French Legal
Translation Services

From contracts and corporate documents to regulatory filings and litigation materials, we translate legal content between French and English with the precision, insight, and confidentiality your legal team expects.

  • check Specialist French–English legal translators
  • check Accurate, consistent terminology
  • check Secure, fully confidential handling
  • check Capacity to support urgent translations
Legal Translation Backed by Real World Legal Understanding

Legal Translation Backed by Real World Legal Understanding

Legal translation requires more than bilingual ability. It demands a clear understanding of legal concepts and the way terminology shifts between jurisdictions. Our French legal translation service is built for organisations that need accuracy, consistency, and complete confidence when sharing legal material with French speaking clients, regulators, or counterparties.

We support law firms, inhouse legal teams, compliance departments, and corporate clients across the UK and Europe, always with UK based project management and native French legal translators who understand how legal documents are drafted, interpreted, and used.

How We Ensure Legal Accuracy?

How We Ensure Legal Accuracy?

Our approach is built around accuracy, confidentiality, and a deep understanding of legal language.

  • Specialist Legal Translators
    Your documents are translated by native French linguists with backgrounds in law, compliance, or legal translation, ensuring the terminology and structure reflect legal expectations.
  • Terminology Precision
    We use legal term bases, glossaries, and jurisdiction specific phrasing to ensure accuracy across all documents, whether they relate to UK, French, EU, or international law.
  • Jurisdictional Awareness
    Legal terminology does not always map directly between systems. We take care to reflect the correct legal meaning, not just the literal wording.
  • Consistency Across Bundles and Document Sets
    For transactions, disputes, or regulatory submissions, we ensure all documents align in terminology, tone, and structure.

Certified vs Sworn Translations: What You Need to Know

The terms “certified” and “sworn” are often used interchangeably, but they refer to two very different processes. Here, we provide clear guidance on whether your document requires a certified translation for UK authorities or a sworn translation for use in France.

Certified Translations (UK)

A certified translation is a translation accompanied by a signed declaration confirming it is a true and accurate translation of the original.
It is typically required for:

  • UK government departments
  • Home Office applications
  • Universities
  • Employers
  • UK courts (depending on the case)

We provide fully compliant certified translations accepted across the UK.

Sworn Translations (France)

A sworn translation (traduction assermentée) is produced by a translator who has been officially sworn in by a French court of appeal.
It is required for:

  • French courts
  • French notaries
  • French administrative authorities
  • Property transactions in France
  • Civil status documents used in France

We arrange sworn translations through our network of court appointed French translators.

Who We Work With?

Who We Work With?

Our clients range from specialist legal teams to global businesses that rely on precise, dependable French language legal communication. This includes:

  • UK and international law firms handling contentious, transactional, and regulatory matters
  • Inhouse legal, risk, and compliance teams managing ongoing obligations and cross border operations
  • SMEs, high growth companies, and multinational groups with regular French language contractual or corporate documentation
  • Private individuals needing certified, notarised, or otherwise official documents translated for use in France or other French speaking jurisdictions
Why legal teams trust our French translation service?

Why legal teams trust our French translation service?

Legal documents never stand alone. They form part of a wider process, a transaction, a dispute, a regulatory requirement, or a personal legal milestone. That’s why we look beyond the text itself. We take the time to understand what the document is for, who will read it, and how it will be used, so the French translation supports the matter rather than creating friction.

Our translators work with the same contracts, filings, and case materials your teams handle every day. They understand how these documents are structured, how terminology is applied, and where precision is non-negotiable. The result is French language work that reads cleanly, naturally, and stands up to scrutiny.

Clients also value the way we operate. Communication is straightforward, timelines are realistic, and the final documents arrive in a format that fits seamlessly into their internal workflows. It’s a service that feels integrated, more like an extension of their legal team than an external supplier.

Legal Documents We Translate

We translate a wide range of legal documents used by lawyers, corporate teams, and regulated organisations. Below are some of the document types we handle regularly for clients working across legal, corporate, and compliance environments.

