Questions to ask before commissioning a legal or technical translation

Some people commissioning a legal or technical translation choose a translator based on price alone, without checking whether that person has verifiable experience with their specific document type. When that check is skipped, the document can get rejected by the Department of Home Affairs, a court, or your software integration partner — and you've lost weeks and money. The real cost of a poor choice surfaces only when it's too late. What separates a translator who will deliver work that's actually accepted from one who won't often comes down to the questions you ask upfront and how you listen to the answers — this holds true at any price point.

Asking about their experience with your exact document type

Legal and technical translation are not interchangeable skills. A translator who is fluent in Afrikaans and English may be competent at everyday documents but entirely out of their depth translating a property deed, employment contract, or software user interface. The question to ask is not "Have you translated before?" but "Have you translated documents like mine, and for whom?"

Listen for specifics. A solid answer names the types of documents they've handled — property transfers, trust deeds, software localisation, medical reports, engineering specifications — and ideally mentions industries or sectors they know. They should also be able to describe challenges that came up and how they solved them. If they give vague reassurance ("I can handle anything") or ask what type of document you're sending before saying whether they can do it, that's a yellow flag. They should already know their own boundaries.

Also ask whether they have subject matter knowledge or work with a specialist reviewer. For technical translation, especially software or engineering, it's common for the translator to partner with someone who knows the field. This adds rigour and catches errors a generalist would miss. For legal work, ask whether they've worked with attorneys or compliance teams to sense-check terminology.

Understanding their approach to accuracy and terminology

In technical and legal translation, a single word can change meaning entirely. "Breach" in English has no perfect equivalent in Zulu; the translator must choose the closest fit and justify it. The question is: how do they ensure terminology is consistent and correct?

Ask them how they handle technical or legal terms they encounter. Do they consult glossaries, industry standards, or legal databases? For software or engineering, do they ask you for existing translated materials or style guides to maintain consistency with your other work? A translator worth their fee will ask you questions about terminology, not assume. They'll also be willing to provide a glossary of key terms they've used and why.

Another critical question: can they show you a sample translation of a similar document? Not a full document (confidentiality), but a short excerpt that shows their approach to problem areas. This tells you whether they're thinking carefully or rushing. And ask how they handle uncertainty — if they encounter a phrase or concept that's genuinely hard to translate, do they flag it to you, suggest options, or just make a choice and move on? The first two are professional; the third suggests they're not paying attention.

Knowing what happens if the translation fails

Before you sign anything, you need clarity on what "done" means and what happens if the receiving authority or end-user rejects the work. Ask:

• If a government body, court, or compliance department rejects the translation, will they revise it at no charge?
• What happens if the document is accepted but later found to have an error — will they stand behind the work?
• Are they insured for professional indemnity?
• If they're offering a certified or notarised translation, ask explicitly how that process works and who verifies their work.

A translator who balks at these questions or won't commit to revision is signalling they're not confident in their output. Conversely, if they have professional indemnity insurance and offer a straightforward revision policy, that's a strong signal they know what they're doing and stand by it.

When you're comparing quotes and credentials, focus on the person's grasp of *your* document type, their thinking about terminology, and their willingness to answer hard questions about what goes wrong — a translator at any price can demonstrate or fail to demonstrate these. Those three things predict success far better than the price on the quote or a long list of vague claims. Once you've found someone who can answer these well, you'll know whether they belong on your shortlist.