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How much does a sworn (úradný) translation cost in Slovakia? The short answer: the state tariff for translators is €19.92 per standard page for European languages, and agency market prices for common languages usually sit around €20–30 per standard page. The real amount depends on the language, the document type and the deadline. This article breaks down what the price is made of, what vyhláška č. 491/2004 Z. z. actually says, why most agencies publish no price list – and how you can save legally, sometimes on the entire translation.
The standard page: the unit every price is counted in
The basic unit is the standard page (normostrana, NS) – 1,800 characters including spaces. What counts is the translated (target) text, and every started page counts in full: a short birth certificate comes out as one standard page even though it holds half a page of text. Multi-page documents – court decisions, contracts, diplomas with supplements – are priced by their actual length. The exact page count is known once the translation is done, but an experienced agency estimates it from the original very accurately in advance.
Normostrana & price calculator
Paste your document text – we count the standard pages and an indicative standard-translation price.
1 standard page = 1,800 characters including spaces; a minimum of 1 page is billed. The indicative standard-translation price from €12/page depends on language and subject; sworn translation is quoted individually. Send the document via the form below – you get an exact quote within 15 minutes.
The state tariff: what vyhláška 491/2004 Z. z. says
Decree No. 491/2004 Z. z. of the Slovak Ministry of Justice sets, in § 10, the tariff remuneration of a sworn translator for work commissioned by a court or another public authority. The rates have been in force in this form since 1 August 2018:
| Language combination | Tariff per standard page |
|---|---|
| Slovak ↔ Czech | €13.28 |
| Slovak ↔ other European languages | €19.92 |
| Slovak ↔ non-European languages | €23.24 |
| two foreign languages (neither is Slovak) | €26.56 |
A surcharge of +€1.66 per started page is added when at least one language does not use the Latin script (§ 10 ods. 2) – this covers Ukrainian, Russian or Greek, for example.
Important: for private orders this tariff is not binding – the price is contractual. The decree works as a public price anchor the whole market moves around, though, which makes it the best starting point for comparing quotes.
Source: Decree No. 491/2004 Coll. – Slov-Lex · as of 1. 8. 2018
Market prices: what agencies actually charge
On the open market a sworn translation of common languages – English, German, Hungarian or Ukrainian – usually costs €20–30 per standard page; rare languages and specialised texts cost more. Surcharges come on top of the base rate: 24-hour express, an extra certified copy, binding the translation with the original instead of a copy. Many large agencies publish no price list at all and only quote on request – comparing offers then costs time you often don’t have when official deadlines are running.
What the final price depends on
- the language pair and translation direction
- the document type – a standardised certificate or free specialised text
- the length in standard pages (every started page of the target text)
- the deadline: standard or express
- the form of delivery – paper or electronic with a qualified signature – and the number of copies
5 ways to save on a sworn translation
- Ask whether the institution really requires a sworn translation: bodies in the UK, USA or Ireland often accept a cheaper certified translation with a translator’s statement.
- For civil-status documents from EU countries, request the multilingual standard form – the Slovak registry office then often needs no translation at all.
- Between EU countries most public documents need no apostille (Regulation 2016/1191) – don’t pay for legalisation you don’t need.
- Send scans in advance: an exact quote based on the actual length always beats a “from” price that grows later.
- Order a series of documents at once – you get consistent name spelling and usually a better price than ordering one by one.
How we quote at Etalon
We play with open cards: standard translation from €12 per standard page, and a sworn translation is quoted individually within hours of receiving your scans – no hidden surcharges. Order online from anywhere in Slovakia or in person at our office in Bratislava-Petržalka. For Ukrainian documents, including an apostille arranged directly in Ukraine, there is a dedicated service with our own offices at both ends of the route.
Want an exact price instead of estimates?
Send scans of your documents – within hours you get a firm quote for the sworn translation.
Get a quoteFrequently asked questions about sworn translation prices
Is €19.92 per standard page a mandatory price?
No. Decree 491/2004 Z. z. sets the translator’s remuneration for work commissioned by courts and public authorities; for private orders the price is contractual. The market habitually uses the state tariff as a reference, though, so market prices stay close to it.
How many standard pages does a typical document have?
A birth certificate, marriage certificate or criminal-record extract usually comes out at one standard page. A diploma with its supplement typically runs 3–6 standard pages; court decisions and contracts depend on length. Every started page of the translated text counts.
Why won’t an agency quote a price without seeing the documents?
Because the price depends on the actual length of the target text, which cannot be estimated blind for free-form text. A serious agency gives you an exact quote after seeing the scans – at Etalon within hours. Beware of “from” prices that multiply at handover.
Is an electronic sworn translation cheaper?
The translation itself costs the same, but you save on delivery, time and extra copies – the PDF with the translator’s qualified signature arrives by email. The condition: the receiving authority must accept electronic submissions.
How much does a sworn Ukrainian–Slovak translation cost?
It is quoted individually by document type and length; for Ukrainian the Cyrillic-script surcharge also applies. For Ukrainian documents we can arrange the apostille directly in Ukraine through our own offices – one order for the whole package.
