Are you planning a wedding ceremony in Paris or other city in France?If you’re not a fluent french speaker, the law requires you to hire a translator for your civil wedding in the City Hall.Our translation agency in Paris is the specialist of wedding interpreting services for civil ceremonies.
In this article we share some tips:
Here are our prices 2023 for translation services during the marriage and for translation during your preliminary communication with the town hall in France:
Some Paris and other cities town halls will require you to be accompanied by a certified (sworn) wedding translator ( appointed by the Court of Appeal of their region).
You can learn more about our Sworn interpreters Services here. Such an interpreter is also authorised to accompany you to the notary if you decide to sign a prenuptial agreement before the wedding.
These specialists charge more than their non-sworn colleagues. In this case, the cost of a wedding translator for your marriage will be between 280 and 350 euros, depending on the number of sworn interpreters in the region you choose for the ceremony and their pricing policy.
Whether you need a certified wedding translator or a “regular” one, don’t hesitate to contact us for a quote, adapted to your objectives and your budget!
When getting married in France to a foreign person (or between two foreign persons), a wedding translator is required at the following four steps:
1. Step 1 – You go to the municipality and submit your marriage application. The city hall requires you to be accompanied by an interpreter during this procedure
2 Step 2 – In some cases in France, the city hall holds a preliminary hearing for the future spouses, which also requires the presence of a translator
3. Step 3 – If you are signing a marriage contract in France, the notary will request that you be accompanied by an interpreter. For all notarial acts (unlike procedures at the municipality), the interpreter must be sworn, certified by the Court of Appeal.
Stage 4 – Marriage ceremony at the City Hall, at which the wedding interpreter must be present.
Usually, the municipality does not provide interpreters for all procedures at the municipality, so the marrying couple must hire an interpreter of their choice.
The role of the translator during your wedding will be short (the interpreter’s intervention rarely exceeds one hour), but crucial.
Everything that is said during the marriage ceremony (by the mayor, the witnesses, the families, the bride and groom) must be exactly translated into the language of the foreign fiancé/fiancée.Before approving the translator’s application, ask him/her if he/she is comfortable in front of an audience and if he/she is used to translating official speeches during weddings. Asking for some references would not be a bad idea. Imagine your wedding going to pieces because of an interpreter who turns out to be uncomfortable in public, that would be more than a pity!
After the ceremony, the interpreter usually stays for a while to help the bride and groom’s families to communicate with each other. Therefore, choose a wedding translator with a good human touch, a nice and friendly communicator, so that the conversation between the two families goes as smoothly as possible.
To be sure you find the right person for such an important event, your can visit our Agency’s Homepage and see the photos and the brief descriptions of our marriage thanslators in different cities of France, and we’ll always be able to find one just near you!
We would also be happy to provide you with feedback and comments from couples for whom our wedding translators have translated their ceremonies.
It is up to the city hall to decide whether you should be accompanied by a sworn (certified) interpreter for your international marriage, or whether a non-sworn translator, who is fluent in English and French, will be sufficient for the smooth running of the ceremony.
But still keep in mind that according to the law in France, since 2014 a certified interpreter is not required for civil weddings, a regular translator will suffice.
Most town halls in the Paris area and in France accept non-sworn translators. The only requirements for a wedding translator are usually the following:
In general, in 2023 fewer and fewer municipalities strictly require the translator who participates in the wedding ceremony to be sworn. The French capital’s Town halls (there are 20 of them, one for every Paris district) are generally willing to accept the services of a regular non sworn translator.
That is very good for your wallet, taking into account the certifies wedding translators rates and the difficulty of finding one. If you’re marrying in Paris and opt for the certified (sworn) option, ideally book a wedding translator in Paris some 2 months in advance, almost before you decide to get married… we strongly advise you to do so, a lack of such specialists in the French capital is significant!
Marina Yulis Traduction, Interpreting and Translation agency – Your reliable partner in Paris and France 14, avenue de l’Opera, PARIS 75001, FRANCEPhone, whats app : + 33 6 18 76 06 18Mail : office@translator-paris.comOpening hours: Monday to Saturday, 8h30 – 20h30
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