Interpreters and translators in the judiciary General swearing-in or authorization

The competent body shall decide on the respective application on the basis of the information provided by the applicant and the documents submitted.

Before being sworn in, the interpreter or translator must be made aware of his or her duties and must be obliged to fulfill his or her obligations conscientiously.

For the general swearing-in, the interpreter must take an oath or an affirmation on oath.

A separate record shall be made of the general swearing-in or authorization; the interpreter or translator shall receive a certified copy of this record/a certificate as proof of the general swearing-in or authorization.

After the corresponding proof has been issued

• in accordance with the provisions of the GDolmG, generally sworn persons may use the designation "generally sworn court interpreter for ... [specifying the language for which he/she is sworn]" or the designation "generally sworn court interpreter for ... [specifying the language for which he/she is sworn]",
• in accordance with the provisions of the LDÜJG, generally sworn persons shall use the designation "Generally sworn interpreter of the ... language/sign language for judicial matters" and
• persons authorized in accordance with the provisions of the LDÜJG shall bear the designation "Authorized translator of the ... language for judicial matters". language"

. Court interpreters are subsequently entered in a register.

The required personal data, in particular

• Surname, first name
• summonable address,
• the job title
• the expiration date of the time limit and
• the language for which the applicant is sworn in

is recorded.

The list is published on the Internet (LINK: https://www.justiz-dolmetscher.de/Recherche/), provided that the person concerned has consented in writing to the publication of their data.

Sections 9 and 10 GDolmG apply accordingly to the processing of the personal data of sworn or authorized interpreters by the bodies that carried out the swearing-in or authorization for interpreters in the judicial sector outside of the Court Interpreters Act and translators who were authorized or generally sworn in before 1 January 2023 in accordance with Rhineland-Palatinate regulations.

The President of the Higher Regional Court in whose district the applicant has their place of residence or, in the absence of such, their professional establishment, is responsible for the general swearing-in in accordance with the Court Interpreters Act. If there is neither a professional establishment nor a place of residence in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Berlin Court of Appeal has jurisdiction.

The President of the Higher Regional Court in whose district the applicant has their professional establishment or, in the absence of such, their place of residence, is responsible for the authorization or general swearing-in in accordance with the State Act on Interpreters and Translators in Judicial Matters. If there is neither a professional establishment nor a place of residence in Rhineland-Palatinate, the President of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz is responsible.

The President of the Higher Regional Court in whose district the applicant has their place of residence or, in the absence of such, their professional establishment, is responsible for the general swearing-in in accordance with the Court Interpreters Act. If there is neither a professional establishment nor a place of residence in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Berlin Court of Appeal has jurisdiction.

The President of the Higher Regional Court in whose district the applicant has their professional establishment or, in the absence of such, their place of residence, is responsible for the authorization or general swearing-in in accordance with the State Act on Interpreters and Translators in Judicial Matters. If there is neither a professional establishment nor a place of residence in Rhineland-Palatinate, the President of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz is responsible.

The following applies to court interpreters within the meaning of the GDolmG:

Pursuant to Section 3 (1) sentence 1 GDolmG, a person may be generally sworn in as a court interpreter for oral language interpretation in court hearings who

• is a national of a member state of the European Union or a national of a signatory state to the Agreement on the European Economic Area or Switzerland or who has their professional establishment or place of residence in one of these states,
• is of legal age,
• is suitable,
• lives in orderly economic circumstances,
• is reliable and
• has the necessary specialist knowledge of German and the language to be sworn.

Anyone who has the required specialist knowledge in accordance with paragraph 1 number 6 has a basic knowledge of the German legal language and

• has passed the interpreting examination of a state or state-recognized examination office or another state or state-recognized examination for the interpreting profession in Germany or
• has passed an examination abroad which has been recognized by a competent German authority as equivalent to an examination according to number 1.

Basic knowledge of the German legal language may also be demonstrated by passing an examination in accordance with sentence 1 numbers 1 and 2.

Only in cases in which no interpreter examination is offered in Germany for the language to be sworn in by a state or state-recognized examination office or no other state or state-recognized examination for the interpreting profession is offered or there is no interpreter examination classified as comparable by a competent German body for an equivalent examination passed abroad and there is a special need for the general swearing-in, the required specialist knowledge can be proven by submitting alternative proof of qualification in accordance with Section 4 (2) sentence 2 GDolmG.

These requirements apply accordingly to the general swearing-in of interpreters in the judicial sector outside of the Court Interpreters Act in accordance with Section 3 LDÜJG and the authorization of translators in accordance with Section 4 LDÜJG.

To apply, please use the form provided on the homepage.

The following documents must be enclosed with the application for general swearing-in:

• a curriculum vitae,
• a certificate of good conduct in accordance with Section 30 (5) of the Federal Central Criminal Register Act, issued no more than six months previously,
• a declaration as to whether the applicant has been convicted of a criminal offense or a detention order in the five years preceding the application,
• a declaration as to whether insolvency proceedings have been opened against the applicant's assets and no discharge of residual debt has yet been granted or whether the applicant has been entered in the register of debtors, and
• the documents required to prove the necessary expertise.

Further information can be found on the websites of the Koblenz Higher Regional Court and the Palatinate Higher Regional Court under "Service & Information":

https://olgko.justiz.rlp.de/service-informationen/beeidigte-dolmetscher-innen-und-ermaechtigte-uebersetzer-innen

https://olgzw.justiz.rlp.de/service-informationen/dolmetscher-und-uebersetzer

Costs are charged for the swearing-in and extension of the swearing-in of court interpreters in accordance with the Judicial Administration Costs Act of the State of Rhineland-Palatinate.

In principle, there are no deadlines for filing an application.

It should be noted that, due to the amendment to Section 189 (2) of the GVG that has already been adopted, an appeal for general swearing-in in a state in accordance with the state law provisions pursuant to Section 189 (2) of the GVG is only possible until December 31, 2026.

For interpreters in the judicial sector outside of the Court Interpreters Act and translators who were authorized or generally sworn in before 1 January 2023 in accordance with Rhineland-Palatinate regulations, the general swearing-in or authorization before the Rhineland-Palatinate offices of the judicial sector in accordance with Section 9 sentence 1 LDÜJG shall continue to apply until 31 December 2028.

Reference is made to Section 7 GDolmG with regard to the time limit for general swearing-in under the GDolmG. This applies accordingly to the general swearing-in and the authorization under the LDÜJG, cf. section 3 para. 1 sentence 1 and section 4 para. 1 sentence 1 LDÜJG.

• §§ 185 ff. German Court Constitution Act (GVG)
  

  Remark: § Section 185 GVG also in conjunction with Section 55 of the Administrative Court Code, Section 52 (1) of the Fiscal Court Code, Section 9 (2) of the Labor Court Act and Section 61 (1) of the Social Court Act

An appeal against the refusal of authorization or general swearing-in by a Rhineland-Palatinate authority may be lodged in writing or for the record with the competent President of the Higher Regional Court within one month of the applicant being notified of the negative decision. The competent President of the Higher Regional Court shall decide on the appeal.

Further information can be found on the websites of the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz and the Palatinate Higher Regional Court under "Service & Information".

14.07.2025