Our translation services
Our translation service levels
Every translation has a different purpose, audience and level of importance. Our three service levels give you the right combination of professional translation, independent review and specialist oversight for the way your content will be used.
CORE
Professional Translation
- Translation by a qualified professional linguist, or full human post-editing through an approved AI-assisted workflow
- Self-revision by the translator, terminology and consistency checks
- BLS quality-assurance checks
- Managed by a dedicated in-house Project Manager
Best suited to: routine internal communications, reference material and lower-consequence business content.
COMPLIANCE
Specialist Validation and Enhanced Governance
- Everything included in Enhanced
- Third-stage validation and review of the translation by an appropriately qualified subject specialist
- Enhanced project records and quality controls
- Project-specific terminology, acceptance criteria and validation requirements agreed in advance
- Restricted AI-assisted route, used only where the content, confidentiality requirements and client instructions permit it
Best suited to: regulated, safety-critical and other high-consequence content where an error could affect safety, rights, financial outcomes or regulatory obligations.
Which service level do I need?
For most externally published or client-facing content, we recommend Enhanced.
Core provides a cost-effective professional service for routine, lower-consequence content. Compliance adds specialist validation and enhanced governance where the potential consequences of an error are greater.
Our Project Managers will consider the purpose, audience, subject matter, confidentiality requirements and consequence of error before recommending the most appropriate service and production route.
Not sure which option is right for you?
Tell us about your content and how it will be used. Our team will recommend the most appropriate level of assurance and provide a clear, itemised quotation.
Human or AI-assisted Translation?
Each service level can be delivered using an appropriate human or AI-assisted production route. Whichever route is selected, your translation remains under the control of qualified professional linguists and our in-house project-management team.
We only recommend AI-assisted translation where the language combination, content, confidentiality requirements and intended use make it appropriate. Human translation may be required for certain projects.
HUMAN TRANSLATION
A qualified professional linguist translates your content from the source language. The translation then undergoes the revision and quality-assurance stages included in your selected service level.
Best for: sensitive, highly creative, nuanced or specialist content, and projects where human translation is required.
Human translation from the outset
AI-ASSISTED TRANSLATION
A qualified professional linguist fully post-edits the initial output from our approved AI-assisted translation system. The translation then undergoes the revision and quality-assurance stages included in your selected service level.
Best for: suitable high-volume or repeat content where a controlled AI-assisted workflow can improve speed and cost efficiency.
No raw or unchecked AI output
Certified Translation
Translations of official documentation needing to be submitted to courts, government bodies or other authorities often need to be certified in order to be accepted. These documents can include:
For businesses
- Articles of Association
- Declarations of conformity
- Regulatory documents (e.g. SmPCs, IFUs, etc.)
- Documents to be submitted as evidence in court
For individuals
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Death certificates
- Divorce documents
- Passports & ID
- Police criminal record certificates
Certification provides a legally binding guarantee that:
- The document has been translated and certified by a suitably qualified linguist or accredited translation agency
- The resulting document is a true and faithful translation of the original
- The translation may be legally relied upon in court or for sensitive legal purposes such as immigration procedures, civil status registrations and regulatory audits
- The linguist or translation agency is a member of an approved translation industry body, such as the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI), the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), or the Association of Translation Companies (ATC)
We can provide all types of certification, depending on your needs.
Sectors that we work with
Public Sector
Councils and local authorities regularly deal with highly sensitive situations involving children, immigrants, victims of crime, or people with physical or mental disabilities, so discretion and confidentiality are essential when translating their materials.
What to expect from working with us
Our translation services are designed to make the entire process – from getting a quote to delivering high-quality translations – as simple and seamless as possible:
1. Consultation & quotation
Gather all necessary details (languages, formats, services) and provide a personalised quote tailored to the project.
2. Linguists' briefing
Brief linguists on requirements, including stylistic and length considerations, and prepare for translation.
3. Translation
Expert linguists handle translation, revision and review and, if necessary, certification, as per requested service level.
4. Delivery
We deliver the final files as a ready‑to‑use package and handle additional services like desktop publishing or printing, as needed.
All our translation services are delivered through processes certified to ISO standards 9001 (Quality Management) and 17100 (Translation Services) and are managed by a dedicated in-house Project Manager.
Core provides professional translation and our standard quality-assurance checks. Enhanced adds independent bilingual revision by a second qualified linguist and is recommended for most published content. Compliance adds third-stage specialist validation and enhanced project controls for regulated or high-consequence content.
We also use professional translation-management technology to support consistent use of approved translations, terminology and client preferences.
Our team has been reliably providing translation and interpreting services to a wide range of sectors for over 30 years. We are familiar with regulatory requirements for medical, technical and legal document translations and will ensure that they are fully compliant. We can also work with all specialist file formats – including for software and web development, desktop publishing and typesetting, technical drawings and CAD, and many more – so we can guarantee that your translated files will remain compatible with your systems.
All of our project managers are linguists themselves, so they have first-hand experience of the information and resources that interpreters and translators need to produce their best work. They are also ideally placed to answer linguistic queries, identify and resolve cross-language inconsistencies in multilingual projects, or advise on the regional dialects of languages that may be needed for a particular client or market.
Your documents and information are always handled with the utmost discretion from the moment they reach our team. All our project managers and linguists are subject to strict NDAs, so you can be sure that all information will remain confidential. Every project has seamless traceability and version control as standard, allowing you to easily make updates to previously translated documents without retranslating them from scratch. We also offer a secure client portal for direct, seamless transfer of the most sensitive documents.
Professional translation services trusted by businesses across all sectors
We have been providing specialist translation services trusted by UK businesses and global organisations for over 30 years – yours could be next.
