# Medical and pharmaceutical translation

- Link: https://aftraduction.fr/en/medical-pharmaceutical-translation/
- Published: 2026-04-05T22:06:47+02:00
- Author: AFTraduction

[Specialised translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/specialized-translation-services/)
Field 03 of 12

**Medical and pharmaceutical translation**

The same medical information, in another language.

AFTraduction, a translation agency in Montreuil, on the edge of Paris, translates
your medical and pharmaceutical documents: medical reports, package leaflets, clinical
trial protocols and medical device documentation. Each document goes to a native
translator who specialises in medical translation and translates into their mother
tongue; a second linguist then revises the translation. When a French authority 
or court requires it, the translation is sworn.

 A medical report, certificate or vaccination record for a French authority? [Sworn translation, in 75 languages, on quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=assermentee)

 *  over 800
 * linguists, more than 150 of them sworn
 *  nearly 200
 * languages and dialects covered by our network
 * 2  h
 * or so to receive your free quote
 * 5.0 /5
 * [92 Google reviews](https://www.google.com/maps/place//data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x56c548b47809555:0x9ad3c0051b507da!8m2!3d48.8655269!4d2.4439645!9m1!1b1)

Sworn or specialised?

## Medical translation or sworn translation?

It depends on who will receive the translation.

If an authority or a court requires it

### Sworn translation

The stamp and signature of a sworn translator.

Recognised by French authorities (prefectures, OFII, ANTS, town halls, courts); 
abroad, an apostille or legalisation may be required.

On quote: medical documents cannot be ordered online.

[Get a quote for a sworn translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=assermentee)

The two can be combined: a specialist translator can provide a sworn translation
of a medical report or certificate.

For your partners, clients and teams

### Specialised medical translation

Package leaflets, SmPCs, clinical trial protocols, medical device documentation.

A native translator who specialises in the field translates into their mother tongue;
a second linguist revises the translation before delivery.

Free quote in about 2 hours.

**Not sure?** Call us, 24/7, or send the document with your quote request: we will
tell you which translation it needs.

What we translate

## Which medical and pharmaceutical documents do we translate?

Healthcare documents, from package leaflets to medical reports. Any of them can 
also be provided as a sworn translation when an authority or a court requires it.

### Medicines

 * 
   #### Package leaflets
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=notice-medicament)
 * 
   #### Summaries of product characteristics (SmPCs) and regulatory documents
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=rcp)

### Clinical research

 * 
   #### Clinical trial protocols and reports
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=protocole-essai)

### Medical devices

 * 
   #### Instructions for use and labelling
   
 *  See also: [Technical and industrial translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/technical-translation-services/)
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=dispositif-medical)
 * 
   #### Compliance reports
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=rapport-conformite)

### Patient records

 * 
   #### Medical reports
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=compte-rendu-medical)
 * 
   #### Medical records
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=dossier-medical)
 * 
   #### Laboratory results
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=resultats-analyses)

### Certificates and official procedures

 * 
   #### Medical certificates
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=certificat-medical)
 * 
   #### Vaccination records
   
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=carnet-vaccination)
 * 
   #### Official documents
   
 * [For submission to a French authority or a court: sworn translation, recognised by French authorities.](https://aftraduction.fr/en/sworn-translation-services/)
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=assermentee)

### Publications

 * 
   #### Medical articles
   
 *  See also: [Scientific translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/scientific-translation-services/)
 * [Quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical&doc=article-medical)

### For which healthcare sectors?

 1.  **Pharmaceutical industry**
 2.  **Clinical research**
 3.  **Medical devices**  See also: [Technical and industrial translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/technical-translation-services/)
 4.  **Hospitals and clinics**
 5.  **Medical research**  See also: [Scientific translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/scientific-translation-services/)
 6.  **Health law and pharmaceutical regulations**  See also: [Legal and judicial translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/legal-translation-services/)

Is your document or sector not listed? Send us the document: free quote in about
2 hours.

