Comparison

Official translation in French-speaking Europe: France, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Monaco

The same document may call for a “sworn”, “juré” or “certified” translation depending on where it is filed — and the authority that appoints the translator changes along with the word. Here is the table, with a link to each country's official text.

In 30 seconds

Across French-speaking Europe the same service goes by several names and depends on different authorities. France calls it a sworn translation and enters its expert translators on the lists drawn up by the courts of appeal and the Cour de cassation. Belgium calls it a traduction jurée and keeps a national register at the Federal Public Service Justice. Luxembourg has its sworn translators appointed by the Minister of Justice. Switzerland has no federal status at all: the rule is cantonal. In Monaco, the apostille is issued by the Judicial Services Department alone.

The reference table

For each country: the official local term, the authority that appoints the translator, and the formality that is added to the translation.

France

Official term
Traduction assermentée, by an expert translator attached to a court of appeal (also called traducteur agréé)
Competent authority
Lists of judicial experts drawn up by the courts of appeal and the Cour de cassation
Legalisation or apostille
Apostille issued by the notarial profession since 1 May 2025, legalisation since 1 September 2025

Belgium

Official term
Traduction jurée, by a sworn translator or sworn translator-interpreter
Competent authority
National register kept by the Federal Public Service Justice; entry decided by the Minister of Justice on the opinion of an accreditation commission
Legalisation or apostille
None when the translation is used inside Belgium (art. 555/11 § 4 of the Judicial Code); double legalisation when it goes abroad

Switzerland

Official term
Certified or official translation — there is no federal sworn-translator status
Competent authority
Cantonal competence. For apostilles, the designated authorities are the Federal Chancellery and the cantonal authorities
Legalisation or apostille
Apostille by the chancellery of the canton or by the Federal Chancellery; a private individual's signature must first be authenticated

Luxembourg

Official term
Traduction assermentée, by a sworn translator
Competent authority
Appointment by the Minister of Justice, then the oath before a chamber of the Cour supérieure de justice; list published by language by the Ministry of Justice
Legalisation or apostille
Apostille or legalisation by the legalisation office of the Directorate of Consular Affairs — 20 euros per document, three working days

Monaco

Official term
Traduction assermentée. Translators describe themselves as sworn before the Monaco court of appeal, but no public register is published online
Competent authority
Direction des Services Judiciaires, the body that administers justice in the Principality
Legalisation or apostille
Apostille only, issued by the Judicial Services Department — 5 euros, and only on Monegasque public documents

Country by country, with sources

France

Service-Public defines an approved translator as a judicial expert entered on the lists drawn up by the courts of appeal and the Cour de cassation; an expert on the national list also appears on the list of the court of appeal they belong to. An online search service lets you verify an entry. The point most often missed concerns the formality: apostille and legalisation of French public documents no longer go through the public prosecutor's offices at the courts of appeal, nor through the foreign affairs ministry. The notarial profession issues them — apostilles since 1 May 2025 and legalisations since 1 September 2025.

Belgium

A Belgian sworn translator is entered on the national register of sworn translators, interpreters and translator-interpreters kept by the Federal Public Service Justice, which can be consulted online. Entry is decided by the Minister of Justice or a delegate, on the opinion of an accreditation commission; it lasts six years and is renewable. The translator then takes the oath before the court of appeal of their place of residence, in principle in writing — and not before a court of first instance, as is still often written. Used inside Belgium, a Belgian sworn translation carries the same weight as a legalised translation. For use abroad, the Federal Public Service Justice legalises the translation first, then the foreign affairs service legalises the signature it has affixed.

Switzerland

Switzerland has no federal register of sworn translators: what matters is the requirement of the receiving cantonal authority. Under Article 6 of the Apostille Convention, the authorities designated by Switzerland are the Federal Chancellery and the cantonal authorities, whose list the Federal Chancellery also maintains; in most cantons the fee is between 15 and 30 Swiss francs. A cantonal chancellery legalises the signatures of officials — notaries, civil registrars, judges, municipal presidents. A private individual's signature, a translator's included, therefore has to be authenticated by a notary or a municipal president before it can be apostilled. The canton of Valais states this explicitly; check the rule in the canton concerned, since it is not uniform.

