Notary attorneys
We translate and certify legal, government, commercial and personal documents between Thai and 60+ target lang
MFA Consular · HCCH Apostille (entering into force on 28 February 2027) · Civil Procedure Code § 46 · NAATI · ATA · ITI · ISO 17100 · ISO/IEC 27001 · PDPA
We translate and certify legal, government, commercial and personal documents between Thai and 60+ target languages — English, Mandarin Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Hindi, Arabic, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese (BR / PT), Dutch and 45+ more. Every file goes through the ISO 17100:2015 TEP workflow (Translation → Editing → Independent Proofreading) by native-speaker translators registered with NAATI (Australia), ATA (United States), ITI / CIOL (United Kingdom), BDÜ (Germany), SFT (France) or ATIJC (Japan), followed by notarial certification by a Lawyers Council–licensed Notarial Services Attorney, MFA legalisation at the Department of Consular Affairs, and either HCCH Apostille (Thailand acceded 28 February 2027, 130 member states) or embassy / consulate chain authentication for non-Apostille destinations such as China, Vietnam, UAE and Saudi Arabia. Strict prohibitions: no machine-only translation (Google Translate / DeepL / raw LLM output) as the source of any certified file; no forging of foreign sworn-translator seals (Criminal Code § 264 + foreign equivalents); no contingency fees (Lawyers Council Ethics § 11). PDPA § 24 / § 26 / § 28: documents are encrypted end-to-end, stored in HSM, retained for seven years, and never transferred cross-border without a PDPC-recognised lawful basis.
Demand for certified translation in Thailand grows ~17% year on year (BOI Foreign Investor Report 2023), driven by: (1) the four-stream LTR Visa programme — Wealthy Global Citizen, Pensioner, Work-from-Thailand Professional and Highly-Skilled Professional — each requiring 8–14 certified foreign documents; (2) Thailand's accession to the Hague Apostille Convention on 28 February 2027, collapsing the old notary → MFA → embassy chain into a single notary → MFA Apostille step for 124 destinations; (3) cross-border marriage registrations at the Department of Provincial Administration requiring seven certified documents (Affirmation of Freedom to Marry, CENOMAR, Passport, Visa, Birth Certificate, Divorce Decree, Police Clearance); and (4) a 31% rise in cross-border probate and inheritance filings at the Civil and Family Courts (Office of the Judiciary 2023).
Common failure modes when using non-compliant providers: (a) MFA rejection if the translator is not on the recognised register or the notary is not Lawyers Council–licensed — fee of quote on request (phone / LINE / email) per rejected page; (b) court rejection under Civil Procedure Code § 46 — an uncertified translation is inadmissible evidence under § 90 and may cost the case; (c) destination embassy rejection — the Chinese, Vietnamese and UAE embassies maintain whitelists of accepted translators; (d) seal forgery of NAATI / ATA / ITI marks is a criminal offence under Thai Penal Code § 264, AU Crimes Act 1914 § 145 and US 18 USC § 1028, punishable by five to ten years' imprisonment.
Our team consists of 24 translators (18 native speakers + 6 NAATI / ATA / ITI accredited certifiers) supported by 4 Lawyers Council–licensed notary attorneys and an ISO 17100–trained project manager. Every job runs through Translation → Editing → Proofreading with an independent reviser, supported by Trados / memoQ translation memory and a profession-specific termbase (legal, medical, engineering, financial, pharmaceutical). No raw machine translation is used for certified output. Pricing is fixed-fee per source word + per certification layer; no contingency fee, no hidden express surcharges.
We translate and certify legal, government, commercial and personal documents between Thai and 60+ target lang
Provinces · 50+77
16,168+ clients · 60+ nationalities
Send scans via LINE — receive a fixed-fee quote, turnaround and originals checklist within one business day. N
Step 1 — Pre-production: receive scans, verify image quality (≥ 300 DPI, no clipping), perform word count and identify specialised field, issue a fixed-fee quote and timeline within one business day.
Step 2 — Translation: native-speaker translator who passed ISO 17100 competence assessment works in Trados Studio or memoQ with a profession-specific termbase. Raw machine translation is prohibited as the source of a certified deliverable.
Step 3 — Editing (independent reviser): a second qualified linguist who did not translate the file checks accuracy, terminology, register, locale (en-US vs en-GB vs en-AU, zh-CN vs zh-TW) and consistency against the termbase.
Step 4 — Proofreading + QA: spelling, number format, date format, currency symbols, honorifics, and visual layout against the source. Automated QA runs through Xbench or Verifika.
