One document, two Englishes
A certified translation from French is never written in English in the abstract: it is written for a specific reader — a US admissions office, an immigration service, a consulate, a court or a bank in London. American and British English differ in spelling, in the way dates are written and, above all, in their legal, administrative and academic vocabulary.
The meaning of a certified translation does not depend on the variety chosen, but a text tailored to its reader can be read without hesitation and leaves no room for misunderstanding. That is why, before I start, I always ask in which country, and by which body, the document will be used.
Spelling: color or colour, -ize or -ise
The most visible differences are in spelling:
- color / colour, honor / honour, center / centre, program / programme
- license / licence: in British English, licence is the noun and license the verb; American English uses license for both
- -ize / -ise: American English writes organize and recognize; British English accepts both forms, and some publishers (Oxford among them) keep -ize
What matters most is consistency: a translation that switches between organization and programme at random looks careless. I choose one convention according to the destination country and apply it from the first word to the last. (This article, incidentally, follows British spelling with Oxford -ize endings.)
Dates: the 03/04/2026 trap
To an American reader, 03/04/2026 means March 4; to a British or French reader, it means 3 April. On a birth certificate, a diploma or a contract, that ambiguity alone can create an apparent mismatch with a passport or another document in the file.
To rule this out, the date follows the format of the destination country: 04/03/2026 in the US style (month, day, year) or 03/04/2026 in the European style (day, month, year). The other option, which cannot be misread at all, is the day, the month written out in full and the year: 3 April 2026.
The same goes for numbers: the French decimal comma becomes a decimal point in English (an average of 14,5/20 becomes 14.5/20), and the space used in French to separate thousands is replaced with a comma.
Legal and administrative terms: false friends on both sides
This is where the choice of variety has the greatest impact. A few examples:
- Avocat: an attorney in the United States; in the United Kingdom, the profession is split between solicitors and barristers, a distinction that does not exist in France — so I use lawyer or keep the French term with an explanation
- Notaire: never simply notary public for a US reader, since an American notary public essentially witnesses and authenticates signatures and has none of the powers of a French notaire — an important point for a notarized power of attorney
- Statuts (of a company): articles of association in the United Kingdom; in the United States, articles of incorporation and bylaws are two separate documents, whereas French statuts combine both
- Signature de l'acte de vente (property sale): closing in the United States, completion in the United Kingdom
- Mairie: city hall or town hall, depending on the reader
These questions arise in all legal and court documents and professional documents (Kbis extracts, articles, employment contracts, payslips): a concept specific to the French system is never presented as its foreign counterpart.
Diplomas and transcripts
Academic vocabulary also varies from one country to the other:
- Lycée: high school in the United States, secondary school in the United Kingdom
- Note: a grade in the United States, usually a mark in the United Kingdom
- Mentions (honours): these matter most to the reader. They are rendered with the designations used in the destination country: summa cum laude, magna cum laude, cum laude in the United States; First, Upper Second (2:1), Lower Second (2:2) in the United Kingdom
A certified translation does not, however, convert grades: 14/20 remains 14/20. Equivalence with a GPA is a matter for credential evaluation services, not for the translator, whose translation must remain faithful to the original. More on the page dedicated to degree and transcript translation.
Names of institutions: keep the French, explain in English
Inventing an English "equivalent" for a French institution would mean naming a body that does not exist. I therefore keep the French name, followed by an explanatory rendering in brackets: Tribunal judiciaire de Paris (Paris Judicial Court), Préfecture de police (Paris Police Prefecture), Baccalauréat (French secondary school leaving qualification). The reader understands what is meant and can still match the translation against the original without difficulty.
How to tell me where the document will be used
Simply state it in your quote request: the destination country and, if possible, the receiving body (university, immigration service, consulate, court, bank, notary, employer). If the same document is to be used in several countries, or by an international organization, let me know as well: I then settle on a single convention and favour wording that every reader will understand, with dates written as day, month in full, year.
Other English-speaking countries — Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand… — have their own conventions too, which I take into account in the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Would my translation be rejected if the "wrong" variety were used?
What gives a certified translation its value is the sworn translator's signature and seal. But a translation tailored to its reader avoids queries, additional checks and misinterpretation, particularly of dates.
I don't know yet in which country I will use the document.
Just say so: dates written as day, month in full, year, French institution names kept and neutral wording produce a translation that reads well on both sides of the Atlantic.
Do you also translate from American or British English into French?
Yes. Knowing both systems is just as essential in that direction, for instance to render a US transcript or a British statement of results accurately. See also the article on apostilles and certified translation if your document needs to be legalized.