Halifax Certified Translation Services

Official document translation in Nova Scotia's capital

Halifax is the largest city in Atlantic Canada and the region's gateway for immigration, education, and trade. As newcomers, students, and skilled workers arrive, the need for official document translation grows with them: a record in another language has to be translated and certified before the provincial program, a university, an employer, or an immigration officer will accept it. Certilingua is a translation company that handles official documents for Halifax clients online, from downtown and the waterfront to Dartmouth and beyond.

What makes a translation official is certification, not accuracy alone. An accredited translator prepares the translation, signs a certificate of accuracy, and lays it out so the receiving office can rely on it. That is the standard behind every file we deliver in Halifax.

How a certified translation is made official in Nova Scotia

In Nova Scotia, certification is carried out by translators accredited through the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Nova Scotia (ATINS), a member of the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC). An accredited translator holds the Certified Translator (C. Tr.) title, and a translation under that seal, with a certificate of accuracy, is treated as official by IRCC, the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, provincial courts, and universities.

The level you need depends on the destination. A certified translation covers most uses, certification by an accredited translator is the standard for official files, and a notarized translation adds a sworn affidavit when an authority or another country requires it. We confirm the right option before any work begins.

The translation services we offer in Halifax

Documents we translate for Halifax clients

These are the documents we certify most often in Halifax. For anything not listed, browse the full list of documents.

The languages our translators cover

Halifax has grown more international with every year of newcomer arrivals, and our accredited translators reflect that. We work in more than 60 languages, with these among the most requested in the city:

Who relies on our certified translation services

Immigration is the steadiest source of work. Newcomers translate civil status records, police clearances, and diplomas for the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, the Atlantic Immigration Program, and federal processing through IRCC. Internationally trained professionals translate degrees and licences for assessment by provincial regulators in health and other fields.

Students at Dalhousie University, Saint Mary's University, Mount Saint Vincent, and NSCAD translate transcripts for admission and study permits, while businesses and law firms translate contracts and court documents. Members of the Armed Forces community and families across the region translate personal records too. Each receives the same accredited, official treatment.

Halifax's universities and hospitals draw international talent year-round, and that adds steady demand. Researchers, clinicians, and graduate students translate academic and professional records for appointments, licensing, and study, each prepared to the standard the receiving institution applies.

Common situations that call for an official translation in Halifax

The requests we handle reflect how people come to Nova Scotia. Provincial and Atlantic program applicants translate identity and education documents for nomination and for IRCC. New residents translate a foreign driver's licence at Access Nova Scotia, and parents translate birth and immunization records to enrol children in school. Professionals translate credentials for recognition, and couples completing a sponsorship translate their marriage and civil status records.

Many of these run against a deadline, which is why we confirm turnaround at the outset and offer express delivery, so an official translation is never what holds up a Halifax application.

Sending a Halifax document overseas

As Atlantic Canada's port and gateway, Halifax sends out as many documents as it receives. Residents and businesses translate records for use abroad, for citizenship elsewhere, family matters, study, or trade, and each destination country sets its own requirements.

For documents leaving Canada, a certified translation is generally the starting point, with notarization and, for Hague Convention countries, an apostille added where needed. We map out that chain before we begin, so your document is accepted at its destination the first time and you avoid a second round of fees.

Trade documents move through the port as well, and exporters translate certificates, contracts, and compliance records for partners overseas, certified so they are recognized on arrival rather than held up in review.

Why choose our translation agency

Certilingua has prepared official translations for more than 20 years, and Atlantic Canada's growing immigration and academic files are well within our experience. We are a member of the Canadian Language Industry Association (CLIA) and the Globalization and Localization Association (GALA), our translators are accredited through ATINS, and every document is reviewed against the original before it is certified. For certified translation across the province, see our Nova Scotia accredited translation page.

Serving Halifax and Nova Scotia

We serve every part of Halifax online, from the peninsula and Dartmouth to Bedford, Sackville, and the surrounding communities, and the whole province beyond. Centres such as Sydney, Truro, and New Glasgow are served the same way, with secure PDF delivery and a mailed hard copy whenever an original is needed. For an overview, see our Nova Scotia certified translation page.

Halifax certified translation: frequently asked questions