Step 5 — Certification + delivery: printed file is signed and sealed by the sworn translator (NAATI / ATA / ITI / Notary Public), couriered via DHL or EMS, and accompanied by an Adobe AATL-certified digital signature copy where the destination accepts e-documents.
From 28 February 2027, Thailand is a full member of the Hague Apostille Convention. Thai public documents (and notarised translations) can be used in any of the 130 member states with a single Apostille sticker from the MFA Department of Consular Affairs — no more embassy / consulate chain.
Apostille destinations include: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, all 27 EU member states, Japan, South Korea, Israel, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, and many others. MFA Apostille quote on request (phone / LINE / email) per sticker, on top of the notarisation fee.
Non-Apostille destinations still requiring the embassy chain: China (PRC), Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia (case-by-case). The process is notary → MFA legalisation (quote on request (phone / LINE / email)) → embassy / consulate authentication (quoted on request depending on country).
Important exception: Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Poland require translations into their language to be performed by a sworn translator of their own jurisdiction (vereidigter Übersetzer, traducteur assermenté, traductor jurado, traduttore giurato, tłumacz przysięgły). Thai Apostille only authenticates the notary's signature, so the translation typically has to be redone on arrival.
Risk shields & compliance
Can I use a Google Translate / ChatGPT translation and just have your lawyer notarise it?
No. A notary public lawyer can only certify the signature and identity of a registered translator; certifying a raw machine output that has not been through the ISO 17100 TEP workflow would be rejected by MFA and destination embassies and would breach NAATI / ATA / ITI codes of ethics. A translator who knowingly signs over AI output without proper review can lose their accreditation.
What if there is no Thailand-based sworn translator for my target language (e.g. Finnish, Hebrew)?
We use a two-step pivot: translate Thai → English in Thailand (notarised + Apostilled), then engage a sworn Finnish / Hebrew translator on arrival to translate from the English certified copy into the target language and certify locally. This covers 99% of use cases and adds 7–14 days.
My document is in a foreign language and needs to be filed in a Thai court. What is required?
Civil Procedure Code § 46 requires a certified Thai translation by a registered translator + notarial certification; if the original was executed abroad, it must also carry an Apostille (post-28 February 2027) or Thai consular chain authentication from the country of origin. Otherwise the exhibit is inadmissible under § 90.
Does Apostille fully replace MFA legalisation for every destination?
Only for the 124 HCCH member states (Thailand joined on 28 February 2027). Non-member states (China, Vietnam, UAE, Saudi Arabia, etc.) still require MFA legalisation followed by destination embassy authentication. Check the current member list at www.hcch.net.
How do you price — per word, per page, or per document?
Per source word, per ISO 17100. Tier A languages: quote on request (phone / LINE / email)/word; Tier B: quoted on request/word; Tier C: quoted on request/word. Plus quoted on request notary certification, quoted on request MFA legalisation, and quoted on request Apostille where applicable. No hidden express surcharges.
Is it PDPA-compliant to send draft translations via Google Drive / Dropbox?
Not under § 28 if personal data is processed on servers in a jurisdiction without a PDPC adequacy decision and without SCC / BCR in place. We use on-premise SFTP hosted in a Bangkok data centre with AES-256 encryption and need-to-know access (ISO/IEC 27001 Control A.9.4).
Do your translators carry liability insurance?
Every sworn translator on our roster carries professional indemnity insurance of quote on request (phone / LINE / email) million per claim covering downstream harm from translation errors (e.g. mistranslated figures in a commercial contract). Notary attorneys carry separate Lawyers-Council-mandated professional liability cover.
How long do you keep my documents after delivery?
7 years, aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 and the limitations period under the Civil and Commercial Code as well as the MFA Consular Affairs review window. You can request erasure under PDPA § 33 at any time, except where retention is required to defend or prosecute a legal claim or where the document is part of pending proceedings.
Can I use a digital signature instead of wet ink?
Only Adobe AATL-certified signatures issued by CAs accepted under TUC (Thailand Universal Certificate), GlobalSign or DigiCert — accepted by USCIS, the AU Department of Home Affairs, and EU ETSI eIDAS systems. The Thai MFA does not issue digital Apostilles before 2026, so destination filings that depend on Apostille still require wet ink + sticker.
What are the most common reasons MFA Consular rejects a translation?
Top five: (1) translator not on the recognised register, or notary not Lawyers Council–licensed (43%); (2) signature does not match the specimen filed with MFA (21%); (3) certification stamp missing or illegible (15%); (4) discrepancy with the source document on dates, numbers or names (12%); (5) source document missing an upstream notarisation layer such as foreign Apostille or consular chain (9%). Our 5-step QA + pre-check with MFA Consular keeps our client rejection rate under 0.3%.
