Swearing in

Detailed information on the swearing in of interpreters and translators can be found on this page.

Introduction

The Sworn Interpreters and Translators Act has been in force since 1 January 2009. That Act replaces old legislation on sworn translators and provides, among other things, that a large group of customers in the field of justice and the police must use sworn interpreters and translators in the context of criminal and aliens law. One of the instruments in the implementation of the Act is the Sworn Interpreters and Translators Register (the Register). All sworn interpreters and translators are registered in the Register.

How can I be sworn in as an interpreter or a translator?

If you wish to become a sworn interpreter or translator, you must first file a request for registration in the Register. It will then be established whether you meet the registration conditions under the Decree on Registration in the Register. If so, you will be registered in the Register by Bureau Wbtv. You will then receive proof of registration. With that proof of registration you may file a request to be sworn in before the court of your place of residence. You will then automatically receive an invitation from the court to appear at a hearing. During that hearing you will take the oath or make a solemn undertaking, after which you will be sworn in by the judge. You will then receive an instrument of administration of an oath. To complete your file, you must then send a copy of that instrument to Bureau Wbtv. You will then be officially sworn in as an interpreter and/or translator and will be registered as such in the Register.

History

Since as far back as the 19th century, it has been obligatory for certain translations to be made by a sworn translator. This often applies to translations of documents with an official or legal status, such as deeds, documentary evidence in court cases, diplomas and certificates.

After 1878 a translator could be sworn in by the court as a translator on a one-off basis “for life” under the Sworn Translators Act after submitting certain diplomas or certificates. After the swearing-in hearing he or she received an instrument of administration of an oath, after which his or her signature was filed with the court.

If a translator produced a sworn translation, he or she would place his or her signature, an official stamp and a statement that the translation is complete and faithful on the translation. His or her customer could then, if necessary, have the court verify on the basis of the signature whether the translation had actually been made by the sworn translator. That inspection was known (and is still known) as authentication.

The legislation described above did not apply to interpreters. However, it regularly occurred that a judge required of an interpreter during certain hearings that he or she take the oath or make a solemn affirmation, but that swearing-in applied only during that one hearing. Sworn interpreters as we know them now therefore did not exist until 1 January 2009. That situation came to an end in the context of a quality process that the judicial authorities commenced at the end of the last century to improve the quality of interpretation and translation services: on 1 January 2009 the Sworn Interpreters and Translators Act entered into force. That Act replaces the Sworn Translators Act from 1878, introduces “sworn interpreters” and places sworn interpreters and translators under one statutory arrangement.