Foreign Notarial Act in Belgium: Sworn Translation and Apostille

When a foreign notarial deed must be used in Belgium - for real estate, inheritance, company law or family matters - it must first be translated by a sworn translator. This complete guide explains which documents are concerned, when translation is required and how to order a certified translation accepted by Belgian notaries, courts and authorities.

What is a foreign notarial deed?

A notarial deed is a legally authenticated document drafted by a notary public. Notaries exist in most civil law countries - France, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and many others. Their deeds have specific legal force in their country of origin and are considered authentic instruments under national law.

In Belgium, Belgian notaries (notaires/notarissen) draft similar instruments. When a party presents a foreign notarial deed in a Belgian legal proceeding, the Belgian notary or court cannot process it without understanding its content - hence the mandatory certified translation. The most common types of foreign notarial deeds submitted in Belgium include:

• Property purchase deeds : foreign real estate sale contracts
• Mortgage and hypothec deeds : foreign financing instruments
• Wills and testaments : notarial wills from abroad used in Belgian succession proceedings
• Powers of attorney : foreign notarial powers of attorney for Belgian transactions
• Donation deeds : foreign gift instruments with Belgian gift tax implications
• Marriage contracts : foreign matrimonial regime agreements used in Belgian divorce or succession
• Company formation deeds : foreign articles of association used in Belgian commercial contexts

Who must translate foreign notarial deeds in Belgium?

Belgian law requires that documents submitted in legal proceedings be in one of Belgium's three official languages: French, Dutch or German. A foreign notarial deed must therefore be translated by a sworn translator (traducteur-interprète juré / beëdigd vertaler-tolk) registered with a Belgian Court of Appeal. This registration gives the translation legal weight equivalent to a certified public document.

Translations produced by bilingual employees, unregistered translators or machine-translation tools are not accepted by Belgian notaries or courts. Only a certified sworn translation carries the required legal validity.

Procedure: how to get a foreign notarial deed translated in Belgium

The process at TranslateBE is straightforward and fully online:

• Step 1 - Scan the document: photograph or scan all pages of the notarial deed, including annexes, stamps and any existing apostille.
• Step 2 - Upload and quote: upload the scan via the TranslateBE form. You receive a fixed, transparent quote within one hour.
• Step 3 - Translation: a court-registered sworn translator produces the certified translation. Standard delivery is 2-5 working days; express is 24-48 hours.
• Step 4 - Delivery: you receive a certified PDF and, on request, a physical stamped original by post - required by most Belgian notaries.

Payment is made by bank transfer upon invoice. There are no hidden fees; the quoted price is fixed.