ลูกค้าจริง 60+ สัญชาติทั่วโลก ใช้บริการ Notary, แปลรับรอง, MFA และสถานทูตกับเรา
"ทีมงานช่วยจัดเตรียมหนังสือมอบอำนาจสำหรับใช้ที่ออสเตรเลียได้รวดเร็วมาก พร้อมประสานงาน NAATI ครบจบในที่เดียว"
"Very professional notary service. Document was certified, translated and ready for the UK embassy in two business days."
"ใช้บริการรับรอง Affidavit + รายชื่อผู้ถือหุ้นเพื่อจดทะเบียนสาขาที่สิงคโปร์ ทีมงานละเอียดและตอบกลับไว"
Send scans via LINE — receive a fixed-fee quote, turnaround and originals checklist within one business day. No contingency, no hidden fees, no machine-only certification.
Short answer: A usable translation must mirror the source line by line, spell names exactly as in the passport, and follow the certification format the receiving party requires - a translator's certification, consular legalization in Thailand, or further certification at the destination mission. Confirm that format before translation starts.
Individuals
Companies
Foreign nationals
1. Confirm the required certification format
Establish whether the receiver needs a translator's certification, consular legalization, or an extra embassy layer.
⏱ Same day
2. Translate and lock proper-name spelling
Render every element including seals, signatures and marginal notes, and lock personal and place names against the passport.
⏱ 1-3 working days (estimate)
3. Second-pass review before certification
A second reviewer compares the translation to the source line by line before the certification statement is issued.
⏱ 1 working day (estimate)
4. File for legalization when required
Where the receiver requires it, submit the source and translation to the Legalization Division of the Department of Consular Affairs.
⏱ 2-5 working days (estimate, excluding agency queues)
5. Deliver and archive a reference copy
Deliver the sealed set unopened and archive a digital copy for later verification requests.
⏱ 1 working day (estimate)
| Criterion | General translation | Certified translation |
|---|---|---|
| Acceptance by authorities | Mainly for internal understanding | Prepared to the receiving authority's format |
| Review depth | Usually a single pass | Two-pass review with locked proper names |
| Onward certification | Not structured for legalization filing | Assembled ready for legalization and embassy layers |
| Traceability | No reference system | Reference number and archived copy for verification |
If you would rather not risk a rejection over small details, our team handles requirement checks, translation, review and legalization end to end - talk to us before you start.
All durations are working-day estimates excluding agency queues, and are not a guarantee of any authority's decision.
Sources: กองสัญชาติและนิติกรณ์ กรมการกงสุล กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ · Last reviewed: 2026-08-10
Document and legalization advisers with 15+ years of practice
Before we start, we read your actual documents and confirm the legalization route matches what the receiving authority asks for. During the work we report progress, and after delivery we still answer questions about how to submit the file.
We prepare documents to the requirements of the receiving authority. Any approval decision remains at that authority's discretion.
Send your documents on LINE for a preliminary review, a recommended legalization route and a written quote.
General guidance, not a case-specific determination. Requirements change with agency notices — confirm with the receiving authority before you act.
Sources: กองสัญชาติและนิติกรณ์ กรมการกงสุล กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ · สำนักงานศาลยุติธรรม · Last reviewed: 2026-08-04
These are illustrative composites of common certified-translation patterns, not individual client records, and are not a guarantee of any authority's decision. Durations are approximate working-day ranges.
Illustrative scenarios, not individual client records · Last reviewed 2026-08-09
Compiled from real client questions across 60+ languages — MFA legalization, Apostille, embassy attestation, court filings and every civil-registry document type.
It is a translation issued with a signed certificate of accuracy naming the translator and the source document. Thailand has no state register of sworn translators in the European sense, so the weight of the certificate comes from the next layers: a notarial services attorney attesting the signature, and the Department of Consular Affairs legalising the document. Ask your receiving authority which of those layers it requires before ordering.
Sometimes, but Thai government offices usually want the foreign document legalised in the country of issue and then attested by the Royal Thai Embassy there, with a Thai translation produced afterwards and legalised by the Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok. A translation certified abroad without that chain is frequently refused. Send us a scan first and we will map the exact route for your receiving office.
Thailand's accession to the Hague Apostille Convention takes effect on 28 February 2027. Until that date the traditional chain still applies: certified translation, signature attestation where required, legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs, then attestation by the destination country's embassy in Bangkok. Plan any 2026 filing on the current chain and treat Apostille timelines as future practice, not as something available today.
