Translation: a guide for pros
What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.
Offering translation
Translation clients need meaning, tone and format to survive the move into another language. Show that you ask about the reader and the purpose first, build a glossary before you start, and explain how you check your work.
What customers ask
- Which regional variety do you translate into?
- Can you keep the layout of my document?
- Do you provide a certified translation?
- How do you handle names and product terms?
- How long will a document of this length take?
- Will you check the translation with another translator?
How to win the job
- On the first call, ask who will read the translation, what it is for and which regional variety they expect, then confirm it in writing.
- Ask for the source text and a short glossary of the client's own terms, and confirm each one before you translate.
- Show a sample passage on the same subject, with a note on one term you chose and why.
- Put the word count or page count, the regional variety, the second review and the layout work into the quote, so the client compares like with like.
- Confirm in writing what the receiving office requires, such as a signed statement of accuracy, before you deliver.
- Explain how you check the work in your first reply, so the client knows the translation was reviewed.
What to put on your profile
- Sample translations with the language pair and subject noted, shared with permission.
- Language pairs and subjects you translate, such as legal, medical, technical, business or personal documents.
- Your process: source review, glossary, translation, review and layout.
- The file formats and layout tools you work with.
Follow-up that helps the customer
- Offer a review of the translation after the client's readers have used it, to correct terms that need changing.
- Suggest a shared glossary for future documents, so the same terms stay the same across the client's work.
- Offer to translate the next version of the document, with the changes marked.
Licenses and permits
Translation is not commonly licensed, so you usually do not need a license to offer it. Check with your state or local licensing agency for business registration, and keep a written agreement that names the language pair, the review step and any signed statement you provide.
Questions
How do I show I am qualified in a language pair?
Show translations in that pair, with the subject and readers noted, and describe how you check your work. Clients can judge your skill from the sample and the method.
Should I sign a statement of accuracy?
Only if you can stand behind the translation and the statement is true. Read the wording first, and do not sign for a language pair or subject you are not qualified to translate.
How do I handle work outside my language pair?
Refer it to a translator who works in that pair, and say so plainly. Taking work you cannot check puts the client's document at risk.
Pro reviewers
Pros who offer translation remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.
Edit history
- Oct 29, 2026: Drafted by infinibell to our content guidelines.
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