Certified Translations in Prague: A Guide for Expats

Moving to Prague, buying a flat, getting married, or setting up a company all have one thing in common: at some point, a foreign document lands on a Czech desk and needs a certified translation before anyone will act on it. This guide is the starting point — what certified translation actually means here, which situation you’re in, and what’s specific about doing all this in Prague.

• Any foreign document submitted to a Czech authority, notary, court, or employer needs a certified Czech translation with a court-appointed translator’s stamp.
• A translation certified in your home country is not accepted — it has to be done by a translator registered with a Czech court.
• Prague has the highest concentration of expats, notaries, and the main OAMP office, so several situations here need a court interpreter alongside translation.
• Apostille always comes before translation, not after — a common point of confusion.

The short version: whenever a foreign-language document needs to be understood, and trusted, by a Czech institution.

That includes documents for the Foreign Police or OAMP, university admissions, banks, notaries, courts, and employers. A certified (sworn) translation carries the round stamp and signature of a translator officially appointed by a Czech court — it’s a legal guarantee that the translation matches the original, not just a good-quality translation. Importantly, a translation certified by a translator in your home country is not accepted in the Czech Republic; it has to be done by a translator registered here. We cover what certified translation involves in more detail in our full guide.

Rather than explain every scenario here, use this table to jump straight to the guide that matches what you’re doing.

Prague isn’t just where the most expats happen to live — a few practical things are genuinely different here.

Prague hosts the main OAMP office, reflecting the highest concentration of foreign residents and permit applications in the country, so residence-related translations are especially common here. The city center also has the largest concentration of notaries in the Czech Republic, which matters directly for property purchases and company formations — both routinely require a court-certified interpreter at the signing, not just a translated document. Finally, you generally have a choice in how you receive your translation: in person at a central Prague office, or entirely online with delivery by post or electronically — useful if you’re juggling appointments across the city or aren’t in Prague yet.

These three terms get mixed up constantly, and mixing them up can cost you a trip back to an office.

A certified (sworn) translation is done by a court-appointed translator and carries their stamp — it certifies that the translation matches the original text. A notarized copy is something different: a notary confirms that a copy matches an original document, but says nothing about translation. An apostille is a form of legalization confirming that a foreign public document itself is genuine, issued by the country where the document originated. If you need both an apostille and a translation, the order matters: the apostille always comes first, since the certified translation should cover the apostille stamp itself, not just the underlying document.

Getting a certified translation in Prague is usually a same-week matter, sometimes same-day.

Send us a scan or photo of your document, and we’ll confirm price and turnaround — standard personal documents can often be done within 24 hours in express mode. You can collect the translation in person from our central Prague office, or have it sent electronically or by post if that’s more convenient. If your situation involves a notary — buying property, forming a company — let us know in advance so we can arrange a court interpreter for the appointment itself, not just the paperwork.

Send us your document and we’ll point you to the right process — or just get started right away.