Best sworn translation services in Belgium (2026)

This guide is for people who have to hand a foreign official document to a Belgian authority: a birth certificate for commune registration, a marriage certificate for family reunification, a criminal record extract for a job, a diploma for recognition, or a driving licence for exchange. If the document is not in a language the authority accepts, it asks for a sworn translation, made by a translator admitted to the Belgian national register.

The process trips up many newcomers for the same reasons. They translate the document before getting the apostille in their home country. They pick the wrong target language, because the commune in Flanders wants Dutch while a Brussels commune accepts French. Or they use a translator who is not sworn in Belgium. Each mistake costs a second fee and a few weeks.

What decides the choice of service is not the quality of the translation, which every sworn translator must stand behind, but four practical points: the language pair you need, how fast you need it, whether you can order and pay online, and whether you get a clear price before you commit. There is no official tariff for sworn translations in Belgium, so prices differ widely. The ranking below applies our published scoring method to what each service shows on its own site on 2 November 2026.

How to choose a sworn translator

What “sworn” means in Belgium

A sworn translator is not just a professional translator. Sworn translators must be admitted to the National Register for Sworn Translators, Interpreters and Translator-Interpreters, take an oath before the Court of Appeal and receive an identification number; judicial authorities must use the register since December 2019. (source, checked 2 November 2026) The translation carries the translator’s signature and identification number, which is what Belgian authorities check.

You can search the register yourself on FPS Justice JustSearch, by name, language or identification number. When we checked on 2 November 2026, the register only returned an empty page to an automated request, so we could not confirm any provider’s entries. Every service in this guide says its translators are on the register, apart from one that does not state it. Ask for the translator’s name or number before you pay and look it up yourself.

First the apostille, then the translation

For documents from outside the EU, the order of operations matters. Foreign documents must be legalised in their country of origin; if that country is party to the Apostille Convention, an apostille from its competent authority is enough and the document can be used in Belgium right away. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Do this before you send the document for translation, so that the translator works from the final, apostilled document.

The apostille is a stamp or certificate from the issuing country, at that country’s fees. For Belgian documents, the apostille comes from the FPS Foreign Affairs. The FPS Foreign Affairs fee for a legalisation or an apostille is €25 per document since 1 August 2026. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Since 1 May 2018 apostilles are issued only electronically. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Keep in mind that an apostille is not a guarantee: Legalisation does not guarantee acceptance: the Belgian body requesting the document can still check its content or ask for more documents. (source, checked 2 November 2026)

Check which language your commune accepts

The target language is set by the authority that receives the document, not by you. Belgium has three official languages, and the commune works in the language of its region: Dutch in Flanders, French in Wallonia, French or Dutch in Brussels, German in the German-speaking communes. Some accept English for certain documents. Leuven is a clear published example: Leuven only accepts foreign documents drawn up in or translated into Dutch, French, German or English; documents for marriage, acknowledgement of parentage and Belgian nationality must be in Dutch. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Rules vary per commune and per procedure, so ask the official who asked for the document which language they need, and get the answer in writing if you can.

Compare prices on the same basis

The five services price in different ways: a fixed price per document, an indicative range, a from-price, a per-word rate, or a calculator that shows a price only after you upload. Some quote with VAT, some without, and one does not say. Before you compare, check whether the quote includes VAT, all pages of the document, the apostille on the original (which needs translating too), a paper copy and postage.

The providers compared

If your document comes from another EU country

Public documents issued in an EU country are easier. Legalisation is generally not required, and for many civil-status documents the EU offers multilingual standard forms that you request in the issuing country together with the document. Leuven publishes its rule: For public documents from another EU country, Leuven accepts a multilingual EU translation aid or a sworn translation, and neither needs legalisation. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Ask the issuing office for the multilingual form when you order the certificate, and you may avoid a translation altogether. Check with your commune first.

If your document comes from outside the EU

Plan for two steps and two fees. First, the apostille or legalisation in the country that issued the document, at that country’s fees and delays. Read the FPS Foreign Affairs page on legalising foreign documents for use in Belgium (checked 2 November 2026) to see whether your country uses the apostille or the longer consular legalisation route. Second, the sworn translation in Belgium, into the language your commune or authority accepts.

If you are still abroad, do the first step before you leave, while you can visit the issuing offices in person.

If the translation is for a residence or family reunification file

Residence files often need several documents at once: birth and marriage certificates, criminal record extracts, sometimes proof of relationship. The Immigration Office page on documents for family reunification was behind a bot check when we checked, so we cannot quote its exact requirements. Read it on the Immigration Office website and ask your commune or the Belgian embassy handling your visa which documents need translating and into which language. For several documents at once, a fixed price per document, as published by CertiDocs, or an upload-and-quote calculator, as on Certifiedtranslations.be, makes the total easy to see. For a tight visa deadline, TranslateBE’s express tiers are the fastest published.

If the translation is for a driving licence exchange

A non-EU licence that is not in French, Dutch or English needs a sworn translation for the exchange at the commune. Our guide to car sharing in Belgium explains the licence rules and why the exchange should start early. A driving licence is a short document, so price per document matters more than per-word rates here.

If you need a Belgian document translated for use abroad

The reverse case also happens: a Belgian document, or a translation made in Belgium, for use in another country. A sworn translation made in Belgium carries the translator's digital signature and does not need an apostille for use inside Belgium; for use abroad it can be apostilled online by FPS Foreign Affairs. (source, checked 2 November 2026) Check what the receiving country asks for before you order.

Paper or PDF?

More and more offices accept digital sworn translations, but not all. Leuven, for example, accepts a translation delivered digitally if you submit it electronically, while a paper translation must carry both the electronic and handwritten signature of the translator. Ask the office that will receive the document which form it wants. Certifiedtranslations.be sends both a PDF and a paper copy as standard; for the others, ask whether paper delivery is included.

Step by step: getting a sworn translation

1. Ask the Belgian authority which documents it needs, in which language, and whether it wants paper or digital.
2. For non-EU documents, get the apostille or legalisation on the original in the issuing country. For EU documents, ask for the multilingual standard form.
3. Scan the full document, including the apostille, in good quality.
4. Request two quotes, or use the online calculators, and compare them on the same basis: VAT, all pages, delivery date, paper copy.
5. Ask for the sworn translator’s name or register number and check it on FPS Justice JustSearch.
6. Order and pay. Keep the confirmation with the promised delivery date.
7. Check the translation when it arrives: names spelled as in your passport, dates and numbers matching the original.
8. Submit the original, the apostille and the translation together.

Our verdict

TranslateBE comes out ahead in the table. When time is short, TranslateBE is the one to choose: it publishes the lowest civil-status price ranges in this guide and express tiers down to a few hours, though you should confirm the final price with VAT and the translator’s register number. Certifiedtranslations.be is the most convenient for most newcomers, with an instant online quote, online payment and a paper copy by post. CertiDocs is the choice when a fixed, all-pages price per document matters more than speed. Flanders Translations works for its listed language pairs if you are happy to ask for a quote, and Tradinter is the specialist for Spanish, Italian or Bulgarian documents into French.