Affidavits we translate.

Premium Lingua translates affidavits and sworn statements from the copy supplied, keeping the structure and numbering of the original. Common examples include:

General affidavits
Sworn statements
Confirmatory affidavits
Supporting affidavits
Founding affidavits
Answering affidavits
Supplementary affidavits
Spousal affidavits
Parental consent affidavits
Proof-of-address affidavits
Name or identity affidavits
Business affidavits
B-BBEE affidavits
Foreign statutory declarations
Equivalent sworn declarations issued abroad

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Not called an “affidavit”? Send a sworn declaration from another country anyway: the equivalent sworn statement is usually handled in the same way.

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What makes an affidavit different from an ordinary statement?

An affidavit is not simply a written statement. It is a statement made under oath or affirmation, usually before a Commissioner of Oaths, and that is what gives it legal weight.

South African regulations for administering an oath or affirmation require the Commissioner of Oaths to be satisfied that the deponent knows and understands the contents of the declaration, and then to certify details including the manner, place and date of taking the declaration, and to sign it and give their appointment details. Those certification words and the commissioner’s details are part of the document, and the translation carries them across too.

The translation preserves the structure and paragraph numbering of the affidavit, so the translated version can be read side by side with the original and each numbered paragraph lines up.

Affidavit translation vs commissioning an affidavit.

Affidavit translation

What it is: Renders the contents of an existing affidavit in another language, as a separate translated document.

Commissioning an affidavit

What it is: The step in which the deponent swears or affirms the statement before an authorised Commissioner of Oaths, who then certifies and signs it.

The Department of Justice confirms that Commissioners of Oaths administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits, and certify copies. Premium Lingua translates affidavits; it does not commission them unless an authorised Commissioner of Oaths is involved for that specific matter. If your statement still needs to be sworn, tell us before you have it commissioned.

Does the affidavit need to be translated before or after it is signed?

There is no single answer. The right order depends on:

The purpose of the affidavit
The language the deponent actually understands
The requirements of the receiving court or authority
Whether the translated version itself must be sworn or authenticated

If the affidavit has not yet been signed, tell us where it will be used before arranging translation or commissioning, so the receiving authority’s requirements can be followed and rework is avoided.

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Using a foreign affidavit in South Africa

Foreign affidavit translation for use in South Africa.

Sworn statements made abroad are often submitted in South Africa for court proceedings, immigration, deceased estates, family law matters, business matters and administrative procedures.

Where the affidavit is in another language, the South African authority receiving it may require a sworn translation. Send us the statement and tell us which court, department or office it is going to.

Using a South African affidavit abroad

South African affidavit translation for use abroad.

DIRCO’s Legalisation Section lists an affidavit among the documents that may need to follow the Public Notary or Sworn Translator route, then verification by the Registrar of the High Court, and then an Apostille or further authentication, depending on the destination country.

So a South African affidavit intended for use abroad may involve the original affidavit, then notarisation or a sworn translation, then High Court verification, then an Apostille or authentication where applicable. This is not a universal sequence, and the foreign authority receiving the document decides what it needs, so confirm the requirements before starting.

Premium Lingua provides the translation part of that process. Send us the affidavit and tell us the destination country.

Affidavit translation vs Apostille.

Translation

What it does: Changes the language of the affidavit.

Apostille or authentication

What it does: Verifies the relevant signature or seal so the document is recognised internationally.

DIRCO states that documents such as affidavits and their translations can follow the Public Notary or Sworn Translator and High Court route, with an Apostille issued by the High Court for Apostille Convention destinations, or further authentication for countries that are not party to the Convention.

Affidavit translation vs notarisation.

These four steps are often confused. They do different jobs, and a document may need one, some or all of them:

Translation: language.
Commissioning: the oath or affirmation before a Commissioner of Oaths.
Notarisation: notarial verification or certification by a Public Notary where required.
Apostille or authentication: international legalisation.

Which ones apply depends on the receiving authority.

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Affidavits used in court proceedings.

Court affidavits, such as founding, answering, confirmatory, supporting and supplementary affidavits together with their annexures, are usually read as one bundle.

Legal terminology, paragraph numbering, annexure references, case names and defined terms have to stay consistent across the whole translated set, so a term translated one way in the founding affidavit reads the same way in the answering affidavit. For that reason, we prefer to translate the full bundle rather than isolated pages.

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Annexures

Do the affidavit annexures also need translation?

If an affidavit refers to annexures that are written in another language, the authority receiving it may require those annexures to be translated as well, not just the affidavit itself.

To avoid a second round of quoting and translation, send the affidavit together with every annexure that forms part of the submission, and we will quote on the complete set.

Business affidavits

B-BBEE affidavits.

CIPC notes that a qualifying Exempted Micro Enterprise may use a B-BBEE affidavit signed by a Commissioner of Oaths instead of a B-BBEE certificate in the applicable circumstances.

Premium Lingua can translate a B-BBEE affidavit where it needs to be read in another language. This page is about translating the document, not giving B-BBEE compliance advice, so confirm what your counterparty or the relevant body requires.

What should you send us?

The complete affidavit
All pages
Annexures that also need translation
Clear signatures and stamps where relevant
The source language
The language you need it translated into
The country where it will be used
The court or authority receiving it
Whether it has already been commissioned
Any sworn, notarial or legalisation instructions
Your deadline

Please send the whole legal bundle rather than a selection of pages, because pricing and consistency both depend on seeing the full document.

Rows of coloured ring binders on wooden shelves

Need an affidavit translated?

Send us the complete affidavit and any annexures that also need translation, and tell us which court or authority it is for and where it will be used.