Certified & Official Translation in Togo

Pricing & turnaround

Typical documents, turnaround & pricing

Most personal files fall into a handful of categories. Standard turnaround is 24–72 hours once I have a clear scan; Express 24h is available when a deadline is tight (+50% on the base rate).

Counting pages. A birth certificate, a police clearance or a degree almost always fits on a single page, so the per-page rate is in practice a per-document rate. A common visa file — birth certificate, degree and police clearance — therefore comes to about 45,000 FCFA. A transcript or a judgment can run to several pages; the quote counts them for you, free of charge.

At the fixed euro rate (655.957 FCFA = €1): 15,000 FCFA is about €23; 66–118 FCFA about €0.10–€0.18 a word.

Each certified translation carries my wet-ink signature and my stamp as a translator sworn before the Cour d’appel de Lomé — on every page, with a short attestation that the translation is true to the original. That is what “sworn” means legally in Togo: the translator is personally liable for the accuracy of the rendering, and receiving authorities (embassies, universities, courts) rely on that stamp rather than on a private agency letterhead.

If an embassy or consulate rejects a document because of a stamp, layout or certification-format issue on my side, I rework it at no charge. I cannot control a change in their checklist mid-process, but formatting problems that are mine get fixed without asking you to pay twice.

Receiving your translation

• Secure PDF — included. Your certified translation, stamped and signed, delivered by WhatsApp or email on completion. Many embassies, universities and online filing portals now accept the certified PDF.
• Collection in Lomé — free. Stamped paper copy, by appointment.
• Courier delivery — anywhere in Togo. Stamped paper copy delivered to the address of your choice. Courier fees at cost, stated in your quote and settled with the translation. Allow 24 to 72 hours in transit depending on destination.

Check whether the receiving authority requires the paper original — many now accept a certified PDF.

Abroad, with nobody in Lomé to act for you? Tell me the destination country and the authority involved and I will confirm within 2 working hours whether the document needs legalisation. If it does, the original has to reach Lomé (see below). If an original entrusted to me is lost, my liability is as set out in the terms: limited to the fees for the engagement.

Who walks the file through, and what happens to your original

Togo is not yet a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so legalisation is a chain: the translation is legalised first at the town hall (mairie) where I am registered, the original at the civil registry or town hall; both then go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then to the embassy or consulate of the destination country — for many destinations, one based in a neighbouring capital such as Accra. I walk the file through myself, counter by counter; administrative and travel costs are stated in the quote. You do not need anyone in Lomé.

• Where to send the original. Legalisation applies to the original document, not a copy: it has to reach Lomé physically, addressed to me. The receiving address and the carrier are given with your quote — do not ship anything before you have them.
• What happens to it in transit. The original stays in my possession from lodging to collection. It is never handed to an intermediary, and I confirm each stage as it clears.
• A full scan is taken before anything is lodged. That scan is what allows the file to be rebuilt if the document goes astray.
• If the document is lost or damaged. A Togolese civil-status record can be re-issued by the town hall that issued it: I file the re-issue application and follow it through. My liability is as set out in the terms of service.
• What comes back to you. The legalised original and its sworn translation, stamped and bound together, shipped to the address of your choice — plus the secure PDF on completion.

Fees. Stamps, official charges and carriage are charged on at cost and stated in your quote. If you would rather settle with the administrations directly, you can: I carry the file, you keep the fees in your own hands.

Turnaround depends on the destination consulate, and I will not quote it from guesswork: tell me the country and the authority involved, and I will check with the legalisation service and confirm it with your quote.

Certified, sworn, notarised or legalised — what’s the difference?

English-speaking buyers are asked for four different things and the words are used loosely. A sworn (assermentée) translation is signed and stamped by a translator sworn before the Cour d’appel de Lomé — and in Togo, and for most consulates in Lomé, that is what a request for a “certified” or an “official” translation means. A notarised copy is a separate formality and does not replace the sworn stamp. Legalisation is a further step again: each document gets its first stamp separately, then both go together through Foreign Affairs and the consulate.