Pashto translator

They are two distinct languages, both official in Afghanistan. Pashto (`ps`) is an Eastern Iranian language with its own Pashto-Arabic script; Dari (`prs`) is Afghan Persian and uses the Perso-Arabic script. We determine for each document which language it is and never substitute one for the other. Getting this wrong is the most common reason an Afghan file is handled incorrectly.

The UK has no sworn-translator institute, so there is no "sworn translator" as a legal office here. For official acceptance our Pashto translation agency provides certified translation: a signed and dated statement of accuracy from the translator or the agency, with our contact details. Where a body asks for more, this can be escalated to notarisation by a solicitor or notary public, or to an apostille or legalisation through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). We confirm in the quote which level your receiving authority requires.

Pashto is most often requested for Home Office and UKVI asylum claims by Afghan applicants, family reunification, diploma recognition and humanitarian casework. Many Afghan official documents issued before 2021 are bilingual Pashto-Dari; we translate both parts where that is needed so the receiving body has the full file.

We work with native specialist translators and reference the recognised UK professional bodies — the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting), the CIOL (Chartered Institute of Linguists) and, for interpreting, the NRPSI (National Register of Public Service Interpreters). These are bodies of reference for the profession; we name them so you can see the standard the work is held to, and we match each Pashto project to a translator who knows the relevant variant and document type.

We match the variant to the origin of your document: Standard Pashto (the Kabul register) for Afghan official papers, or the Peshawari variant for documents from Pakistan. For documents of southern Afghan origin we use Kandahari conventions where the spelling differs. We confirm the variant in the quote so the receiving authority recognises the text.

On working days you receive a quote within 1 hour. The lead time for the translation itself depends on document type, volume, language pair and any required certification, and is confirmed in the quote. For tight deadlines we confirm a workable rush schedule up front rather than promising a fixed turnaround.

We combine native specialist translators with a structured QA layer: a terminology list, a name-transcription check and a second review where the legal field, risk profile or volume requires it. CAT tools (Trados, memoQ, Phrase TMS) keep terminology and name spellings consistent across volume and repeated content, and a translation memory keeps follow-up work aligned and lowers the cost over time.

A Pashto translation agency takes the coordination off your hands. We determine whether your source text is Pashto, Dari or bilingual, select the specialist who fits your document, arrange certification, notarisation or legalisation where an authority requires it, and have the work checked by a second reviewer. You keep one point of contact for variant, name transcription, scheduling and delivery, all under a single quote. A skilled freelance translator does excellent work too; the difference an agency adds is bringing those moving parts together so you are not managing them separately.