Translate a Commercial Contract PDF into English

What changes when a contract is rendered in English

A contract is not translated like a brochure. Contractual English has its own conventions, and several of them change how a clause is read, whatever the source language.

• Obligations need a modal. French, Spanish or German often state obligations in the plain present tense (« Le Prestataire livre… », Der Lieferant liefert…). In English, The Supplier delivers the Goods reads as a description; the expected form is The Supplier shall deliver the Goods within 30 days.
• Defined terms stay capitalised and consistent. If clause 1 defines the Customer, every occurrence must be the Customer, never Client in one place and Buyer in another.
• British or American English. Spelling differs (licence / license as a noun, judgement / judgment outside court use), and so does everyday contract vocabulary: working day in the UK, business day in the US.
• Dates. 03/04/2025 means 3 April in most of Europe and 4 March in the US. In a contract, write the month out: 3 April 2025.
• Amounts. Many European languages write « 12 500,00 € HT »; English writes €12,500.00 excluding VAT. Swapping the decimal separator can change an amount a thousandfold.

English is usually 10 to 15% shorter than French, so a 14-page contract keeps its pagination and text boxes tend to have room to spare.

Legal concepts with no exact English equivalent

This is where a contract translation succeeds or fails. Many civil-law concepts have no word-for-word match in English or US law, and Thémis renders them with the accepted functional equivalent rather than a literal calque:

• « mise en demeure »: formal notice, not putting in default;
• termination versus retroactive cancellation: French distinguishes « résiliation » and « résolution »; English uses termination for the first and needs wording that shows retroactive effect (rescission) for the second;
• penalty clauses (« clause pénale », Vertragsstrafe): in English law the word penalty carries a specific meaning that can raise enforceability questions, so liquidated damages is often preferred; have your lawyer confirm the choice;
• « astreinte »: no direct equivalent, so it is described (daily penalty payment);
• company forms and registers (SAS, GmbH, Kbis extract): usually kept, sometimes with a gloss such as extract from the Trade and Companies Register.

Amounts written in words must match their figures after translation: ten thousand euros (€10,000). English plurals have two forms (one, other), so 1 working day but 0 days, whereas French says « 0 jour ».

Manuce does not take glossaries. If a term must stay as it is (company name, product name, force majeure), check it in the free sample and again in the delivered translation.

What you receive, and what Manuce does not do

The PDF is read block by block: each clause, each cell of a pricing schedule, each signature block is captured with its position, font, size and colour. You receive:

• the original PDF, translated: the source text is removed and the English placed in the same box, in the original font or an equivalent; logos, initials stored as images and page backgrounds remain. Where the English is longer than the original (an expanded acronym, say), the text size is reduced until it fits;
• a Word version, fully editable, so your lawyer or counterparty can comment and amend;
• a formatted PDF and plain text, handy for clause-by-clause comparison.

For a typical document such as a contract of around 5,000 words, the translation arrives within minutes and stays in your client area.

What Manuce does not do:

• no scanned PDFs: a signed contract that has been scanned is an image with no selectable text and cannot be read. Use the PDF exported from the word processor;
• no certified (sworn) translation: if a court, authority or bank requires a translation certified by a sworn translator, you will need one;
• the translation does not replace review by a lawyer for high-stakes clauses.

Preparing the PDF and checking the English version

Before uploading:

• make sure the text in the PDF can be selected; if not, export again from the source file;
• decide whether your counterparty expects British or American English, which will guide your review of dates, spelling and vocabulary;
• locate the language clause (which version prevails in case of discrepancy): it determines what the English version is worth.

After delivery, a targeted review is usually enough:

1. Defined terms: search the Word file for each term from the Definitions clause and confirm it is rendered the same way throughout.
2. Figures: amounts, penalty percentages, notice periods in days, clause numbers and cross-references (see Clause 7.2 must still point to 7.2).
3. Dates: no ambiguous numeric dates left.
4. Parties and signatories: company names, addresses and job titles (Chairman, Managing Director).
5. Sensitive clauses: liability, penalties, governing law and jurisdiction, for your adviser to read.

The Professional level, handled by the legal specialist, suits a contract you will send on; Essential is enough to understand a contract you have received.

In practice

1. Export the contract to PDF from your word processor (selectable text, not a scan).
2. Upload the file: the quote appears straight away, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free sample: check “shall”, defined terms, one date and one amount.
4. Pay, then download the translated PDF, the Word version, the formatted PDF and the plain text.
5. Have the key clauses reviewed in the Word version before sending.