Notarized translation of a court appeal
Updated:
An appeal differs from every other document we translate in one respect: it carries a deadline set by statute, and no arrangement moves it. A birth certificate can be translated next week. An appeal cannot — thirty days for a judgment, fifteen for a ruling, and after that the right to appeal has to be restored by a separate application showing good cause.
That is why this page is built around the deadline rather than around the document. Below: how much time you actually have, which parts of the bundle must be translated, what does not need an apostille, and why the translation here is ordered before the text is finished. MovaPro has handled procedural documents since 2012, mostly for advocates and law firms running matters with a foreign element; the notary receives clients in our office by the Golden Gate in Kyiv.
Price: from UAH 570 (translation from UAH 170 per 1,800-character page + notarization UAH 400) Turnaround: a typical appeal with exhibits — from 1 business day; rush work against a procedural deadline by arrangement Consultation: free
The deadline is the starting condition of the order
| Proceedings | Appeal against a judgment | Appeal against a ruling |
|---|---|---|
| Civil (Art. 354 CPC) | 30 days | 15 days |
| Administrative (Art. 295 CAP) | 30 days | 15 days |
| Commercial (Art. 256 CommPC) | 20 days | 10 days |
Time runs from the day the decision is pronounced, or — where only the introductory and operative parts were announced — from the day the full text is drawn up. The practical consequence for whoever orders the translation is simple: you know the starting date immediately, so the translation can be scheduled before counsel writes the closing paragraph. We take a draft into work and translate the amendments afterwards, which is faster than waiting for a final version and then asking for it “by tomorrow”.
When clients come to us two days before the term expires we still take the job, but at the rush rate and with practically no choice of translator. Write to us as soon as the decision is pronounced — even if the decision to appeal has not been made yet.
An appeal is not apostilled
This is the most frequent misunderstanding in this category. An apostille confirms the authenticity of the signature and seal of an official of the issuing authority. An appeal is drafted and signed by a party or its representative — it is not a document issued by the state.
The accompanying papers are what get legalised, each through its own authority:
- the judgment under appeal — via the copy certified by the court registry; the authority is the Ministry of Justice (details on the court decision translation page);
- the power of attorney for the representative, notarised — also the Ministry of Justice;
- foreign documents filed as evidence — legalised in their country of origin, not in Ukraine.
You can check the route for each document with our free apostille route-finder; the general procedure is set out on the legalization and apostille page.
Two scenarios that call for a translation
A foreign party to a case in Ukraine. Proceedings are conducted in Ukrainian and the appeal is filed in Ukrainian — but the client funding the litigation often does not read the language. Here the translation is for the client, not the court: so that they can see what is being filed in their name and approve it before filing. Agency certification is enough for this.
Service of documents abroad. Where the opposing party is outside Ukraine, the appeal and its exhibits have to be served — and this engages the 1965 Hague Service Convention, which has been in force for Ukraine since 2001. The request and the documents are prepared with a translation into the language of the requested state (or into English or French, depending on that country’s declarations). This is notarised translation, and the volume is always larger than expected: the bundle is translated, not a single sheet.
Exhibits — where appeals with a foreign element fail
The procedural codes require written evidence in a foreign language to be accompanied by a duly certified Ukrainian translation. Courts read “duly certified” as notarised, and a document without such a translation is left out of account.
What that means for an appeal bundle:
- Foreign contracts, correspondence and bank statements you rely on are translated in full, not in selected paragraphs.
- Seals, stamps, apostilles and handwritten endorsements on foreign documents are translated too — they are part of the text.
- If a document was already translated at first instance, reuse that translation: a terminological discrepancy between instances hands the other side a reason to question both.
