Sworn & certified translation
Portuguese translation: sworn & certified
Your Portuguese ↔ French documents are translated and certified (ne varietur) by a court-sworn expert translator with a French court of appeal from our network — recognised by French authorities (abroad, an apostille or legalisation may be required).
But Portuguese is not a word-for-word language: the gap between European (Portugal) and Brazilian Portuguese is the central issue, on top of multi-part names and country-specific record templates. Here’s what matters, and how we handle it.
At a glance
Portuguese in brief
Family
Indo-European → Romance, Ibero-Romance branch. Portuguese descends from the Vulgar Latin of the western Iberian Peninsula (Roman Gallaecia and Lusitania) — like Galician, from which it long remained barely distinguishable.
Comrie, The World’s Major Languages
Speakers
Close to 220 million across the eight member states of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) — the world’s 6th most widely spoken language.
Comrie · Ethnologue
Where
National language of Portugal (~10 M speakers) and Brazil (over 200 M); official in Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Cape Verde and East Timor; present in expatriate communities in Europe and North America.
Comrie
The Latin alphabet with accents and diacritics (the tilde ~, acute, grave and circumflex). No transliteration, but spelling has varied between countries.
Comrie
Where files get rejected
Why Portuguese demands genuine expertise
This is where your file is accepted — or refused.
Portugal or Brazil? Issue #1
European (EP) and Brazilian (BP) Portuguese have been distinct since the 18th century and differ in vocabulary, administrative terminology and spelling. Both norms were progressively harmonised by the Acordo Ortográfico (official in Portugal in 2015, in Brazil in 2016), yet differences remain. Before translating, we identify the issuing country to use the right terminology and register.
Divergent civil-status terminology
The same concept is named differently across countries (e.g. Brazilian certidão vs Portuguese assento/certidão, different register organisation). A "generic" translation risks rejection; we lock the lexicon to the country of origin.
Very high volume of Brazilian civil records
Births, marriages, divorces: Brazilian records are a major flow, with their cartórios, marginal notes (averbações) and own formats — which we know.
Multi-part names
Portuguese and Brazilian names often carry several given names and several surnames (mother’s and father’s name, particles de, da, dos…). We map them faithfully to French surname/given-name fields and align spelling with your passport or residence permit to prevent rejection.
Lusophone African countries
Documents from Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde or Guinea-Bissau follow the Portuguese norm but have their own administrations and templates; we adapt accordingly.
Documents
Portuguese documents we translate
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Divorce certificates
- Judgments
- Criminal-record extracts
- Diplomas & transcripts
- Driving licences
- Notarial deeds
- Company statutes
From Portugal, Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor. Tell us the country of origin and the intended use: we adapt terminology and layout to the national template.
Legalisation & apostille
By country
The procedure depends on the issuing country and the intended use — we verify it for every file.
Portugal
Apostille
Apostille Convention member → apostille rather than consular legalisation.
Brazil
Apostille
Apostille Convention member → apostille rather than consular legalisation.
Other Lusophone countries
Case by case
We confirm the exact route (apostille or consular legalisation) after checking.
Status as of 16 October 2026 (source: HCCH). We tell you the exact procedure for your country and intended use.
Sworn (network) or agency-certified
Portuguese ↔ French, sworn or certified
When legal validity is required (OFII, prefectures, town halls, courts, universities), your Portuguese ↔ French translation is entrusted to one of our expert translators sworn before a French court of appeal, who signs and certifies it (ne varietur).
When sworn status isn’t required, our agency certification is enough for many uses. Every file’s quality is overseen in-house by our team, for consistent reliability.
Your questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
Will my Brazilian (or Portuguese) birth-certificate translation be accepted by OFII and the prefecture?
Yes — produced by a court-sworn expert translator, with stamp, signature and ne varietur wording, it is recognised by French authorities (prefectures, OFII, ANTS, town halls, courts); abroad, an apostille or legalisation may be required.
Do you distinguish Brazilian from European Portuguese?
Yes, it is essential: terminology, spelling and register are adapted to the issuing country, which we identify before translating.
My name has several given names and surnames — how is it handled?
We reproduce the full sequence faithfully and align spelling with your passport / residence permit to avoid rejection.
Do you translate documents from Angola, Mozambique or Cape Verde?
Yes — they follow the Portuguese norm; we adapt to their own administrations and templates.
What are the turnaround and price?
From €42 per page incl. VAT (€52 urgent, 24–48 hours); delivery in 24–72 hours on average, up to 5 business days depending on volume. Request a free quote — answer in about 2 hours.
Sworn translation, other languages
Sources
Sources: Comrie (ed.), The World’s Major Languages (Routledge), ch. 11 “Portuguese” (S. Parkinson) · Ethnologue (speaker data) · HCCH — Hague Apostille status. Original prose; data verified.
Ready to translate your Portuguese documents?
Free quote in about 2 hours · Delivery in 24–72 hours on average · Recognised by French authorities.