Business & Corporate Legal Documents

When you’re entering a cross border agreement or preparing documents for a French or UK regulator, every clause must be translated with absolute clarity.

Typical documents include:

  • Commercial contracts and agreements
  • Shareholder agreements and articles of association
  • Regulatory and compliance filings
  • NDAs, MoUs, partnership agreements
  • Corporate governance documents
  • Terms and conditions
Business & Corporate Legal Documents

Litigation & Dispute Resolution

In contentious matters, ambiguity creates risk. We support law firms and litigants with precise, court ready translations.

Documents often include:

  • Court submissions and pleadings
  • Evidence bundles and exhibits
  • Expert reports
  • Arbitration documents
  • Correspondence between parties or counsel
Litigation & Dispute Resolution

Personal Legal Documents

Individuals often need French legal translations for administrative, family, or immigration matters. These documents must be translated accurately and often certified for official use.

Common requests include:

  • Birth, marriage, and divorce certificates
  • Wills, probate documents, inheritance paperwork
  • Powers of attorney
  • Adoption documents
  • Immigration related legal paperwork
Personal Legal Documents

Property & Notarial Documents

Property transactions and notarial acts require meticulous attention to detail, especially when they involve French civil law terminology.

We translate:

  • Deeds and conveyancing documents
  • Lease agreements and tenancy contracts
  • Notarial acts (actes notariés)
  • Mortgage and loan documents
Property & Notarial Documents

What UK Clients Say
About Our French
Expertise

commas

Needed to get a passport translation done for a hukou cancellation in China and am extremely satisfied with my experience with CTS. There are some ot... Read More

Vivian Yu
Vivian Yu
commas

Professional, quick, and good price. They responded to my initial email same day and gave me a detailed and up front description of what to expect. Th... Read More

Kevin Hernandez
Kevin Hernandez
commas

Fast delivery, very efficient! I got my copy less than 48 hours.

Christal Feng
Christal Feng
commas

I had a fantastic experience with CTS! Rui was incredibly helpful and responsive. Highly recommended.

Luke Richey
Luke Richey

French Translation. It’s All We Do.

We specialise exclusively in French, producing translations that are accurate, reliable, and grounded in specialist knowledge. Whether you’re a business or an individual, work with translators who live and breathe the language.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of legal documents can you translate?
We translate a wide range of legal documents used in corporate, regulatory, and litigation contexts. This includes contracts, corporate governance documents, regulatory filings, compliance reports, court submissions, witness statements, notarial documents, and materials used in arbitration or dispute resolution. We also translate official documents, including birth and marriage certificates, academic records, and other personal documents that may require certified or sworn translation.
How do you ensure legal terminology is translated accurately?
Our translation accuracy comes from combining legal expertise with real translation expertise. Your documents are translated by native French linguists who specialise in legal documents and work with contracts, filings, and case documents every day. We use established legal term bases, maintain client specific glossaries when needed, and pay close attention to jurisdictional differences between UK, French, and EU legal systems.
Can you provide certified translations for use in the UK?
Yes. We provide certified translations that meet the requirements of UK government departments, courts, universities, employers, and other official bodies. Each certified translation includes a signed declaration confirming that the translation is a true and accurate representation of the original document. Our certified translations are widely accepted across the UK.
Do you offer sworn translations for France and other jurisdictions?
Yes. For documents that must be used in France or other jurisdictions that require sworn translations, we work with officially sworn translators appointed by a French court of appeal. These sworn translations (traductions assermentées) are recognised by French courts, notaries, administrative authorities, and organisations involved in property, civil status, and regulatory matters.
What is the typical turnaround time for legal translations?
Our turnaround times depend on the length and complexity of the material, but we always provide clear, realistic timelines from the outset. Short documents can often be completed within one to three working days, while larger contracts, bundles, or multi document matters may require more time. We also support urgent requests when needed without compromising accuracy.