The Department of Home Affairs and most assessing authorities expect translations produced in Australia to carry NAATI credentials, and translations produced outside Australia to show the translator's full name, address, qualifications and contact details. A NAATI-certified translation satisfies both readings, which is why we default to it for Australian filings. Confirm with the specific assessing body, as several publish stricter internal rules.
For most online lodgements the digitally stamped PDF is preferred because the verification QR resolves to the translator's live credential record. Counter submissions, courts and some universities still ask for a printed copy carrying the translator's wet signature. Order the PDF for uploads and add printed sets if any part of your process happens in person; we can issue both from the same job.
The spelling must match your passport exactly, including middle names and any hyphenation, because the receiving authority matches strings, not pronunciation. Where a Thai civil-registry entry transliterates differently from your passport, we render the passport spelling and note the registry form so the discrepancy is visible rather than hidden. Send a passport scan with your order to avoid a rejected filing over one letter.
Yes. The usual route is a freshly certified copy from the district office, an English translation, legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs, and then attestation by your country's embassy in Bangkok if that country requires it. Several immigration authorities also want the Kor Ror 2 and Kor Ror 3 together. Tell us the destination country and we will confirm which forms it expects.
The Royal Thai Police issues the certificate in Thai, sometimes with a bilingual header. Most immigration authorities want a full English translation legalised by the Department of Consular Affairs, and many refuse certificates older than three to six months. Because the validity window is short, sequence it so translation and legalisation finish close to your filing date rather than months ahead.
As a working estimate, translation takes one to three working days depending on length and language, and legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs typically adds two to four working days on the standard track, less on the express track when the office accepts it. Embassy attestation afterwards varies widely by mission. Treat every figure as an estimate; official queues are outside anyone's control.
Yes for most document types. You send high-resolution scans, we translate and prepare the file, and physical originals are couriered to us or collected from the issuing office under a power of attorney where the office permits it. Finished sets are couriered internationally. Items that require your personal signature in front of an attorney are the exception and need a scheduled video or in-person step.
Yes. A certified translation must reproduce everything on the page, including seals, stamps, marginal notes, registration numbers and anything printed on the reverse, usually described in brackets such as [round seal of the district office]. Omitting an illegible stamp is a common reason for rejection, so we mark it as [illegible seal] rather than leaving silence the reviewer has to interpret.
Usually yes. Thai registrars, courts and the Department of Consular Affairs generally work from Thai text, so foreign-language corporate records such as certificates of incorporation, board resolutions and good-standing letters are translated into Thai before filing. The English original still travels with the file. Where the receiving office accepts bilingual sets, we lay them out side by side to speed up review.
Thailand does not have civil-law notaries. The equivalent role is a Notarial Services Attorney licensed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand, who can certify signatures, copies and declarations for overseas use. Documents bearing that attestation are accepted internationally in the same way as notarised documents, especially once the Department of Consular Affairs and the destination embassy have added their layers.
Most Schengen consulates in Bangkok accept a certified translation into English or the destination language, and several ask for legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs for civil-registry documents such as birth or marriage certificates. Requirements differ by mission and by visa category, so check the specific consulate's current checklist and order the deepest layer it lists rather than the lightest.
Many admissions offices accept an uploaded PDF for assessment and then request sealed hard copies before enrolment; some require the issuing institution to send them directly. We produce the certified translation and, when the university insists on institutional verification, prepare the covering set so your registrar can dispatch it. Ask admissions whether they need sealed envelopes before you order printed sets.
Yes. Court filings usually require translation into Thai, and judges commonly expect the translator to be identifiable and, where the court directs, to be a translator registered with the Ministry of Justice or to certify the work before the court. Deadlines are strict and exhibits must be paginated to match the pleadings, so send the bundle with the hearing date attached.
Mainland China, its embassies and most PRC authorities use simplified characters; Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau use traditional, with Hong Kong preferring Cantonese-influenced conventions. Choosing the wrong variant is treated as the wrong language by some offices. Tell us the receiving jurisdiction and we set the variant accordingly, including the correct rendering of Thai place names into Chinese.
Gulf ministries generally require the Arabic translation to be produced or endorsed after legalisation by the Department of Consular Affairs and then attested by that country's embassy in Bangkok, and several also require attestation in the destination country. Names must follow the passport transliteration exactly. Because the sequence is unforgiving, confirm the order of steps with the embassy before the first stamp is applied.
Both systems are strict about name order and about rendering Thai dates into the correct calendar. Japanese offices often want kana alongside romanised names, and Korean immigration commonly wants the Thai Buddhist-era dates converted to the Gregorian calendar explicitly. We annotate both conversions on the face of the translation so reviewers do not have to compute anything themselves.
