Translate a tender document in PDF into English
Upload your tender pack as a PDF and Manuce passes it to its technical specialist, Dédale, which returns an English PDF with every text block replaced in place, plus a Word version, a formatted PDF and plain text. The PDF must contain selectable text, and the translation is not a certified one.
What it costs
For a tender document of about 9,000 words, into English:
To understand, internal use.
Ready to send, by the technical specialist.
Cross-checked. For documents that commit you.
Price for one language, original layout included. VAT not applicable — article 293 B of the French General Tax Code (CGI). The exact quote, based on your file's word count, is shown before you pay.
What changes when tender documents move into English
Tender packs are built on national acronyms and document names that mean nothing to an English-speaking reader. A French CCTP, a Spanish pliego de prescripciones técnicas or a German Leistungsverzeichnis each need a recognisable English equivalent, while still matching the cross-references made elsewhere in the pack. Typical British terms:
- instructions to bidders: Instructions to Tenderers
- contract conditions: Special Conditions of Contract or Special Administrative Conditions
- technical requirements: Technical Specifications
- price documents: Schedule of Unit Prices, Bill of Quantities, Lump-Sum Price Breakdown
- the signed commitment: Form of Tender
Vocabulary also depends on the variety: tender and tenderer in the UK, Ireland and EU texts; bid, bidder or RFP in the United States. Obligations are usually rendered as the Contractor shall in British contract English. What matters most is that the same requirement is phrased the same way throughout the pack.
Figures, deadlines and units: the traps
Price schedules are where mistakes cost the most. Many source languages use a decimal comma: 1 250 000,00 € becomes €1,250,000.00, and a unit rate of 12,5 becomes 12.5. One badly converted separator changes the value of a line. Tax mentions also need rewording, for instance excl. VAT and incl. VAT.
Submission deadlines must be unambiguous. 05/03/2025 means 5 March in the UK and 3 May in the US, so a written form is safer: 12:00 on Wednesday 5 March 2025 (British) or March 5, 2025 (American), with the time zone.
Units deserve the same care. The French ml (linear metre) reads as millilitre in English and should become lm or linear metre; the item unit U or Stk in a schedule is usually nr or each in a British bill of quantities. English text is generally 10 to 15% shorter than French, so space rarely runs out, except in column headers where an acronym is spelt out.
What Manuce delivers, and what it does not do
A typical tender pack, around 30 pages and 9,000 words, is handled by Dédale, the engine specialised in technical documents. It reads the PDF block by block, with each text's position, font, size and colour. You receive:
- a PDF in its original layout: the source text is removed and the English placed in the same box, in the original font or an equivalent; logos, drawings, images and backgrounds stay. If a translation runs longer, its text size is reduced until it fits;
- a Word version, to rework a contract clause or a price table;
- a formatted PDF and plain text.
Limits: a scanned PDF is not read, which often rules out signed forms of tender, certificates and company registration extracts. Manuce does not produce certified (sworn) translations: if the contracting authority requires one, you will need a sworn translator. Also check the instructions to tenderers for which language version prevails and the language in which the tender must be submitted.
Preparing the pack and checking the result
Before uploading:
- try selecting a sentence in the specifications; if nothing highlights, the page is an image and will not be translated;
- set aside scanned annexes and items that do not need English, such as unlabelled drawings or national administrative forms;
- decide whether your reader expects British or American English, based on the buyer's or partner's country.
The free excerpt translates one paragraph at the level you choose, before you pay. Pick a dense passage: a liquidated damages clause or a price line with an amount and a unit. You will see how acronyms, obligations and numbers come out. For a pack you are passing to a foreign subcontractor or consortium partner, the Professionnel level gives a document ready to send.
On delivery, check first the deadlines and times, every figure in the price schedules, cross-references such as Article 4.2 of the Special Conditions, and the buyer's proper names, which are often best left in the original language.
In practice
- Check that the PDF text is selectable and set aside scanned documents.
- Upload the pack: the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count.
- Choose English and a level, then read the free excerpt on a passage with figures.
- Pay, then download the re-laid PDF, Word file, formatted PDF and plain text.
- Check deadlines, amounts, units and cross-references before sending.
Frequently asked questions
Do the price schedules and tables keep their layout?
Yes, each text block is replaced in its own box at the same position, and lines, shading and images are left as they are. Still check the number formats, which switch from a decimal comma to a decimal point.
Can I submit the translation officially to a contracting authority?
Manuce does not produce certified or sworn translations. If the tender rules require one, use a sworn translator. For understanding a pack, sharing it with partners or preparing your response, the delivered translation is suitable.
My signed form of tender is scanned. Will it be translated?
No. A scanned PDF is an image of a page with no selectable text, and it is not read. Translate the unsigned version if you have it as a native PDF, then sign the final document.
Will national acronyms be handled consistently?
They are translated by the specialist engine, and you cannot supply it with a term list. The reliable approach is to choose a paragraph containing those acronyms for the free excerpt, then check them in the full translation, using the Word version to adjust if needed.
British or American English for a tender?
It depends on the recipient: UK, Irish and EU buyers generally expect tender vocabulary and day/month dates, while US buyers expect bid vocabulary and month/day dates. Identify the convention before you check the deadlines.
The specialist in charge
This subject goes to Dédale, the technical specialist. See how it works.
Into English, other files
See also
Try it on your own file, free
A sample of your file translated at the level you choose, before any payment. You judge, then you decide.