Certification requirements and legal remedies: Berlin

Requirements
1. Court interpreters, Section 3 subsection 1 and 2 GDolmG (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gdolmg/BJNR212400019.html)
  
  The competent authority under Section 2 generally certifies as a court interpreter for one or more languages, upon application, any person who
  1. is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or a citizen of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or a person who has his or her professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states,
  2. is of full age,
  3. is qualified,
  4. lives in settled financial circumstances,
  5. is reliable and
  6. possesses the requisite specialist knowledge in the German language and in the language for which he or she is authorised/sworn.
  A person is in possession of the requisite specialist knowledge of subsection 1 no. 6 if they have a fundamental knowledge of German legal language and
  1. has passed an interpreter examination of a state or state-approved examination body or any other state or state-approved examination for the interpreter profession in Germany or
  2. has passed an examination abroad that has been recognised as being equivalent to such an examination as provided in no. 1 above.
  Proof of the fundamental knowledge of the German legal language can also be provided by taking an examination of no. 1 and 2.
2. Other interpreters, in particular those providing interpretation services for notarial purposes, Section 41 subsection 1 and 2 no. 1 JustG Bln (https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/jlr-JustizGBEV2P41)
  
  Upon application, the authority designated as competent by statutory order pursuant to Section 40 subsection 1 shall swear in a person as a general interpreter for one or more languages or authorize a person as a translator if that person
  1. is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or a citizen of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or a person who has his or her professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states,
  2. is of full age,
  3. is qualified,
  4. lives in settled financial circumstances,
  5. is reliable and
  6. possesses the requisite specialist knowledge in the German language and in the language for which he or she is authorised/sworn.
  A person is in possession of the requisite specialist knowledge of subsection 1 no. 6 if they have a fundamental knowledge of German legal language and
  1. as interpreter
    1. has passed an interpreter examination of a state or state-approved examination body or any other state or state-approved examination for the interpreter profession in Germany or
    2. has passed an examination abroad that has been recognised as being equivalent to such an examination as provided in no. 1 letter a) above;
  Proof of the fundamental knowledge of the German legal language can also be provided by taking an examination of no. 1 letter a) and b).
3. Translators, Section 41 subsection 1 and 2 no. 2 JustG Bln
  (https://gesetze.berlin.de/bsbe/document/jlr-JustizGBEV2P41)
  
  Upon application, the authority designated as competent by statutory order pursuant to Section 40 subsection 1 shall swear in a person as a general interpreter for one or more languages or authorize a person as a translator if that person
  1. is a citizen of a Member State of the European Union or a citizen of a contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or a person who has his or her professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states,
  2. is of full age,
  3. is qualified,
  4. lives in settled financial circumstances,
  5. is reliable and
  6. possesses the requisite specialist knowledge in the German language and in the language for which he or she is authorised/sworn.
  A person is in possession of the requisite specialist knowledge of subsection 1 no. 6 if they have a fundamental knowledge of German legal language and
  1. as translator
    1. has passed a translator examination of a state or state-approved examination body or any other state or state-approved examination for the translator profession in Germany or
    2. has passed an examination abroad that has been recognised as being equivalent to such an examination as provided in no. 2 letter a above.
  Proof of the fundamental knowledge of the German legal language can also be provided by taking an examination of no. 2 letter a) and b).
Documents to be submitted

To document the requirements the application for general swearing-in as court interpreter or other interpreter and or authorization as translator shall be accompanied by the following documents and statements:
- Identification document: Copy of ID card or passport with proof of residence
- For applicants who are not nationals of an EU member state: a residence permit entitling the holder to engage in gainful employment on a permanent basis
- a brief curriculum vitae,
- Proof of having passed an interpreter or translator examination administered by a state examination board or a university in Germany, or an examination taken abroad that has been recognized as equivalent
- Certificate of Good Conduct for submission to a government agency: To verify personal reliability, a certificate from the Federal Central Register (Certificate of Good Conduct) is required for submission to a government agency (document type O). The information must not be older than six months. When applying, state “Sworn court interpreter” as the purpose of use. The recipient authority for the certificate is the “Berlin Regional Court – Littenstraße Office.”

Competent authorities

Certification or authorization is provided only upon request; please use the online service for this purpose.
1. For Court interpreters:
2. For other interpreters:
3. For translators:
Legal Remedy

An appeal may be filed against the denial of general certification and/or authorization. Details regarding the form, period for filing the appeal, and jurisdiction can be found in the notice of appeal rights attached to the notice of rejection.

Additional information

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PersonId	Last name	First name	Languages	Postal code	City	Street address	Phone	Last update