Key takeaways
- Legal translation is normally priced by word count, with a minimum charge for very short documents such as certificates.
- The Scottish Legal Aid Board pays translators £95 per 1,000 words, and £28.50 for documents of up to 300 words.
- Under criminal legal aid in England and Wales, interpreters are paid £32 an hour outside London and £29 an hour in London.
- Certification, notarisation and apostilles are separate costs; the FCDO apostille fee is £45 per document for the standard paper service.
- Triage, glossaries and clean source files usually reduce the total cost more than negotiating the word rate.
This article is for law firms, in-house counsel, businesses and individuals budgeting for legal translation. It explains how legal translation is priced, the factors that move the price up or down, what public legal aid rates reveal about the market, and how to keep costs proportionate without cutting the checks that protect you.
TranslationWorks does not publish fixed prices, because the factors below vary for every project. For general translation pricing, see translation cost per word in the UK; for certified personal documents, see certified translation costs. Our legal translation guide covers the field as a whole.
How is legal translation priced?
Legal translation is usually priced per word of the source document, or per 1,000 words, with a minimum fee for short documents. Some providers charge per page for standard certificates, and per hour for work that cannot be counted in words, such as reviewing an existing translation or checking handwriting.
Extra services are normally itemised separately. These include certification statements, proofreading by a second linguist, formatting complex layouts, urgent delivery and any notarisation or legalisation.
What are the public benchmarks for legal translation rates?
Public legal aid schemes publish the rates they pay, which gives a useful reference point, although private market rates differ. The Scottish Legal Aid Board states: "We will pay £95 per 1000 words for translating documents, which is inclusive of the proof reading."
SLAB applies that rate pro rata at £0.095 per word, pays £28.50 for documents of up to 300 words, and asks solicitors to obtain competitive quotes and prior approval for documents costing more than £3,000 in civil and children's cases or £2,000 in criminal cases.
In England and Wales, the expert fee tables in the legal aid regulations list hourly rates for interpreters. Schedule 5 of the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 lists interpreters at £32 an hour outside London and £29 in London. The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 list £28 and £25 respectively.
Which factors drive the price of legal translation?
The price of legal translation is driven mainly by volume, language pair, complexity and deadline. The table summarises how each factor typically affects cost.
| Factor | Why it matters | Effect on cost |
|---|---|---|
| Word count | Most work is priced per word | The main driver; repetition can reduce it |
| Language pair | Fewer qualified legal translators work in some languages | Rarer pairs usually cost more and take longer |
| Subject matter | Specialist areas need translators with legal training or experience | Complex finance, IP or regulatory texts cost more |
| Deadline | Urgent work may need several translators working in parallel | Urgency surcharges are common |
| File format | Scans, handwriting and image-based PDFs need extra preparation | Editable files are cheaper to process |
| Quality steps | A second-linguist review adds time | Adds cost but reduces risk on documents relied on in court |
| Certification and legalisation | Statements, notarisation and apostilles are separate services | Added per document |
What extra costs come with certification and legalisation?
Certification and legalisation are usually charged separately from the translation itself, and some are set by public bodies. The FCDO's standard paper apostille costs £45 per document, an e-Apostille costs £35, and registered businesses can pay £40 for a next-day service or £100 for restricted urgent service, according to GOV.UK. Notary fees are set by each notary.
Court rules can also require a specific translator's statement. For documents served abroad through official channels, CPR 6.45 requires a statement by the translator that it is a correct translation, including "that person's name, address and qualifications for making the translation". Ask for any such statement at quote stage so it is priced in.
How can you reduce the cost of legal translation without increasing risk?
You reduce legal translation costs mostly by translating less and preparing better, not by choosing the cheapest word rate. These steps work for most matters.
- Triage before you translate. In disclosure-heavy cases, use summaries to decide which documents need full translation; see translation for litigation and disclosure.
- Send editable files. Word or text-based PDF files avoid the cost of rebuilding layouts from scans.
- Remove what is not needed. Exclude duplicated email chains, signatures and boilerplate that nobody will rely on.
- Provide reference material. Earlier translations, glossaries and the parties' preferred terms save research time.
- Plan deadlines. Booking capacity early avoids urgency surcharges.
- Reuse translation memory. Repeated clauses in templates and contract families are cheaper to translate the second time; see how translation memory saves money.
- Match the level to the purpose. A document for internal information may not need the same certification as one filed at court.
Is machine translation a cheaper option for legal documents?
Machine translation is cheaper per word, but it moves cost and risk to checking, and it raises confidentiality questions. It can be useful for sorting large volumes inside a secure platform, but documents relied on in court or signed by parties need human translation or full human post-editing.
Our article on whether machine translation is safe for legal documents explains where it fits and where it does not.
What should a legal translation quote include?
A legal translation quote should let you compare providers on the same basis. Check that every quote you receive states:
- the word count or page count and how it was calculated;
- the language pair and any regional variant, such as Brazilian or European Portuguese;
- whether a second linguist reviews the translation;
- delivery date and format;
- any certification statement, and its wording, if a court or authority requires one;
- confidentiality and data protection terms;
- which costs are excluded, such as notary fees, apostilles and courier costs.
Common mistakes when budgeting for legal translation
Most budget overruns in legal translation come from late changes and unclear scope. These are the mistakes to avoid.
- Comparing word rates only. A low rate without review or certification may cost more later.
- Sending drafts that keep changing. Each new version adds work; translate when the text is stable, or ask for a tracked update.
- Forgetting the attachments. Schedules, exhibits and annexes are often longer than the main document.
- Leaving certification to the end. Some authorities require a specific format, which may affect who can do the work.
- Not asking about recoverability. In litigation, ask your solicitor how translation costs will be treated before you commission large volumes.
How TranslationWorks can help with legal translation costs
TranslationWorks is a UK-based translation agency that provides legal translation through native-speaking professional linguists in more than 150 languages, and it gives a free quote within 24 hours. Our legal translation service covers contracts, court documents, correspondence and personal documents, and our ISO 17100 translation services and ISO 9001 quality management registrations support a consistent review process. To get an accurate price, request a free quote with the documents, the language pair, your deadline and the purpose of the translation. If the translation will be submitted to a court or authority, tell us what format it requires and we will confirm what we can provide.
