1. What a translation must cover
The entire document, including letterhead, footnotes, seals and handwritten annotations.
Anything left untranslated is a gap in the certified bundle.
2. Where the translation goes
Inside the notarised document.
The notary certifies the original and the translation together.
A translation added after the notarisation, or after the foreign ministry authentication, is outside the bundle and is refused.
3. Who translates
A translation agency with a stamp, generally, or a qualified translator whose work the notary accepts.
The translator’s certificate is often required as an attachment.
4. The language
Arabic for the Gulf and much of North Africa.
French for francophone Africa.
Spanish for most of Latin America. Portuguese for Brazil and Angola.
Russian, Urdu, Bengali, and others as required.
5. The quality issue
Legal and technical terms have to be rendered accurately.
A product description translated too loosely will not match the destination’s customs terminology.
Company names should be transliterated consistently with the registration documents.
6. The review step
Have the translation reviewed before notarisation.
Reviewing after the embassy step is too late.
7. A scenario
An exporter notarised a contract in Chinese, obtained authentication, then realised the destination required Arabic.
The translation was produced separately and refused, because it was not part of the notarised document.
The chain was restarted from the notary.
8. Closing view
Translation sequencing is the single most common avoidable failure in the consular chain.
It is prevented by asking about the language requirement before the notary appointment.
*This article is based on China’s consular authentication regulations, updated October 2026.*