The craft

## Translating medicine

Medical translation is the translation of healthcare documents: medical reports,
package leaflets, clinical trial protocols and reports, and medical device documentation.
When it also covers medicines, it is known as medical and pharmaceutical translation.
The translator follows the terminology of the field, the headings and wording set
for each document, and the register of its reader, whether a patient or a healthcare
professional. Doses, values and their units remain as they are in the document.

Notice : information du patient

Package leaflet: Information for the patient

**3.** Comment prendre X

 **3.** How to take X

Veillez à toujours prendre ce médicament en suivant exactement les indications de
votre médecin ou pharmacien. Vérifiez auprès de votre médecin ou pharmacien en cas
de doute.

 Always take this medicine exactly as your doctor or pharmacist has told you. Check
with your doctor or pharmacist if you are not sure.

La dose recommandée est de x,x mL de solution buvable une fois par jour.

 The recommended dose is x.x mL of oral solution once a day.

**4.** Quels sont les effets indésirables éventuels ?

 **4.** Possible side effects

Comme tous les médicaments, ce médicament peut provoquer des effets indésirables,
mais ils ne surviennent pas systématiquement chez tout le monde.

 Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody
gets them.

X: name of the medicine

**Fig. 2 — **Specimen: a fictional excerpt from a French package leaflet, annotated,
with its translation. Five marks of a medical text.

 1.   **Fixed heading** The section headings of a package leaflet are fixed, language
    by language, by the European Medicines Agency’s template: “Comment prendre X” becomes“
    How to take X”.
 2.   **Standard statement** The template’s standard statements have an official version
    in each language: the translator uses it word for word, without rewording it.
 3.   **Dose and unit** The decimal comma becomes a decimal point in English; the dose
    and its unit do not change: x,x mL → x.x mL.
 4.   **Dosage form** Dosage forms have standard European terms: “solution buvable”
    is “oral solution”, not “drinkable solution”.
 5.   **Patient register** A package leaflet is written for patients: “effets indésirables”
    becomes “side effects”; the summary of product characteristics, written for healthcare
    professionals, says “undesirable effects”.

### What the translator must keep

 1. **Terminology** Fixed terms and abbreviations that change from one language to 
    another: SmPC, FBC, MMR.
 2. **The regulatory framework** Package leaflets, summaries of product characteristics,
    protocols: each document has its own headings and wording.
 3. **The reader** A patient does not read like a doctor: the register follows the 
    reader of the document.
 4. **Consistency** The same term keeps the same translation, from the protocol to 
    the report.

At each of these marks, an approximation would change what the patient or the doctor
understands.

Method

## How does a medical translation project work?

From the document we receive to the translation we deliver, in five steps.

 1.  
     ### Analysis
     
 2.  You send us the document with your request; we analyse it and reply with a quote.
 3.  Free quote in about 2 hours
 4.  
     ### Choice of translator
     
 5.  We assign the project to a native translator who specialises in medical translation,
     from a network of more than 800 linguists.
 6.  Including more than 150 sworn translators and interpreters, long-standing partners
 7.  
     ### Translation
     
 8.  The translator works into their mother tongue, using the terminology of your field.
 9.  
     ### Revision
     
 10. A second linguist revises the translation before delivery.
 11. Processes that meet the requirements of the ISO 17100 standard, without external
     certification
 12. 
     ### Delivery
     
 13. You receive the translation. Your client area holds the quote, which you can sign
     online, the project tracking and the invoice, which you can pay online.
 14. Personal access, with a username and password

Member of the CNET (French national chamber of translation companies) · Service 
open 24/7 by phone

Check for yourself

## Who translates your medical documents?

A native translator who specialises in medical translation and translates into their
mother tongue, from a network of more than 800 linguists (translators and interpreters),
including more than 150 sworn translators and interpreters, all long-standing partners
of the agency. A second linguist revises every specialised medical translation, 
and all our translators sign a non-disclosure agreement. What you can check:

