How to Choose a High-Quality Translation Agency When Translating Documents?

When choosing a high-quality translation agency on Al Fares, you need to consider quality, professionalism, cost, and service efficiency comprehensively. Here are some specific recommendations:

1. Prefer agencies certified by the Legal Department

Quality verification

Enter the agency name through the Al Fares Legal Department official website’s translation agency directory to confirm whether it has the "Legal Department Certified Translation Center" qualification (examples: Al Fares, Sim-Trans).

Exceptions: Abu Dhabi and Dubai government platforms (e.g., TAMM, Dubai Now) allow agencies independently certified by these platforms (such as Tranexis Translation) to provide services.

Exclude non-certified agencies

Non-certified agencies may quote 30%-50% lower prices but their documents might be rejected by immigration departments, courts, and other offices, leading to secondary translation costs.

2. Comparative quotes from multiple levels

Clear pricing models

By word count: Prefer agencies with a base rate lower than 0.5 dirhams/word (e.g., Alsun Translation quoting 0.3-0.8 dirhams/word for general documents).

By project: Choose fixed package prices for simple documents (e.g., driving license, birth certificate) for better budgeting (example: Zhou Li Legal Translation charges 350 dirhams for marriage certificate translation plus certification package).

Transparent additional fees

Confirm whether the quote includes legal department certification fees, rush fees, format adjustment fees, and other hidden costs (some agencies publish transparent pricing on official websites, such as Tranexis).

3. Use platforms for price comparison and discounts

Online price comparison tools

Enter document type and urgency level on Dubai Yellow Pages or Justdial UAE to obtain 3-5 agency quotations for comparison.

Example: Searching “Dubai driving license translation” on Justdial lists agencies quoting between 325-585 dirhams and user reviews.

Bulk and long-term cooperation discounts

Corporate clients can negotiate 10%-20% bulk discounts (e.g., Al Fares offers 15% discount for 50+ pages submitted).

Select agencies offering free proofreading periods (usually 30 days) to avoid extra charges for revisions.

4. Focus on service efficiency and added value

Digital service capability

Prefer agencies that support online submission + electronic certification (e.g., TAMM platform partners), which are about 50% faster than traditional offline workflows.

Case example: Documents submitted via Dubai Now App get certification done within 24 hours, costing about 12% less than paper documents.

Value-added services

Some agencies offer free consultation on certification levels (e.g., confirming whether legal department certification is required or embassy certification) to avoid redundant submissions.

Choose agencies that provide cross-department certification handling (e.g., Shunqi Network Certification Service) to reduce personal running costs.

5. Pitfall avoidance tips

Identify low-priced traps

Beware of agencies quoting less than 50% of market rates (e.g., non-certified agencies charging 80 dirhams for academic transcript translation but rejected by education departments).

Verification methods: Require the agency to provide samples of similar completed documents and check whether they bear the legal department’s official stamp.

Define certification scope clearly

Confirm in advance with the agency whether the translated document fits the required departments (such as immigration, economic development) to avoid invalid documents caused by insufficient certification levels.

Summary steps:

- Select 3 certified agencies from the legal department directory;

- Submit scanned documents to get itemized quotes (including translation plus certification);

- Compare professional field matching and service response speed;

- Choose agencies providing electronic certification with free proofreading.

(Example: For driving license translation, Al Fares’ package price of 525 dirhams includes certification, which saves about 150 dirhams compared to separate translation plus certification steps.)

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