Don’t just take our word for it…
Here is what some of our satisfied clients had to say about our services.
We have used Business Language Services many times to provide a translation and interpreter service in a legal capacity. They provide a thorough service and are very efficient. It is a pleasure corresponding with all at Business Language Services and they are always happy to help. For every query I have had, they have been able to assist, and the work has been of high quality each time. They are competitively priced and very professional. We would recommend Business Language Services to all.
Red Kite Law
We have been working with Business Language Services for the last two years on our project to update our Instructions for Use (multi-language version). There were 17 languages covered in this project and the services provided by this company have been excellent. Great communication, quick timeline and flexibility to suit our needs.
Safeguard Medical
BLS has assisted us with the translation of our machine manuals and screen content for our PLC controlled HMIs. They have been particularly adept at understanding the engineering terms and technical nature of our requests and have translated these into not only the more commonly used European languages such as French, Spanish, Italian, etc, but have also supplied us with Simplified Chinese and Hebrew translations.
Weir Laundry Equipment
Get started with your compliance-grade translations today
To find out more about how we can support you with translation services, speak to one of our friendly team today.
Frequently asked questions
How much do translation services cost?
Professional translation services typically start from £65 + VAT. The final cost depends on the language pair, source-word count, subject matter, intended use and level of linguistic review required.
For most published, technical and client-facing content, we recommend our Enhanced service. Translation prices start from £80–£110 + VAT, with rates ranging from £0.16 to £0.25 per source word. Enhanced includes professional translation followed by an independent bilingual revision stage.
Our other translation service levels are:
- Core: £0.12–£0.19 per source word, with minimum charges of £65–£95 + VAT. This is suitable for routine, lower-consequence content.
- Compliance: £0.225–£0.35 per source word, with minimum charges of £120–£150 + VAT. This is intended for regulated or high-consequence content requiring specialist validation and enhanced project controls.
Lower AI-assisted translation rates may be available where the content, language pair and confidentiality requirements make this appropriate. All AI-assisted translations are fully post-edited by a qualified professional linguist and undergo the revision stages included in the selected service level.
Send us your files and tell us how the translation will be used to receive an accurate, itemised translation quote.
How do I choose the right service level for my project?
The right translation service level depends on how your content will be used, who will read it and what the consequences of an error could be.
- Core is suitable for routine internal communications, reference material and other lower-consequence content. It includes professional translation, linguist self-revision and our standard quality-assurance checks.
- Enhanced is our recommended translation service level for most published, technical, client-facing and commercially important content. It adds an independent source-to-target revision stage by a second qualified professional linguist.
- Compliance is designed for regulated, safety-critical and other high-consequence content. It adds third-stage specialist validation, enhanced project controls and more detailed quality records.
Once the appropriate service level has been selected, we will determine whether a Human or AI-assisted production route is suitable. AI-assisted translation is only used where the language pair, content, confidentiality requirements and intended use permit it. The initial output is always fully post-edited by a qualified professional linguist and undergoes the revision stages included in the selected service level.
If you are unsure which translation service is right for your project, send us your files and explain how the content will be used. Our Project Managers will assess your requirements and recommend the appropriate level of revision and quality assurance.
Do you use AI in your translation process?
Yes. We offer AI-assisted translation as a controlled production route within our Core, Enhanced and Compliance service levels.
An approved AI-assisted translation system produces the initial output, which is then fully post-edited by a qualified professional linguist. The translation subsequently undergoes the revision and quality-assurance stages included in the selected service level:
- Core: full human post-editing followed by self-revision by the translator and our standard quality-assurance checks.
- Enhanced: everything included in Core, plus an independent source-to-target revision by a second qualified linguist.
- Compliance: everything included in Enhanced, plus third-stage specialist validation and review of the translation alongside enhanced project controls. The AI-assisted Compliance route is restricted and only available where the project requirements permit it.
We only recommend AI-assisted translation where the language pair, content, confidentiality requirements and intended use make it appropriate. Human translation is used where AI assistance would be unsuitable or where the customer, contract or project requirements prohibit it.
We never deliver raw or unchecked AI translation output. Customer content processed through our approved AI-assisted translation systems is not used to train the underlying models.
Why should I use a professional translation agency, not just machine translation?
A professional translation agency provides qualified human expertise, quality assurance and accountability that raw machine translation alone cannot offer.
Machine translation and generative AI can produce useful initial output, but they may misinterpret context, terminology, tone, ambiguity or industry-specific meaning. These issues can be difficult to identify if the reader does not understand both the source and target languages.
When you work with a professional translation agency, your project benefits from:
- Linguists selected for the relevant language pair and subject matter
- Professional translation or full human post-editing
- Terminology and consistency management
- Independent bilingual revision where required
- Confidentiality and controlled use of translation technology
- In-house project management and quality-assurance checks
- Clear professional accountability for the delivered translation
We use AI-assisted translation where it is appropriate, but we never deliver raw or unchecked AI output. A qualified professional linguist fully post-edits the initial translation, which then undergoes the revision stages included in the selected service level.
This combination of professional linguists, controlled technology and documented quality assurance produces translations that are suitable for their intended audience and purpose, not simply a quick indication of what the source text might mean.
Are you able to integrate translation with other apps/software?
We use industry-leading translation management systems that allow us to work directly with a wide range of specialist file formats, including: web development formats like HTML or JSON; desktop publishing formats such as InDesign or Illustrator; e-learning formats such as Articulate; and many more. If you already have your own internal translation environment, we are always happy to work with you to integrate our systems and workflows with yours.