French Contract Translation
French contract translation for a US court, an immigration petition, a bank or a counterparty, from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Québec and the seventeen OHADA states of West and Central Africa. We translate a compromis de vente, a bail, statuts and a pacte d'associés into certified English, and US agreements into French where a French-speaking party or regulator needs them.
- Up to 250 words per page
- $25 per page
- Standard turnaround
- From 24 hours
- Certificate of accuracy
- Signed & stamped
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Written for French legal contract records
Civil-law contracts read differently in English
A French contract assumes the Code civil fills every gap, so it is shorter than its US counterpart and leans on terms with no exact English twin. The translation keeps the French term where the meaning is specific and explains it once.
Acte authentique and acte sous signature privée
A sale of property, a contrat de mariage or a company's constitution in France passes before a notaire as an acte authentique; the notaire keeps the minute and issues a copie authentique or an expédition. Everything else is an acte sous signature privée, the old sous seing privé, with a paraphe on each page and "lu et approuvé" above the signature. The translation says which kind the document is and reproduces the notaire's closing formula, stamps and the mention of registration, since a US court asks how the document was executed.
Clauses that do not travel
A clause pénale fixes damages in advance and French courts enforce it, where a US court may strike a penalty. A clause résolutoire ends the contract on a missed payment without a judgment. A condition suspensive, a délai de rétractation on a compromis, an indemnité d'immobilisation, an obligation de moyens against an obligation de résultat: each is rendered with the nearest English term and the French in brackets the first time, so the reader can look it up and does not assume a US meaning.
OHADA and Québec
Contracts from Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Gabon, the Congo and the other OHADA states cite the Acte uniforme relatif au droit commercial général or the Acte uniforme on commercial companies, and name the company by its RCCM number. The citations are kept as written. In Québec the Charte de la langue française requires a contract of adhesion to be given in French before the parties can choose English, so US companies send us their standard terms, leases and franchise agreements for the French version.
Who is asking for your French legal contract translation?
The translation is the same. What changes is whether the recipient wants anything added to it.
Courts
A contract offered as evidence in a US court is filed with a complete English translation and a signed certification from the translator. Add notarization if the local rules ask for it.
USCIS
Employment contracts and leases filed with a visa petition need a complete English translation and a signed certification from the translator. No notarization is needed.
Banks and lenders
An underwriter reviewing a foreign lease, a purchase agreement or a loan contract accepts a certified translation they can read next to the original.
Before you upload
Three things that save a day of back and forth on a French legal contract.
Send the signed version with every annex
Schedules, annexes and the signature page are part of the contract. Upload the executed copy so the translation shows the signatures, initials and dates.
Tell us the terms you already use
If your company translates a term a certain way, or a party name has an official English form, put it in the order notes. The translation follows your list.
Say where the translation is going
A contract going to a court, a lender or USCIS needs a complete translation with a signed certification. Say in the order notes who will read it.
Details and pricing
What is included in a French legal contract translation
One price per page covers the translation and its certification. A page is up to 250 words, and the quote tells you the page count before you pay.
Everything on the legal contract is translated, including stamps, seals and handwritten notes. Tell us the English spelling you use for each name when you order.
Certified Translation
Word-for-word translation with a certificate of accuracy for official use.
$25
USD / page
up to 250 words per page
Included
- Signed & stamped certification of translation accuracy
- Certified by a professional translator
- Digital delivery via PDF
- Review and approve final translation
- 100% Guaranteed Acceptance
- Standard turnaround starting at 24 hours
Optional services
- Expedited turnaround
- Priority handling when your deadline is shorter than the standard turnaround.
- By deadline
- Notarization
- A notary public signs and stamps the certification statement.
- $20 per order
- Physical copy
- A wet-ink original of your translation, mailed by express courier.
- $35 per order
- Apostille
- Authenticates the notary’s signature and seal for use in Hague Convention countries.
- $180 per document
What the certificate of accuracy states
Your translation arrives with a Certification of Translation Accuracy issued by ImmiTranslate. It is the page the receiving organization checks first.
- The translation is complete and accurate.
- The document title and the language pair.
- The translator is competent in both languages.
- A signature and the ImmiTranslate certification stamp.
- Our American Translators Association corporate membership.
Our translation process
Our goal is to make the translation process as simple as possible for you. Our service is streamlined specifically for documents of this nature.
French Legal Contract FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- Does USCIS need my French employment contract or lease translated?
- Yes, in full. A CDI or CDD goes into an L-1, O-1 or I-140 file as proof of the job, and a joint bail or a compromis signed by both spouses is relationship evidence for an I-130 or I-751. USCIS wants the whole document, annexes and the convention collective reference included, not a summary, with a certification that the translation is complete. We translate the signature block and any handwritten additions as well.
- Do you translate a French bail and the état des lieux?
- Yes. A residential bail in France follows the loi du 6 juillet 1989: three years with a private landlord, one year furnished, and a dépôt de garantie capped at one month's rent unfurnished or two furnished. The état des lieux d'entrée and de sortie are signed annexes, and a dispute over the deposit turns on them, so we translate the room-by-room notes as well as the lease.
- Does a contract in France have to be in French?
- Sometimes. Under the loi Toubon of 1994, an employment contract, terms offered to consumers and a contract with a French public body must be in French, while two companies can sign in English. US companies with French customers or staff send us their standard terms for that reason. We add a note for any US concept the French text cannot carry over, such as consideration, and say when the recipient will want a sworn translation on top.
- How much does a certified translation cost?
- Certified translation is $25 per page, with a page counted as up to 250 words. Notarization, a mailed physical copy and an apostille are optional and priced separately.
- How long does a certified translation take?
- Standard turnaround starts at 24 hours and depends on the length and language of your documents. If you have a deadline, include it in your quote request.
Other French documents we translate
Legal contract translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's legal contract records.
Sending it with an application? Read the Certified translations, USCIS translation requirements before you order.