KST ČR - Chamber of Court Appointed Interpreters and Translators of the Czech Republic

Court appointed translators and interpreters are persons appointed by a Regional Court, with jurisdiction according to their places of residence, in order to provide official translations or to interpret in situations where it is requested by Czech laws and ordinances. Thus, a court appointed translator or interpreter works not only for civil services, such as the police, courts, or prosecuting attorney's offices, but also for private persons. Do you want to marry a foreigner or to work abroad? Then you will need an official translation. If you are asked to find an interpreter for a legal act, make sure to find out if you need a court appointed one or not, because it is very unpleasant to look for one just half an hour before the act starts.

Often, the institution you need a translation for will put you in contact with a translator. If not, you may search for one at the internet address of the Chamber of Court Appointed Translators and Interpreters of the Czech Republic (www.kstcr.cz), in the server of the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic www.justice.cz, or in yellow pages. You may also ask the nearest court to send you an extract from the Register of Court-Appointed Translators and Interpreters, for a charge.

Before you hand over a document to an official translator, think about whether or not you will need it again some time in the future. In most cases, you won't get that document back from the authority. This includes, e.g. certificates, school transcripts and diplomas. In these cases it is recommended to have an authentic copy made either by a notary or by a registrar of the competent Municipal Authority. It should be noted that a court appointed translator cannot verify the conformity of the copy with the original document. If you need to verify a copy of a foreign-language document, only a notary can help you. However, make sure in advance that the notary you have chosen will verify it, because not all of them perform this action.

Generally, it is recommended to always give an authentic copy to a court-appointed translator, because only the original document or its certified copy can be used for an official translation, according to Sec. 14 Par. 2 of the regulation of the Ministry of Justice No. 37/1967 Coll. to execute the Act on Certified Experts, Translators and Interpreters. Documents needed for legal acts abroad should be authenticated by the notary personally, not by an officer authorized by the notary.

A certified translation includes:
1. the original document or its certified copy,
2. its translation into the target language,
3. and, on a separate page, the so-called "translator's clause", sealed by the seal of the translator and signed by him/her. The official translator certifies in it that his/her translation corresponds with the original document.

The entire packet has to be stitched together to prevent their unobserved separation; it is perforated, and a lace (not necessarily a tricolour one) is drawn through and sealed by the translator's seal.

Translation and interpreting rates for civil service are governed by the regulation No. 37/1967 Coll. in its current version. In other cases, prices are agreed upon between the translator and the client.

Translations are charged according to so-called "standard pages". A standard page is counted according to the Czech standard for typewriting, which means 30 lines with 60 strokes. In the case of computers, it means 1800 characters. The term "standard page" or translation pages are also specified in this way by the regulation of the Ministry of Justice No. 37/1967 Coll., to execute the Act on Certified Experts, Translators and Interpreters in Sec. 24 Par. 2. Each started page is charged as a full one.

Interpreting is charged by rates for a working day, which means 8 hours, including all breaks and interruptions. Interpreter and client may agree upon work in the scope of half a working day; that means 4 hours. Only exceptionally, a rate for work less than 2 hours may be negotiated. The interpreter is entitled to include time spent outside his/her professional or private address into the rate. Payment of travel expenses (travel, meals, accommodation, etc.) is governed by valid regulations of the Czech Republic.