The procedure for translating documents in Greece was one of the most complicated and confusing in Europe. The staff of the Greek Foreign Ministry's translation service, lawyers who speak foreign languages, graduates of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Translation of the Ionian University, members of the Pan-Hellenic Association of Translators (PEM) and the Hellenic Association of Qualified Translators (HAQT), as well as notaries have been authorized to carry out activities in this area in different situations.
Now on the government portal of Greece it is planned to place a unified register of translators authorized to carry out the official translation of public and private acts issued by state agencies, as well as foreign apostilled documents. In addition, authorized translators may be privately requested to translate non-certified documents, but such translations will not be legally binding.
Persons who need a translation can, if they wish, apply for it directly through the online registry service, however, in this case, they will not be able to make any personal clarifications and comments, since contact with the translator will be possible only indirectly through the portal. Translations made on the portal will be certified with a unique barcode and electronic signature.
