Welcome to VBVG translations

SWORN TRANSLATIONS

We have been working as sworn translators for 25 years. We renewed our oath in December 2019 in accordance with the new legislation. We are sworn translators for Dutch, French, English, Spanish and Russian. We work with carefully selected partners for languages that are not within our area of expertise: German, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian, etc. Can't find the language you're looking for? Just ask us!

Sworn or certified translations are translations of documents that must be submitted to an official body. These may include birth, marriage or death certificates, powers of attorney, criminal record extracts, certificates of residence, certificates of celibacy, divorce certificates, etc.

Companies also often need to have official documents translated. These include articles of association, annual accounts, extracts from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, and publications in the Belgian Official Gazette.

Different procedures apply depending on where the translation is to be used.

New procedure for sworn translations

As of 1 December 2022, the regulations governing the procedure for submitting sworn translations have been amended. A sworn (or certified) translation is a translation (usually of a document for official use) carried out by a sworn translator registered with the National Register of Sworn Translators and Interpreters. Each sworn translator is identified by a unique registration number (VTI number) and has an official stamp issued by the FPS Justice, which gives them the power to legalise the sworn translation they have done.

How does it work?

Sworn translation for use in Belgium:

You provide us with a scan of the document you wish to have translated or you bring it to us. We will carefully calculate the price of the translation and always ask for your payment in advance.

We then carry out the translation and certify it with our signature and stamp. Our sworn translation is now certified as a true and accurate translation of the original.

We then submit the translation to the National Register of the FPS Justice. This service authenticates our translation.

The translation is then ready for official use (e.g. for a marriage, divorce registration, application for Belgian nationality).

Sworn translation for use abroad:

When a translation must be submitted to official authorities abroad, the following steps must be followed:

You provide us with a scan of the document you wish to have translated or you bring it to us. We will carefully calculate the price of the translation and always ask for your payment in advance.

We then carry out the translation and certify it with our signature and stamp. Our certified translation is now certified as a true copy of the original.

We then submit the translation to the National Register of the FPS Justice. This service authenticates our translation.

After being legalised by the National Register of the FPS Justice, the sworn translation must be legalised or apostilled by the FPS Foreign Affairs.

What is the difference between an apostille and legalisation?

If your translation is to be submitted to a country that is a party to the Hague Convention, it will receive an apostille. This is a digital apostille that will be issued by the FPS Foreign Affairs.

If the country of destination has not signed the convention, the translation will be legalised with a physical sticker. The translation must then be legalised by the consulate of the country in question.

Would you like to know whether you need to have an apostille affixed to your translation for use abroad?

You can find more information here.