 * **Member of CNET** French national chamber of translation companies[Directory listing](https://cnetfrance.org/search/?geodir_search=1&stype=gd_place&s=AFTRADUCTION&snear=&sgeo_lat=&sgeo_lon=)
 * **Expert translator sworn before the Court of Appeal of Dijon** Our expert translator:
   written translation, English and Arabic[Official 2026 directory](https://www.cours-appel.justice.fr/sites/default/files/2026-02/annuaire_experts_judiciaires_v26012026.pdf)
 * **Google rating 5.0/5** 92 reviews, synced live (Trustindex), published unedited
   [Read the reviews](https://www.google.com/maps/place//data=!4m7!3m6!1s0x56c548b47809555:0x9ad3c0051b507da!8m2!3d48.8655269!4d2.4439645!9m1!1b1)
 * **ISO 17100 standard** Processes that meet the requirements of the standard, 
   without external certification_Self-declared_
 * **Hosted in France** Website and management software hosted in France, GDPR, 
   encrypted connections[Privacy policy](https://aftraduction.fr/en/privacy-policy/)
 * **Your client area** Quotes you can sign online, project tracking and invoices
   you can pay online, with personal access.[Go to the client area](https://erp.aftraduction.fr/my)

To check the professional in charge of your translation, see [Service Public’s guidance on approved translators (in French)](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12956),
or our guide on .

### In which languages?

Our network covers nearly 200 languages and dialects across all our services; for
sworn translation, we work in 75 languages.

Good to know

## Medical translation: frequently asked questions

Answers to the questions clients ask before sending us a document.

 1. [ Choosing a translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/medical-pharmaceutical-translation/#faq-t-choisir)
 2. [ Prices and turnaround](https://aftraduction.fr/en/medical-pharmaceutical-translation/#faq-t-devis)
 3. [ Quality and confidentiality](https://aftraduction.fr/en/medical-pharmaceutical-translation/#faq-t-qualite)
 4. [ Languages and validity](https://aftraduction.fr/en/medical-pharmaceutical-translation/#faq-t-validite)

### Another question?

Call us on +33 1 84 74 56 56, 24/7, or request a free quote: reply in about 2 hours.

[Request a quote ](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=specialisee&domaine=medical)

 Call us +33 1 84 74 56 56

Updated on 22 October 2026

### Choosing a translation

 What is medical translation?

It is the translation of healthcare documents: medical reports and records, package
leaflets, clinical trial protocols and reports, and medical device documentation.
When it also covers medicines, it is known as medical and pharmaceutical translation.
The translator follows the terminology of the field and the headings set for each
document, keeps the document’s doses and units, and writes for the intended reader,
whether a patient or a healthcare professional. At AFTraduction, each document goes
to a native translator who specialises in medical translation, then a second linguist
revises it.

 Medical or sworn translation: which do I need?

It depends on who will receive the document. French authorities and courts (prefectures,
OFII, ANTS, town halls, courts) require a sworn translation, signed by an expert
translator sworn before a court of appeal. A hospital, a health insurance fund or
an insurer sets its own requirements: ask it which form it expects. The two can 
be combined: a medical report or certificate can be translated by a medical translation
specialist and sworn.

[Sworn translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/sworn-translation-services/)

 Which medical and pharmaceutical documents do you translate?

Medical reports, medical records and laboratory results, medical certificates and
vaccination records; package leaflets, summaries of product characteristics (SmPCs)
and other regulatory documents; clinical trial protocols and reports; instructions
for use, labelling and compliance reports for medical devices; medical articles.
For the pharmaceutical industry, clinical research, medical device manufacturers,
hospitals and clinics, and for patients and their families.

 Can you also provide an interpreter for a medical appointment?

Yes. By phone, you are connected with an interpreter in 5 minutes on average, 24/
7. On site, an interpreter comes to you in Paris and anywhere in Île-de-France, 
with a 1-hour minimum, travel included. Interpreting by video call is also available.
Our interpreters are bound by a non-disclosure agreement.

[Telephone interpreting](https://aftraduction.fr/en/telephone-interpretation-services/)

### Prices and turnaround

 How much does medical translation cost?

