Certified Greek translation in the UK is one of those jobs nobody plans for until a form asks for it. A university wants your Greek degree in English, a landlord or employer asks for a translated certificate, or a UK office tells you that a plain translation is not enough. This guide explains what “certified” means, what to check before you pay, and introduces a Greek List member who does exactly this work: Found in Translation.
In everyday use, a certified translation is a translation that comes with a signed statement from the translator or the translation company. According to the Chartered Institute of Linguists, the certificate should say that the document is a true and accurate translation of the original, give the date of the translation, and include the name and contact details of the translator or of a representative of the translation company. You can read the full explanation on the CIOL website.
The important point is that there is no single national stamp that fits every situation, so certified Greek translation in the UK always depends on who is asking. Each university, employer, bank or public body decides what it accepts. So the first step is always to ask the organisation that requested the document what exactly they need, and only then to order the translation.
Greeks who move to the UK tend to bring a folder of papers with them. The usual ones are birth and marriage certificates, school leaving certificates, university diplomas and transcripts, criminal record certificates, tax forms, powers of attorney and notarial deeds, and driving licences. Business owners often add contracts and company documents to the pile.
Each of these has traps when you order certified Greek translation in the UK. Names are the biggest one. A name written in Greek letters can be transliterated in more than one way, and if the spelling on your translated degree does not match your passport, someone will eventually ask why. Dates are the second trap, because the Greek day, month, year order and the way institutions name their degrees do not map neatly onto UK terms. A translator who works with Greek documents every week knows these patterns and will flag them before they cause delays.
Quick check: before ordering, find out who will read the document, whether they want a certificate attached, and whether they need the original or a scan. This is general information, not legal advice.
Found in Translation Ltd is run by Evangelos Drakou. His Greek List listing describes him as a certified translator and interpreter with 14 years of experience, with a BA (Hons) in English Language and Literature and a Master’s diploma in Translation Studies. He is listed as a CIOL Chartered Linguist (Translator) and Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, a full member of the Panhellenic Association of Translators, and an accredited translator and interpreter for the Consulates of the Embassy of Greece in the UK.
For certified Greek translation in the UK, the company is UK based with an office in Greece. Its own website says the translators work throughout the United Kingdom and Greece and always translate into their mother tongue, which matters when the target language is English and the text has to read naturally to a British reader.
The listing names official certified translations, document translation, and website and e-shop translation. Specialist fields include legal, financial, medical and pharmaceutical, and technical work, as well as tourism, catering and marketing. The documents listed include certificates, vital records, criminal records, contracts, powers of attorney, notarial deeds, tax forms, driving licences, diplomas and transcripts.
Greek and English are covered in house. For other languages the listing says Found in Translation has an international network of partners that covers more than 40 languages, which is handy if a family document trail also involves German, Italian or another country. The company website also describes its certified translations as accepted by all public authorities and private institutions in the UK and in most cases abroad. As noted above, always confirm with the receiving organisation.
Greek stop: Evangelos Drakou, Found in Translation Ltd. Certified translation, Greek and English, UK and Greece. Ask for a free quote through the listing or the company website.
A few habits save time and money whichever translator you choose for certified Greek translation in the UK. Send a clear, complete scan, including stamps, apostilles and the back of the page, because translators have to render those too. Tell the translator who the document is for, so the certificate wording matches what the organisation asked for. Give the exact spelling of your name as it appears in your passport, and list any other documents the same name must match.
Ask about the process before you start: how the certificate is issued, whether you get a paper or a digital copy, and how long a document of your type usually takes. Order early, because certified Greek translation in the UK is rarely something you can rush. Translation is often the step that arrives at the last minute, right before a deadline for an application, a mortgage or a job start date.
If you are also sorting your tax paperwork this year, our guide to Self Assessment for Greeks in the UK covers the basics, and our list of Greek lawyers and solicitors in the UK is useful when a translated document is part of a legal matter.
Paperwork is not the whole story of life as a Greek in the UK. Browse the most complete list of Greek events in the UK, from concerts and theatre to community nights, and list your own event for free.
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