Legal Translation Pricing & Rate Guide for UK Law Firms
Legal translation is priced differently from general commercial translation — and differently again depending on whether the instruction is covered by Legal Aid, requires certification, involves an urgent turnaround, or forms part of a larger ongoing matter. This page sets out how LingvoHouse approaches legal translation pricing, what affects the cost of an instruction, and how to get a quote quickly for an urgent requirement.
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How Legal Translation Is Priced
Legal translation is priced primarily on a per-word basis, calculated from the word count of the source document. This is the standard model across the UK translation industry for document translation and gives solicitors a predictable cost before the work begins — provided the document is supplied at the time of quoting.
Several factors affect the per-word rate and the total cost of an instruction:
Language pair — Some language combinations require more specialist translators than others. Arabic, Farsi, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean typically attract a different rate from European languages such as French, German, Spanish, and Italian, reflecting translator availability and specialisation in legal subject matter.
Urgency — Same-day and overnight instructions carry an urgency supplement. The supplement reflects the need to prioritise the instruction within the current workload and, where necessary, to bring in additional resource to meet the deadline. The project manager confirms the urgency supplement at the time of quoting, before work begins.
Certification — Certified translation — where the translator provides a signed statement of accuracy with their name, qualifications, and contact details — is available as standard for court-bound documents. Certification is included in the per-word rate for most instructions; hard copy certification, where the receiving court requires a physical document, may carry an additional handling charge.
Document format — Clean Word or PDF documents with standard formatting are straightforward to process. Scanned documents, handwritten statements, documents with complex tables, or files requiring OCR processing before translation can begin may affect the total cost. The project manager flags any format issues at the assessment stage.
Volume — Ongoing instructions from law firms with regular translation requirements are handled under agreed rates. Solicitors with recurring matters — immigration caseloads, family court proceedings, commercial litigation — are encouraged to discuss a standing arrangement with LingvoHouse directly.
Legal Aid Instructions
LingvoHouse accepts Legal Aid instructions for written translation. The Legal Aid Agency rate for written translation is £0.10 per word plus VAT. LingvoHouse works at this rate for qualifying Legal Aid matters across family, immigration, and criminal proceedings — including urgent and same-day instructions where the matter requires it.
To ensure a Legal Aid instruction is handled at the correct rate, confirm Legal Aid status at the time of instruction. The project manager will note this on the file before the quote is issued and before any work begins.
Legal Aid instructions are handled under the same ISO 17100-certified workflow as all other legal translation work. Certification, urgency handling, and secure file management under ISO 27001-certified systems apply in full regardless of the funding arrangement.
Typical Scenarios
Witness statements & Court bundles
Witness statement, 10 pages, Arabic to English, standard turnaround — A document of this type typically runs to 2,500–3,500 words. At standard rates, a quote would be issued on receipt of the document, with certification included.
Court bundle, 80 pages, mixed French and Arabic, 48-hour turnaround — A bundle of this size may run to 20,000 words or more across both languages. The quote would reflect the per-word rate for each language pair plus the urgency supplement, with a single project manager coordinating both language streams.
Solicitors on Legal Aid
Witness statement, Legal Aid family matter, Farsi to English, same-day — Handled at the Legal Aid rate of £0.10 per word plus VAT, with the urgency supplement confirmed at the time of instruction. Certification included as standard.
Ongoing immigration caseload, multiple languages, regular volume — Solicitors with recurring instructions across Arabic, Farsi, Somali, and other languages are encouraged to discuss agreed rates with LingvoHouse directly. Volume arrangements reduce administrative overhead on both sides and give the firm cost predictability across the caseload.
Criminal defence, police interview transcript
A defence solicitor requires a translated transcript of a police interview conducted through an interpreter, for use in Crown Court proceedings. These documents are often lengthy and require a translator familiar with both legal procedure and the spoken register of the source language. Certification is required for court submission.
Expert witness report, medical-legal matter — A personal injury or clinical negligence solicitor requires a medical expert report translated from a European or Asian language for use in litigation. These instructions combine legal and medical terminology and are handled by translators with dual subject-matter experience. Turnaround is confirmed on receipt depending on document length.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a quote for an urgent legal translation?
Send the document to LingvoHouse via lingvohouse.com with the hearing date or deadline. The project manager will assess the document on receipt and return a confirmed quote — covering word count, rate, urgency supplement if applicable, and delivery time — before work begins. For genuinely urgent instructions, quotes are turned around quickly. There is no obligation to proceed until the scope and cost are agreed.
Is certification included in the price?
Certified translation is included in the per-word rate for standard instructions. The certification takes the form of a signed statement of accuracy from the translator, with their full name, qualifications, and contact details, attached to the translated document. Hard copy certification — where the receiving court requires a physical original rather than a digital version — may carry an additional handling charge, confirmed at quote stage.
Does LingvoHouse charge per word or per page?
LingvoHouse quotes on a per-word basis for document translation, calculated from the source document word count. Per-page rates are sometimes used in the industry for court bundle work where the document mix makes word counting impractical — LingvoHouse can accommodate either model where a firm has an existing preference, but the default is per word.
Can I get a standing rate for regular Legal Aid instructions?
Yes. Solicitors with ongoing Legal Aid caseloads — particularly in immigration, family, or criminal proceedings — are encouraged to contact LingvoHouse to discuss a standing arrangement. This removes the need to request a new quote for every instruction and gives the firm a confirmed rate across the caseload. Contact the team via lingvohouse.com to discuss.
What happens if the document is longer than estimated?
The quote is based on the actual word count of the document supplied. If additional documents are added to an instruction after the quote is issued, the project manager issues a revised quote covering the additional words before the expanded scope begins. There are no retrospective charges for scope that was not agreed in advance.
Credentials and Quality Standards
Legal translation pricing at LingvoHouse reflects the cost of a fully certified, ISO 17100-compliant workflow — not a machine translation output with a human check attached. All work is carried out by qualified legal translators, reviewed independently, and delivered under ISO 27001-certified file security. LingvoHouse is a Corporate Member of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting and holds ISO 9001 certification for quality management.
For a quote on a legal translation instruction — urgent or standard, Legal Aid or privately funded — contact LingvoHouse via lingvohouse.com with the document and the required delivery date. The project manager will confirm cost, turnaround, and certification format on receipt. For same-day witness statement instructions, see the Same-Day Witness Statement Translation for Solicitors page.
For same-day witness statement translation instructions, contact LingvoHouse via lingvohouse.com with the document and the hearing date. The project manager will confirm turnaround, certification format, and cost on receipt — with no obligation to proceed until the scope is agreed. For urgent court bundle instructions involving multiple documents, see the Court Bundle Translation Services page.
For urgent turnaround — see How Fast Can Legal Documents Be Translated for Court? FAQ page.
For solicitors acting on behalf of public sector bodies or individuals in receipt of Legal Aid, further information on LingvoHouse’s public sector translation services and framework agreements is available at the Translation Services for UK Councils & Public Sector Bodies page.
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