The price is set in a quote, based on the document, the languages, the volume and
the turnaround. The quote is free and reaches you in about 2 hours. Medical documents
cannot be ordered online: even for a sworn translation, the price is set in a quote.

 How long does a medical translation take?

It depends on the volume, the languages and the document: the turnaround is set 
in your quote. Please give your deadline in your request: an appointment, a filing
date or a submission date. A sworn translation takes 24 to 72 hours on average, 
up to 5 working days depending on volume, and 24 to 48 hours with the express service.
Our team answers 24/7 on +33 1 84 74 56 56.

 How do I get a medical certificate, a medical report or a vaccination record translated?

Send the document through the quote form, stating the languages and the organisation
that will receive the translation, or call +33 1 84 74 56 56. The quote is free 
and reaches you in about 2 hours. If a French authority or court requires it, the
translation is sworn: it bears the stamp and signature of an expert translator sworn
before a court of appeal.

[Request a free quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/)

### Quality and confidentiality

 Who translates my medical documents?

A translator whose mother tongue is the target language and who specialises in medical
translation. Our network brings together more than 800 linguists (translators and
interpreters), including more than 150 sworn translators and interpreters, all long-
standing partners of the agency.

 Is my medical translation revised before delivery?

Yes. Every specialised medical translation is revised by a second linguist before
delivery. Our processes meet the requirements of the ISO 17100 standard, without
external certification.

 Are my medical documents kept confidential?

All our translators sign a non-disclosure agreement. Our website and our ERP are
hosted in France, in line with the GDPR, and connections are encrypted. Your quotes,
projects and invoices stay in your client area, with personal access.

### Languages and validity

 In which languages can you translate medical documents?

Our network covers nearly 200 languages and dialects across all our services. For
sworn translation, we work in 75 languages.

 Will a hospital, an insurer or a French authority accept my translation?

Sworn translations are recognised by French authorities (prefectures, OFII, ANTS,
town halls, courts). Abroad, an apostille or legalisation may be required. A hospital,
a health insurance fund or an insurer, in France or abroad, sets its own requirements:
ask it which form it expects and mention it in your quote request.

## Related services

 * [**Sworn translation** For a medical report, certificate or vaccination record to submit to an authority, in 75 languages: on quote.](https://aftraduction.fr/en/sworn-translation-services/)
 * [**Telephone interpreting** For a consultation or a conversation with a patient: an interpreter by phone, 24/7.](https://aftraduction.fr/en/telephone-interpretation-services/)
 * [**Scientific translation** Research papers, reports and theses: a native translator who specialises in scientific translation.](https://aftraduction.fr/en/scientific-translation-services/)

## Other fields

Each field has its specialist translator.

 * [Legal and judicial translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/legal-translation-services/)
 * [Financial and banking translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/financial-translation/)
 *   You are here: Medical and pharmaceutical translation
 * [Technical and industrial translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/technical-translation-services/)
 * [Marketing and advertising translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/marketing-advertising-translation/)
 * [Scientific translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/scientific-translation-services/)
 * [Website translation and multilingual SEO](https://aftraduction.fr/en/website-translation-seo/)
 * [Video game localisation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/video-game-localization/)
 * [Luxury and cosmetics translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/luxury-cosmetics-translation/)
 * [Tourism and culture translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/tourism-culture-translation/)
 * [Architecture and construction translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/architecture-construction-translation/)
 * [Environmental translation](https://aftraduction.fr/en/environmental-translation-services/)

[All specialised translation services](https://aftraduction.fr/en/specialized-translation-services/)

Your document, your field

## Send us the document: free quote in about 2 hours.

Package leaflet, SmPC, trial protocol: translated by a native translator who specialises
in medical translation, then revised by a second linguist.

A question before you start? Call +33 1 84 74 56 56, 24/7.

 *  A medical document for an authority or a court?[Sworn translation, on quote](https://aftraduction.fr/en/free-quote/?service=assermentee)
 *  No need to travel: quote, signature and tracking all happen online.[Your client area](https://erp.aftraduction.fr/my)