Procedures for the Certification of Document Translations in the Official Language

Issued pursuant to Section 10, Paragraph three
of the Official Language Law

1. These Regulations prescribe the procedures, by which a document translation may be certified in the official language, if it has not been specified in regulatory enactments to submit a notarially certified translation of the document or other procedures have not been specified.

2. It is prohibited to certify:

2.1. the veracity of the translation of a passport, a document replacing the passport, a service identification document, a certificate of a deputy, a membership card of a political and social organisation;

2.2. the translation of such document, which has been written in pencil or on several sheets, if they are not numbered, bound together and the number thereof is not certified by a stamp of the seal of the issuer of the document and a signature of a competent official, as well as the translation of such document, which includes unstipulated amendments, erasures and deletions.

3. Requirement regarding the binding of the sheets of a document, a stamp of the seal and signature of a competent official shall not be applicable to a document, the author of which is a natural person.

4. State and local government institutions, courts and institutions belonging to the court system, as well as State and local government undertakings (companies) (hereinafter - an institution) shall examine a document in a foreign language, if a natural person or a legal person has submitted the document to the institution according to the competence thereof, and has also appended a translation of the document in the official language.

5. Only the original of a document or a notarially certified derivation (a true copy, an excerpt or a duplicate) of the respective document shall be submitted to an institution.

6. In certifying the veracity of a document translation, a translator shall draw up a certification note in the official language on the last page of the translation below the text. The certification note shall include:

6.1. the words "TULKOJUMS PAREIZS" [the translation is correct] in capital letters;

6.2. the given name, surname and personal identity number of the translator;

6.3. the signature of the translator;

6.4. the name of the place of certification; and

6.5. the date of certification.

7. A translator shall be liable for the harm resulting from the inaccuracy of a document translation in accordance with the procedures specified by law.

[6 January 2004]

8. Compliance with these Regulations shall be monitored by the State Language Centre.

9. These Regulations shall come into force on 1 September 2000.

Prime Minister A. Bērziņš

Minister for Justice I. Labucka

Translation © 2007 Tulkošanas un terminoloģijas centrs (Translation and Terminology Centre)