termbase
Certified German translation for Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Your Irish, British, American, Australian or Canadian document needs to work in front of a German Standesamt, Ausländerbehörde or court — not just look official. termbase delivers certified translations by sworn, court-authorised German translators, for submission to authorities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, at one binding fixed price.
Certified translators · 50+ industries · DIN EN ISO 17100, Reg. 7U517
Translation agency for Germany
One ISO 17100 language service provider, from business texts to certified documents.
termbase is the international name and English-language market presence of Fachübersetzungsdienst GmbH, which is registered with DIN CERTCO for translation services under DIN EN ISO 17100 (Reg. 7U517), with offices in Berlin, Vienna and Baar. We translate specialist texts for companies – law, technology, medicine, research and websites – and produce certified translations for authorities and courts – as a professional translation service and agency between German and English.
The difference is in the standard: assigned professional translators instead of a random match, managed terminology instead of word-for-word, a binding price before the order and – where a body requires it – certification by authorised translators. With our ISO 17100-governed language technology.
Where do you start?
Three ways in: authorities, exporting companies, or by field.
Authorities and private clients: certified by authorised translators
Certificates, diplomas and official documents – certified by authorised translators, recognised nationwide.
Certified translation →Companies and exporters: terminology, CAT/TM and a framework agreement
Specialist texts with managed terminology – CAT/TM, framework agreement and a binding price up front for exporting companies.
Professional translation for business →By field: law, technology, medicine, research or the web
Law, technology, medicine, research or the web – the right professional translator with expertise in your field.
See fields →Who we work for
Who commissions us: corporations, ministries, NGOs, publishers, brands.
From corporations to ministries, from publishers to agencies – and for private individuals who need a certified translation. Each group has different demands – as a translation agency with professional translators, we know them.
Corporations: contracts, technical documentation, annual reports, compliance
Contracts, technical documentation, annual reports, compliance. Consistent terminology across subsidiaries and years – secured via translation memory, framework agreement and four-eyes revision to ISO 17100.
Authorities and ministries: notices and procedural texts under Section 142 (3) ZPO
Notices, legal and procedural texts, multilingual citizen information. Binding and traceable – by authorised translators, valid nationwide under Section 142 (3) ZPO, GDPR-compliant.
NGOs and international organisations: reports, applications, field material
Reports, applications, legal and field material in German ⇄ English, both directions. Sensitive and on time – confidential under NDA, with translation memory for consistent, predictable costs.
Trade and export: conformity, customs and MDR documents
Contracts, conformity and customs documents, manuals, certificates. Market access requires the official language (MDR, Machinery Regulation) – translated to standard, certified on request.
Publishers: non-fiction and fiction, in time for the book fair
Non-fiction, specialist and fiction titles. Stylistically sure-footed and terminologically clean, native-speaker – with proofreading on request, on time for the book fair.
Marketing agencies and brands: campaigns, claims, transcreation
Campaigns, claims, websites. Impact comes not from literal translation but from transcreation – on-brand and SEO-optimised in the German market.
Fields
The right German translator for law, medicine, technology or the web.
As a translation agency for professional and certified translations, we assign every job a translator with expertise in the field – terminology-managed and confidential.
Certified translation by authorised translators
Certificates, diplomas and official documents by authorised translators – recognised nationwide, at a price including delivery.
Legal translation: contracts, pleadings, court documents
Contracts, pleadings, T&Cs and court documents – correct legal terminology, confidentiality and NDA on request.
Technical translation: manuals, data sheets, software strings
Operating manuals, data sheets and software – terminology-managed to standard, with translation memory across all product lines.
Medical translation: findings, doctor's letters, IFUs, clinical trials
Findings, doctor's letters, IFUs and clinical trials – by medical professional translators, MDR/IVDR-compliant.
Academic translation: publications, dissertations, grant applications
Publications, dissertations and grant applications – journal-ready English and discipline-precise terminology.
Websites and software: localisation with SEO and hreflang
Localisation of website, shop and app rather than plain translation – including SEO, hreflang and market law.
Price & fixed price
One binding fixed price, agreed before you order.
The specific price depends on volume, language direction, field and deadline. You receive it bindingly before the order – with no recalculation.
How termbase works
From your upload to the sealed original: four steps.
STEP 1
Upload your document securely
You upload your document securely or request a project – we review volume, language and deadline.
STEP 2
A translator qualified for your field takes over
A translator qualified for your field takes over – for certificates, a court-authorised translator.
STEP 3
Revision to DIN EN ISO 17100, then the certification note
Terminology and quality control to DIN EN ISO 17100; where needed, with a certification note.
STEP 4
Advance PDF, then the stamped original by post
You receive the PDF in advance and – for certified translations – the sealed original by post.
Why professional translation
German, Austrian and Swiss certification are three different things.
For anyone bringing a foreign document, degree or company into the German-speaking market, acceptance turns on rules a stamp from home doesn't satisfy — and they differ by destination. Compare the three below.
