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What is a sworn translation, and who can make one?

A sworn translator in the Netherlands is a translator who has taken an oath before a Dutch court and is entered in the Rbtv, the public register kept by Bureau Wbtv. Only such a translator may add a sworn statement to a translation. That statement, with stamp and signature, is what makes it a sworn translation.

If you have moved to the Netherlands, you will meet this requirement sooner or later: the municipality wants your birth certificate, or an employer wants your diploma. This page explains what the authority is asking for and how to check that you are getting it.

What a sworn translation contains

The translation itself follows the original line by line, including stamps, handwritten notes and marginal remarks. Names and dates are copied as they appear in your passport, which matters when a Dutch civil servant compares the two.

Behind the translation comes the translator's statement. It names the source and target language, declares that the translation is complete and faithful, and carries the translator's stamp, signature and Wbtv number. A copy of the original is attached, so that nobody can swap pages afterwards.

Who asks for one, and when you do not need it

The IND accepts documents in Dutch, English, French or German as they are. A document in any other language has to be translated, and in the Netherlands the translator must have been sworn in by a Dutch court. Municipalities apply a similar rule when they register a birth, a marriage or a divorce from abroad.

An English-language document therefore often needs no translation for the IND, while the same document may need one for a notary or a court. Ask the receiving authority which languages it accepts before you order. It is the one question that can save you the whole cost.

How to check a translator

The register is public. You can search it by name, by language or by Wbtv number, and the entry shows for which language pairs the translator is sworn. A translator who is sworn for Dutch and Spanish is not sworn for Dutch and Portuguese.

Every translation ordered here is made by a translator in that register, and the Wbtv number is on the statement.

How ordering worksWhat it costs

Certified, official or sworn

English-speaking countries use different words for this. In the United Kingdom and the United States a certified translation is one with a signed declaration from the translator or the agency. The Netherlands has a stricter system: the declaration only counts when the translator is in the Rbtv.

So when a Dutch authority asks for a certified or official translation, it means a sworn translation. A certificate from a translator abroad is not the same thing, and a translation made abroad usually has to be legalised together with the document.

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Frequently asked questions

A translator who has taken an oath before a Dutch district court and is entered in the Rbtv for one or more language pairs. The entry depends on training and experience and has to be renewed. Only such a translator may add the sworn statement that Dutch authorities look for under a translation.

A translator registered in the Rbtv for the language pair of your document. You can verify this yourself in the public register of Bureau Wbtv, by name or by Wbtv number. An agency may handle your order, but the statement has to come from the registered translator personally.

In the Netherlands there is none in practice: an authority that asks for a certified translation expects a sworn one. Elsewhere, certified can mean a translation with a declaration from any translator or agency. That lighter form is not enough for a Dutch municipality, a court or the IND.

The rate is set per page. For Dutch and English, in either direction, the first page costs €48 excluding VAT; for most other languages €77 excluding VAT. That covers the translation, the sworn statement and the stamp. Shipping, a digital copy and an apostille are separate options.