Certified translation enquiries have a particular shape. Someone has a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, a degree transcript or a court document. They have a deadline, usually for an official application. And they have been told they need something "certified", "sworn" or "notarised", without being told which.
Answering these well means being precise about what you provide and honest about what you cannot promise.
What customers ask
Customers usually ask what certified means, whether they need notarisation or legalisation as well, how much it costs, how quickly it can be done, whether they get a physical copy or a digital one, whether the original document is needed, whether the translation will be accepted by the authority, how it is delivered and what happens if there is a mistake.
Example conversations
These scripts use information an agency might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Customer: I need a certified translation of my birth certificate by Friday. Assistant: The certified page explains what is provided, including the statement of accuracy and the formats supplied, with the turnaround for short documents. Could you tell me which language it is in, which language you need, and whether the authority receiving it has asked for notarisation or legalisation as well?
Customer: Will it be accepted? Assistant: Acceptance is decided by the organisation receiving it, so it is worth confirming their exact requirements with them. The page explains exactly what the agency provides, which you can check against what they have asked for.
Customer: Do you need my original document? Assistant: The page explains what is needed, usually a clear scan or photograph of the whole document including edges, and when an original is required.
Never guarantee acceptance
Requirements vary between authorities and countries and they change. An agency can state precisely what it provides. Promising acceptance is a promise about someone else's decision.
Explaining the terminology
Certified, sworn, notarised and legalised mean different things in different jurisdictions, and customers use them interchangeably. A short glossary saves enormous confusion and positions the agency as the expert.
Urgency pricing
Same-day and next-day work commands a premium and customers with deadlines expect it. Publishing rush rates and cut-off times converts urgent enquiries that otherwise go elsewhere, in the same way same-day questions work in walk-in and same day appointment questions.
Sensitive documents
Certified work often involves immigration, medical records, court matters and bereavement paperwork. Handling those enquiries with care matters, as described in how to handle sensitive questions in your chatbot.
Apostille and legalisation
Documents going abroad often need more than translation, including an apostille or consular legalisation, and customers rarely know which they need. Explaining what each step is, which the agency can arrange and which the customer must obtain themselves, prevents applications failing weeks later for a missing stamp.
Quoting accurately
The underlying quote still needs languages, word count and purpose, as covered in translation quote requests missing word counts and languages.
Service pages that explain
Vague service pages lose exactly these enquiries, the problem described in service pages that leave prospects guessing.
Getting started
Publish what certification includes, a plain glossary, turnaround times and rush rates, then capture documents and deadlines at any hour. SpideyChat for agencies answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.