Germany: Section 142 (3) ZPO, EU Reg. 2016/1191, ZAB and anabin
Nationwide validity, not just one state
Only a court-authorised translator (§ 142 (3) ZPO) may certify a translation — and an authorisation granted in one Land is accepted nationwide — § 142 (3) ZPO refers to a translator authorised "in einem Land", without restricting it to that state.
Apostille needed — or not, depending on origin
Since Feb 2019, EU Reg. 2016/1191 exempts EU civil-status certificates (e.g. Irish) from apostille in Germany — UK, US, Australian and Canadian documents still need one.
Degree recognition needs the translation too
A foreign degree isn't recognised by translation alone: the ZAB compares it via anabin and needs a certified translation of the original to issue its Statement of Comparability.
Austria: § 14 SDG, three apostille offices, ENIC-NARIC
Apostille issuer depends on document type
Apostilles for Austrian documents come from 3 different offices depending on issuer — BMEIA, the Landesgericht president, or the Landeshauptmann — not one office (bmeia.gv.at).
The exact legal title, not just 'sworn'
Austrian law names the credential 'allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Dolmetscher' (§14 SDG) — verifiable in the ÖVGD register at gerichtsdolmetscher.at.
ENIC-NARIC Austria doesn't require German-only
For degree recognition, ENIC-NARIC Austria (4 AST offices: Vienna, Linz, Graz, Innsbruck) accepts a certified translation into German or English (oead.at).
Switzerland: notarial certification, canton by canton
Switzerland certifies translations by notary, not a state sworn-translator title
Switzerland has no federal sworn-translator register; certification is notarial, canton by canton. Only Geneva runs a formal sworn-translator roll that every source agrees on.
The cantonal Handelsregisteramt decides whether your documents need translating
Switzerland's Commercial Register runs canton by canton in German, French or Italian; foreign filings must match the canton's official language or be certified-translated into it.
Cantonal migration offices require certified translations of foreign civil documents
A Swiss residence (B) or settlement (C) permit needs certified translations of foreign civil documents; naturalisation requires them in the canton's official language.
From the world to Germany – humanly accountable.
Controlled technology (Trados, memoQ, terminology) plus assigned human responsibility – with our ISO 17100-governed language technology on request. Where it is used, translation memories cut costs on repetitions by around 15%.
Technology & AI
CAT tools, translation memory and AI — and where the machine stops.
Technology takes the routine off us – not the judgement. For decades we have worked with CAT tools, translation memories and terminology databases; we use AI and machine translation as a tool within a controlled process revised to DIN EN ISO 17100. The machine brings speed on repetitions and large volumes – the content-critical decisions (numbers, negations, law, medicine, tone) are made by the specialist. Because AI translation often sounds fluent but is not always correct.
One contact for German ⇄ English across 70+ fields. How we combine technology and specialist judgement – and where raw AI reaches its limits – you can read under professional translation; for machine-pre-translated raw texts there is post-editing (MTPE).
Services
What we deliver: translation, certification, interpreting, DTP.
Professional translation with CAT, terminology and a final check
Professional translators, CAT/TM, terminology, QM and final check.
Certified translation
Authorised translators, formal check, price including delivery.
Interpreting for appointments, hearings and negotiations
Language mediation matched to occasion and field.
Proofreading, revision and print-ready DTP
Proofreading, specialist review and print-/deployment-ready files.
Fields & languages
More than 70 fields — English into German and German into English.
termbase is the German ⇄ English specialist across more than 70 fields of expertise — one language pair, both directions, with professional translators for your field.
We work exclusively between German and English — the one pair we specialise in.
On site in all three countries
Three offices — Berlin, Vienna, Baar — where the receiving authorities sit.
Your document reaches us digitally or by post from anywhere in the world, and the certified translation goes back the same way. What decides whether it is accepted is not how close you live to us, but that we keep an office in each of the three countries whose authorities will receive it – Berlin for Germany, Vienna for Austria, Baar for Switzerland.
FAQ
What clients ask before they send a document.
What is termbase?
What does a German translation cost?
Do you produce certified translations for authorities and courts?
Which directions do you translate — English to German, German to English?
Do you use machine translation or AI?
How fast do you deliver, and is there a 24-hour express?
Do I need an apostille for my translation?
Which documents do authorised translators certify?
Find your entry point
Every entry point: by field, document, country or service.
One contact, many ways in – by field, document, language or straight to the right service.
By country
GermanyAustriaSwitzerlandA colleague of mine walked into an office in Vienna with the same MEA apostille I have and was through without a query. For Germany that stamp is worth nothing, and no one had told me — the verification runs through the German authority itself and takes weeks. termbase said so on the first call, before I had spent anything, and had the German file ready by the time the authority started.
Rajesh Menon · registered nurse, Kochi (India) · nursing diploma → Germany
Next
Popular next steps: certificates, driving licences, contracts, manuals.
By document
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