Don’t Let Your Translation Look Too Good: The Legal Risks of Copy-Pasting

Konrad Jaworski | January 05, 2026

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In the world of official document translation, like birth certificates, court rulings, or social service reports, you are creating a legal mirror of the original. Ideally, this type of content should be handled by sworn translators only. In practice, however, when the translation is needed only for a client’s reference and not to be presented before authorities, it’s often performed by non-sworn linguists, who may lack specialized knowledge in this field and might treat the document like any other regular translation.

One of the most common stumbling blocks for translators is how to handle non-textual elements like logos, wax seals, and signatures. Should you copy and paste them? Omit them? Or maybe describe them?

Here is a guide to professional best practices for handling these elements.

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