message. - By post
Lengthier documents only available in a hard copy (e.g., operating manuals, prospectuses) may be sent to us as a postal consignment. We recommend it for orders with a relaxed time limit. - By courier service
On your request, we have the original document brought from you by courier service then return the completed translation in the requested form, printed or on a data carrier. It costs between HUF 1,500 and 5,000 depending on the distance and the delivery period. - By a courier engaged by you
- In person
You are more than welcome to visit our city centre office in opening hours.
What forms the basis of the settlement of translations?
Settlement is carried out on the basis of the number of characters of the completed translation including spaces.
What surcharges can I expect?
Less experienced customers may even be surprised when receiving the invoice, because certain translation agencies obtain orders calculated with a low base price, then they increase this base price by various surcharges not stated in advance (urgency, rare languages, difficult-to-read texts, tabular texts, particularly difficult terminologies, etc.) at the end, up to two or three times the originally quoted price. Our agency confirms the conditions of business in writing, which includes the time limit, the final unit price and the expected total amount.
Our translation agency only applies a surcharge to urgent and priority orders and rare languages.
How are high quality standards ensured?
The quality of translations is essentially determined by the translator’s work. If the translation is fundamentally of bad or poor quality in terms of composition or terminology, it can only be improved by mother tongue proofreading to a certain extent, since the proofreader may not be expected to rewrite the whole text. This is exactly why our agency engages reliable, experienced and highly qualified translators. We always assign the document to the translator who is the most competent in the given technical area, therefore, our translators with an appropriate sense of various specialities tackle almost all assignments using Internet sources and, as required, consulting the Client, although it may also occur in such a case that the majority of the translator’s or proofreader’s working time is spent by previously studying texts written on the subject-matter and found on the Internet.