Luxembourg

The Minister of Justice may appoint sworn experts, translators and interpreters for criminal and administrative matters, under the amended Law of 7 July 1971. A successful applicant is entered on the list by ministerial order and is then invited to take the oath before a chamber of the Cour supérieure de justice. The list is published by the Ministry of Justice as one file per language, each carrying its own effective date. Luxembourg has three administrative languages — French, German and Luxembourgish — and an application that targets none of the three cannot be considered. As to formalities, the legalisation office can certify the signature or seal of a sworn translator practising in Luxembourg, and only on documents issued on Luxembourg territory.

Monaco

Monaco has been a party to the Apostille Convention since 1 January 2003, and a single authority there is competent to issue apostilles: the Judicial Services Department, at the Palais de Justice. An apostille certifies the signature, the capacity of the signatory and, where applicable, the seal — never the content of the document, nor its conformity with Monegasque law. It can only be applied to a public document issued by a Monegasque authority: a judicial document, an administrative document, a notarial deed, a recent civil-status record issued by the Town Hall, or a private document whose signature has been certified by a Monegasque public authority. We found no public online register of Monegasque sworn translators: the official pages on auxiliaries of justice cover only lawyers, notaries and bailiffs. Verification therefore goes through the Judicial Services Department, not through a public list.

What does not carry over from one country to the next

A sworn translation produced in one country is not automatically accepted in another. Each jurisdiction appoints its own translators, and an authority may insist on a translator registered with it. That is why no supplier can guarantee that a translation will be accepted: only the receiving authority decides.

If your document has to be filed in a country that requires a locally appointed translator, a French sworn translation will not do, and we will say so at quotation stage rather than after delivery. Go straight to a translator appointed in the country of filing: we cannot stand in for one.

Facts verified country by country on 11 October 2026, from the sources cited above. Procedures and administrative fees change: check the exact requirement with the receiving authority before ordering.

Frequently asked questions

Sworn, juré, certified: is it all the same thing?

The function is comparable; the name and the legal framework are not. “Assermentée” is the French and Luxembourg word, “jurée” the Belgian one, “certified” the Swiss and international usage. What really changes is the authority that appoints the translator: a court of appeal in France, the Federal Public Service Justice in Belgium, the Minister of Justice in Luxembourg, and nothing at federal level in Switzerland.

Can I use a French sworn translation in Belgium?

Not automatically. Belgium grants sworn-translator status to people entered on the national register kept by the Federal Public Service Justice. A Belgian authority may accept a French sworn translation, or refuse it. Ask the body you are filing with, before ordering.

Which country asks for an apostille, and which does not?

An apostille depends not on where the document comes from but on where it is filed, and on whether that country has joined the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. Between European Union member states, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 even exempts certain public documents from any formality. In Belgium, a Belgian sworn translation used internally needs no legalisation at all.

Why does Switzerland not look like the other countries?

Because it has no federal equivalent of the sworn translator. Competence is cantonal, and the authority that authenticates a signature is the chancellery of the canton concerned or the Federal Chancellery. In practice, the translator's signature is first authenticated by a notary, then apostilled. Ask the receiving canton what it expects: that is the only reliable answer.

Where can I find each country's official list of translators?

France: the lists of the courts of appeal and the Cour de cassation, searchable through the Service-Public search service. Belgium: the national register kept by the Federal Public Service Justice, available online. Luxembourg: the Ministry of Justice lists, one file per language. Switzerland: there is no federal list, only cantonal practice. Monaco: no public register is published online, so verification goes through the Judicial Services Department.
Sworn translationSworn translator in BelgiumTranslation for LuxembourgApostille or legalisation

A document to translate for one of these countries?

Send us the document and the name of the receiving body. We will tell you which certification it requires, and whether an apostille is added. Reply within 60 minutes on business days.