Choosing a sworn translator is not hunting for the cheapest ad. For a Polish court, office, civil registry or university you need a person on the Ministry of Justice list with the right language mandate, a clear delivery format, and a seal name that matches the register entry.
The article on what a sworn translator is explains status. The services piece covers written vs oral work. Here the focus is verification, where to look, bureau vs private specialist, and how to read reviews.
Below: criteria, checking the MoJ list with a link to the official search, channels, red flags and a pre-payment checklist. Sources are at the end.
A sound choice = MoJ list entry + correct language + seal/QES name matches the entry + delivery format accepted by the recipient. Reviews and price are secondary to that check.
01Selection criteria before comparing prices
First lock the recipient’s requirement: language, sworn status, paper or electronic original, annexes.
- The language mandate must match the document’s material language.
- The performer is a listed natural person, not a bureau brand.
- Delivery format: paper with a round seal or an electronic original with a qualified signature.
- Agree timing and volume after a readable scan.
02How to verify a translator on the MoJ list
Open the official sworn-translator list search on the Ministry of Justice BIP site.
Search by surname or filter by language and voivodeship/city. Match full name and TP number.
Confirm the entry covers the required language.
After delivery, match seal/formula data to the entry again.
Legal framework: Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator (Dz.U. 2004 No. 195 item 2035, as amended).
Before paying, ask for the full name and TP number, check the language on the official MoJ list, and confirm delivery format (paper or QES) in writing.
Send a scan and language
We match a listed sworn translator and delivery format.
03Where to look: list, bureau, city, referrals
- The official MoJ list is the base for verification and language/city search.
- A bureau helps with multiple languages, courier and one invoice — ask who certifies before paying.
- For Warsaw, see the Warsaw sworn-translation and Warsaw bureau pages; online ordering does not skip list checks.
- Referrals and reviews signal experience; they do not replace the list.
- Maps and ads are only a contact entry; the finish line is the list entry and language.
04Bureau or private translator
05Reviews and red flags
Do not pay if they will not name the person who will certify the result or refuse a TP number you can check on the MoJ sworn-translator list.
- Read reviews in context: language, document type, timing, delivery format.
- Check how recent the review is.
- Red flag: “any language with one seal”, no named performer, sealing someone else’s text without review.
- Red flag: “per document” pricing with no page volume.
- Bureau review pages help beside list verification — not instead of it.
06Language, source medium and result format
- Confirm direction and third-language seals — a second specialist may be needed.
- State whether work is from an original, copy or scan.
- Agree paper or QES before start.
- For urgency, see the sworn-translation turnaround article.
07Checklist before payment
- You have the recipient’s written requirement.
- Full name and language are named and found on the MoJ list.
- Timing, copies and paper or QES are agreed.
- A readable scan of all sides and annexes was sent.
- Contact channel and correction ownership are clear.
08Sources
- Sworn-translator list search — BIP MS.
- Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator — ISAP.
- LEGIX pages: sworn translator, sworn translation, reviews, price list.
QuoteThe MoJ list answers “were they authorised?”. Reviews answer “how did they work?”. For an office filing you need both — in that order.
LEGIX team
09FAQ
The Ministry of Justice BIP hosts a list search. Match name, language and TP number before payment and after delivery.