Translating company articles of association
Articles of association are translated for a specific reason: opening a subsidiary, responding to investor due diligence, opening an account abroad. In all three cases, the recipient reads a document whose structure matters as much as the words.
How much it costs
For a document of this type, around 4,500 words (12 pages), into one language:
Understand the document, internal use.
Ready to share, by the legal specialist.
Cross-reviewed. For what commits you.
By comparison, a translation agency charges between 540 € and 900 € for the same document, within five to ten working days. VAT not applicable — article 293 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI) Original formatting included. Exact quote displayed before payment, after file upload.
What must remain intact
An article in the articles of association is cited by its number. "Article 12 — Cession des actions" must remain Article 12 in the English version, with the same numbering, the same internal cross-references and the same paragraphs. A translation that renumbers or merges paragraphs makes the document unusable for its intended purpose: when the lawyer on the other side writes "pursuant to Article 12.3", Article 12.3 must exist.
This is why Manuce returns the original Word file with its text replaced in place, rather than a block of text to be reformatted. Article headings, automatic numbering, share capital allocation tables and annexes remain where they are.
The vocabulary that has no equivalent
French corporate forms have no translation: an SAS is not a joint-stock company, a SARL is not a limited liability company in the American sense. Professional practice is to retain the French designation and add an explanation the first time — société par actions simplifiée (SAS), a French simplified joint-stock company — then keep the abbreviation.
The same applies to the greffe du tribunal de commerce, the Kbis, the commissaire aux comptes or the assemblée générale extraordinaire: these are institutions, not universal concepts. Manuce's legal specialist treats them as such.
What Manuce does not replace
A traduction assermentée is a translation certified by an expert translator registered with a cour d'appel. Manuce does not produce these. If your greffe, your bank or your foreign administration requires a certified true translation, you need a traducteur assermenté — and Manuce tells you this rather than letting you find out at the counter.
On the other hand, for a data room, a negotiation, a subsidiary to establish or a foreign partner to inform, certification is almost never requested. That is where Manuce makes sense.
Frequently asked questions
Does one need a traduction assermentée for statuts?
Only if the administration or greffe receiving them expressly requires it, which mainly happens for registration abroad. For investor due diligence, a bank or a partner, a professional non-certified translation suffices in the vast majority of cases. Check the recipient's written request before paying for certification, which costs several times the price.
Is article numbering preserved?
Yes. The Word file comes back with its structure: article numbers, paragraphs, internal cross-references, capital tables and appendices in their place. This is essential since an article in statuts is cited by its number.
Can one translate into several languages at once?
Yes, and it is cheaper: the discount applies to the entire order from two languages onwards, and goes up to −50% from five. Useful when a company opens several subsidiaries in the same year.
The specialist handling it
This type of document is assigned to the legal specialist. See how it works.
Further reading
Going further
Sworn translation: when is it actually required?
Civil status certificate, degree, judgement, articles of association, commercial contract: the list of what requires a sworn translator in France, what does not, and what the mistake costs.
Test it on your document, free of charge
An extract from your file translated by the chosen specialist, before any payment. You assess, then you decide.