Usually one of four things changed: the receiving office updated its checklist, the underlying certificate exceeded a validity window, the passport spelling no longer matches the translation, or a deeper legalisation layer is now required. None of those mean the earlier translation was wrong. Send us the rejection notice and we will identify which layer is missing rather than redoing the whole file.
No. Once the Department of Consular Affairs binds and seals a set, removing the staple or the eyelet breaks the certification and the set is treated as void. If you need extra copies, order them at the time of legalisation. Scan the bound set before shipping so you retain a digital record without touching the physical binding.
Quotes depend on language pair, page count, document type, whether legalisation and embassy attestation are included, and how fast you need it. Because those factors combine differently for each file, we quote per job rather than publishing a rate card. Send scans by LINE or email and you will get a written scope, a turnaround estimate and a fixed figure before any work starts.
For short, standard documents in common language pairs it is often possible when the request arrives early in the working day, and we will say plainly if it is not. Government layers cannot be compressed the same way: the Department of Consular Affairs express track has its own cut-off times and daily capacity. Same-day therefore usually means the translation stage only.
A translator works on written documents; an interpreter works live, in person or by video, for land-office transfers, marriage registration, court hearings, police interviews and notarial signings. Several Thai offices require an interpreter when a party does not read Thai, and some require the interpreter to sign the record. Book interpreting separately and as early as possible because it is calendar-bound.
Document translation, court and business interpreting, and certification accepted by the receiving authority.
Names of everyone speaking, the case terminology, any exhibits that will be read aloud, and the expected running order. Interpreters are bound by confidentiality, so sharing the bundle in advance is normal practice and materially improves accuracy. For remote hearings, test the audio route beforehand — poor sound, not language, causes most breakdowns. Book early: qualified legal interpreters in rarer language pairs are scarce.
Often yes, and it helps terminology stay consistent. Some tribunals, however, prefer separate roles so that the interpreter is not seen as having authored evidence, and a few require the translator's certificate to come from someone not appearing at the hearing. Ask the tribunal or opposing counsel early; changing course a few days before a hearing rarely goes well.
Whenever a party has to give live consent or testimony that they cannot follow in Thai: marriage registration, land transfers, police interviews, court hearings and some notarial signings. In several of these the interpreter signs the record, which means the booking has to be made against a specific date and office. Book early, because interpreting capacity is calendar-bound rather than queue-bound.
For common languages a few working days is usually workable; for rare pairs, technical hearings or multi-day matters, plan weeks ahead. Availability, not price, is the binding constraint. Share the agenda, participant names and any glossary in advance under confidentiality, because preparation is what separates an accurate rendering from a serviceable one in specialised subject matter.
Consecutive interpreting, where the speaker pauses, suits negotiations, signings and interviews and needs no equipment, but roughly doubles the meeting length. Simultaneous interpreting suits conferences and long sessions, keeps to the clock and normally requires equipment and two interpreters per language. Choose according to the room and the schedule, and tell us the format when booking so staffing is planned correctly.
For consecutive work in a light schedule, sometimes. For simultaneous work, professional practice is two interpreters per language rotating regularly, because accuracy declines sharply after sustained concentration. Insisting on a single interpreter for a long simultaneous programme reliably produces errors at the point where the discussion matters most, so build the correct staffing into the budget from the start.
Short answer: Translations fail on name spellings that diverge from official records, untranslated seals and signatures, Buddhist/Gregorian date conversion errors, and missing translator certification in the recipient's required wording. Reissue a corrected version with the accepted certification statement.
We build a proper-noun glossary for the whole bundle, translate every seal, and carry the certification chain through — send your documents for a pre-check in any language pair.
Durations are working-day estimates excluding agency queues, and are not a guarantee of any authority's decision.
Sources: กองสัญชาติและนิติกรณ์ กรมการกงสุล กระทรวงการต่างประเทศ · Last reviewed: 2026-08-10
A usable translation must mirror the source line by line, spell names exactly as in the passport, and follow the certification format the receiving party requires - a translator's certification, consular legalization in Thailand, or further certification at the destination mission. Confirm that format before translation starts.
If you would rather not risk a rejection over small details, our team handles requirement checks, translation, review and legalization end to end - talk to us before you start.
Durations are working-day estimates excluding agency queues and are not a guarantee of any decision.

Statements on this page follow the authorities below. Confirm current requirements with the authority before filing. Last reviewed 2026-07-29.
Fees are not published online — ask our team by phone, LINE or email for a scope-based quote.