What the translator must keep unchanged
An appeal has a rigid structure — introduction, grounds, relief sought — and every formal detail in it is checked against the case file:
| Element | How we handle it |
|---|---|
| Case number and proceedings number | Digit for digit, no reformatting |
| Court names (first instance and appellate) | One official equivalent throughout the bundle |
| Names of parties and representatives | As in the international passport, not “by the rules of the language” |
| Names of legal entities | As in the charter and the register, the corporate name untranslated |
| Citations of code articles | Citation format preserved, numbers not “localised” |
| Dates, amounts, payment reference numbers | No conversion, no rounding |
For law firms we maintain a per-case glossary: if translations of the statement of claim, the defence or the first-instance judgment have already been filed, send them together with the appeal and the terminology will run through consistently. Retainer terms are on the translation for law firms page.
Four mistakes that cost the deadline
- Ordering the translation in the last two days. Technically possible, expensive, and with no margin for error.
- Translating the appeal without the exhibits. The bundle is accepted whole or not at all.
- A different spelling of a name in the appeal, the power of attorney and the passport — the institution sees different people. Check the official transliteration with our free tool.
- Re-translating terms that already appear in the case. The other side reads both documents more attentively than you do.
How the bundle is priced
The unit is 1,800 characters with spaces: English UAH 300, Polish UAH 430, German UAH 450, Ukrainian ↔ Russian UAH 170. What matters next is the difference between the two kinds of certification. Notarization is UAH 400 per document, so if the appeal and three exhibits are separate documents, there are four certifications. The agency stamp is UAH 100 per document, and for a “so the client can read it” translation that is enough. Hence our first question: where is this translation going — to the court, to service abroad, or to the client. The answer can halve or double the figure.
A discount applies from 5 pages, and an appeal bundle almost always exceeds that. The full price list for 40+ languages is on the prices page; the certification procedure is on the notarized translation page.
Send a scan of the appeal with the list of exhibits and tell us the date the decision was pronounced — within 15 minutes we will confirm the price, the realistic turnaround, and whether it fits inside the statutory term. Place an order.
Frequently asked questions
Is an appeal apostilled?
No. An apostille certifies the signature and seal of an official of the body that issued a document, whereas an appeal is drafted and signed by a party or its counsel — it is not a public document within the meaning of the Hague Convention, so there is nothing on it to apostille. Other papers in the bundle are: the judgment under appeal (through the copy certified by the court registry; the authority is the Ministry of Justice) and the notarised power of attorney for the representative. If a foreign institution asks for "an apostille on the appeal", it almost always means notarisation of a signature — send us the exact wording and we will tell you what to order.
How many days do I have for the translation?
The procedure sets the clock, not the translator. In civil and administrative proceedings an appeal against a judgment is filed within thirty days and against a ruling within fifteen (Art. 354 CPC, Art. 295 CAP). In commercial proceedings it is twenty and ten days respectively (Art. 256 CommPC). The translation has to be ready before the last day of the term, because adding a document after filing is far harder. Tell us the starting date and we will schedule backwards from it.
What happens if I attach a foreign-language document without a translation?
The court disregards it. The procedural codes require a duly certified Ukrainian translation to accompany any written evidence drawn up in a foreign language, and in practice "duly certified" means notarised. The document is formally in the file but proves nothing — this is the single most common way appeals with a foreign element fall apart.
How much does translating an appeal cost?
It is priced by actual volume: 1,800 characters with spaces = 1 page, from UAH 170 depending on the language (English — UAH 300, Polish — UAH 430, German — UAH 450). Notarization is UAH 400 per document regardless of the page count. The minimum works out at UAH 570, but an appeal is rarely shorter than 3–5 pages and the exhibits are often longer than the appeal itself. A discount applies from 5 pages. Send a scan and we will calculate within 15 minutes.
Can I translate only the appeal and skip the exhibits?
Yes, if the translation exists solely so that a foreign client can read what their lawyer is arguing. But if the papers go to the court or are served on a foreign party, the whole bundle has to be translated: the appeal, the judgment under appeal, proof of the court fee, the power of attorney and every exhibit the appeal relies on. A half-translated bundle is returned exactly like an untranslated one.
Need a translation? Send your documents — quote in 15 minutes
A photo or scan by messenger or email. Discount on 5+ pages.