Czech Interpreter

matrika - where a Czech civil status record originates

In the Czech Republic, records of births, marriages and deaths are kept by the civil register - the matrika. An extract from the record is issued by the relevant office of the local municipality, and the form states which matriční úřad issued it.

For the translation this is essential: the official name of the authority is not translated "by meaning" but keeps its original form, with an explanation where needed. It is precisely by this name that the origin of the document is established.

The registration of events that took place abroad needs separate attention. If a birth or marriage took place outside the Czech Republic and was later entered into the Czech system, the record goes into a different register and the form is different accordingly. Such a document often contains the data of both countries, and both must appear in the translation.

-ová: the Czech female surname

In Czech, the ending -ová is traditionally added to a woman's surname. This means that members of one family have different entries in their documents - and this is completely normal.

The problem arises in an international context. In the passport the name may be in one form, in another document in the other. In some cases a woman is officially entitled to register her surname without the ending, as a result of which the same person ends up with two different entries in different documents.

In the translation we do not choose the "correct" variant and do not correct the original: the entry is carried over exactly as it is in the document. If your documents contain two forms, this must be identified in advance so that the authority does not see two different people.

In Czech too, as in other Slavic languages, a name changes its form in a sentence according to grammatical case. So you may find the same name in several forms in one and the same document. The translation uses the nominative form.

háček and čárka - marks that change the sound

Czech uses the Latin alphabet with two main types of marks: the háček - a small v-shaped mark above a letter (š, č, ř, ž, ě, ň) - and the čárka - an accent-like mark that indicates vowel length (á, é, í, ó, ú, ý). The kroužek - a ring above the letter ů - is separate.

These marks are not decoration: s and š are different sounds, and r and ř all the more so. Losing a single mark in a name creates a different name. When a document is scanned or faxed, it is exactly these marks that are lost first, so the quality of the document is critical.

A common mistake is mixing up ů and ú - both denote a long sound, but they are written in different positions. In the translation the entry is carried over exactly as it is in the original.

rodné číslo and business identifiers

Czech personal documents constantly contain the rodné číslo - the personal number that links the document to other documents. It is carried over into the translation unchanged.

In company documents the main identifier is the IČO, and the register data are available in the ARES system. When an extract is translated, these codes, like the abbreviations that indicate the company's legal form, keep their original form.

Certificates and educational documents

Czech official certificates are a separate type of document with their own forms. They often state the date of issue, the validity period and the issuing body - all three elements are reflected exactly in the translation, because the receiving authority often checks precisely the validity period.

In educational documents the grading system differs from the Georgian one. In the translation the grade is carried over as it is in the original, with the scale indicated - no conversion is made, because comparing the systems is the competence of the assessing institution. The official name of the educational institution remains unchanged.

Czech or Slovak - a common mix-up

Czech and Slovak are very close to each other and also have visually similar marks. In practice it often happens that a Slovak document is taken for a Czech one or the other way round - especially when the document dates from the Czechoslovak period.

This is a question not only of terminology but also of identifying the right authority: the registers and forms of the two countries are different. During the assessment we establish which language the text is in and which country's authority issued the document. If the document dates from the period of the common state, this is noted separately.

Interpreter and forms of certification

Interpreting in connection with Czech is often needed at business negotiations, online meetings, medical consultations and administrative procedures. The service is prepared by prior arrangement - tell us the subject, the format and the duration.

In the Czech Republic, official translation is governed by the system of court translators. If the document has to be submitted to a Czech authority, check in advance which form the receiving body requires - this is their internal rule, and we cannot confirm it on their behalf.

Residence and migration documents

Czech administrative procedures often require Georgian documents to be prepared in Czech - and the other way round. In such cases the receiving authority, as a rule, requires a specific form and type of certification, so before the translation starts it is important to know where and for what purpose you will submit the document.

A common mistake is preparing the translation before the requirements of the receiving body have been established. If it later turns out that a different form or additional certification was needed, part of the work has to be redone. That is why, during the assessment, we always ask you about the purpose.

The question of how recent the document is deserves a separate mention: many authorities require a certificate to have been issued within a certain period. The translation does not change this period - it reflects the state of the original, so you first need to obtain a new certificate and only then order the translation.

Medical and insurance-related documents

When translating medical documents, the main things are accurate terminology and consistency of the patient's data with other documents. Medical reports often contain abbreviations, international classification codes and names of medicines - they are reflected exactly in the translation, with an explanation added where needed.

In test results it is important to carry over the units of measurement and the reference values unchanged. Converting them into "more convenient" units is not acceptable, because that would change the content of the document.

If you need the medical document for submission to a Georgian institution, an ordinary written translation is often enough. For official procedures you may also need additional certification - we clarify this in advance.

Old and archival records

Documents from the Czechoslovak period and earlier are a separate group. They may contain names of administrative units of that time which no longer exist, or place names written in old spelling. In the translation such names are carried over as they are in the document, and where needed it is noted that the name is the one used at the time.

With handwritten records, quality is decisive: faded text or text scanned at low resolution often creates ambiguity. If the original is available, we recommend scanning it again at a higher resolution.

Preparing the document for assessment

Send us all pages in full, with the seals, signatures and the back side. Also give us the Latin spelling of the first name and surname as it appears in the passport.

For official use, a notarized translation is often needed, and for submission abroad - an apostille. For company extracts, see registry extract translation, and for educational documents - diploma translation.

Questions about Czech documents and surnames