During your lifetime, you may need documents to be translated, whether for personal reasons or business. It may be a simple thing like a parking violation received while on vacation abroad, or something more complicated like marriage or divorce papers if you are filing for dual legal status. When two countries who do not speak the same language are involved, it is inevitable that any documents that have to go from one to the other to be acted upon, will have to be translated, and in the majority of situations, certified copies are required. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, you may be tempted to get a friend or relative to do the translation, then get the documents notarized, but unfortunately, you cannot do it yourself. The vast majority of legal documents require a certified translation, and given the complexities of the legal system, there is no room for errors.