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German technical translation — precise and standards-compliant.

German technical translation of PCT patent applications, machinery documentation and litigation evidence is €0.89 per standard line, by engineering-qualified, court-authorised translators. The DPMA, German market-surveillance authorities and the patent courts in Munich, Mannheim and Düsseldorf accept the result. A certification statement is added wherever the receiving body requires it. Fixed price, certification and shipping included.

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Terminology consistent across every document · CAD / XML / DTP formats ready to use · ISO 17100-governed language technology

DIN EN ISO 17100registered · Reg. 7U517
German ⇄ Englishnative technical translators
Standards-compliantMachinery Regulation · IEC/IEEE 82079-1
Price up frontbinding fixed price

Short & clear

Engineering-trained translators and managed terminology, not the next generalist.

Reviewed by specialists · termbase editorial team

In technical documentation, precision decides safety and liability. A mistranslated warning, unit or tolerance can endanger people and become expensive. That is why the work here is done by technical translators with an engineering background — with managed terminology, not the next available generalist.

We secure terms through glossaries and Translation Memories, observe the standards and conventions of the German market, and deliver in your formats — from the XML editorial environment to the print-ready manual. On request we translate entirely with qualified human specialists.

Who it's for

Machine building, automotive, electronics, software — a translator for each.

Technical documentation reaches its reader on the shop floor, in the field and at the certification body. For each of these industries we assign a technical translator with the matching engineering background.

Mechanical and plant engineering: manuals across product series

Extensive manuals and documentation in German ⇄ English — terminology kept consistent across product series and releases, delivered ready to use in your formats.

Automotive and supply chain: specifications and test protocols

Specifications, test protocols and handbooks under time and standard pressure; recurring passages reused via Translation Memory so releases stay consistent and on time.

Electrical engineering and electronics: data sheets and safety notices

Data sheets and safety notices — precise and standards-compliant, with units, tolerances and signal words handled to the target-market convention.

Software and IT: UI strings, online help, documentation

UI strings, online help and documentation — translated with a clean separation of code and text, so placeholders, variables and tags stay untouched.

Standards & conformity

The operating manual is part of CE conformity — Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.

For machines and products the European legal framework — the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, replaced from 20 January 2027 by the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 — requires operating instructions in the official language of each country. If they are missing or faulty, the product is formally not fit for the market; safety notices, warnings and the declaration of conformity must be rendered with technical exactness.

We translate technical documentation along established standards for information for use (incl. IEC/IEEE 82079-1) and, on request, work with controlled language and Simplified Technical English (ASD-STE100). Units, tolerances and safety classes are converted correctly; existing machine output is raised to release quality by post-editing (MTPE) and specialist proofreading.

Standard & language obligation

Which document triggers which standard: 2023/1230, IEC/IEEE 82079-1, MDR.

Technical translation means knowing the governing standard for each document. An overview we work to — the concrete framework depends on the product and target market. It shows why a technical translator, not a generalist, belongs on the job.

Which technical document triggers which standard and language obligation
Document / triggerStandard / legal basisLanguage & translation obligation
Operating manual (machine)Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC → Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 (from 20 Jan 2027)Instructions in the official language(s) of the target member state
Information for use / handbookIEC/IEEE 82079-1Structure and comprehensibility of the information for use
Safety & warning noticesISO 3864 / ANSI Z535 (signal words)Signal words and pictograms to the target-market convention
Instructions for use, medical device (IFU)MDR 2017/745, IVDR 2017/746Instructions for use in the national language(s)
Declaration of conformitythe relevant CE product directiveTranslation per the requirement of the German market
Process & quality assuranceDIN EN ISO 17100 (DIN CERTCO, Reg. 7U517)Technical translator + final check; second-person revision on request

Why an engineering field, not language alone, decides market fitness

None of these obligations is a matter of style — a wrong unit, a mistranslated signal word or an unofficial-language manual can make a product formally unfit for the market. The governing standard changes with the document and the target country, and it decides what the certification body, the importer or the court will accept. That is exactly where a technical translator with an engineering field earns their place.

Technical documentation between Ireland and the German-speaking market.

Ireland and Germany build things together: Merck KGaA of Darmstadt is investing hundreds of millions of euro in its Cork plants — a German parent with an Irish site is the textbook case for German technical documentation. Ireland's 300-plus medtech and engineering firms face the same reality: to sell into Germany, Austria and Switzerland, manuals, data sheets and specifications have to be right in German, terminology consistent across every release. We translate them by professional German translators with an engineering background — the same discipline behind our work for pharma and medtech clients.

One unit wrong — and the machine stops.

So: technical translators with an engineering background, managed terminology, and a final check on every job.

Conformity & certification

Conformity first, certification second: when a German translation must be certified.

Reviewed by specialists · termbase editorial team

For most technical documentation the point is conformity, not court certification: the operating manual has to be in the official language of the German market, terminology has to be consistent, and safety notices have to match the target-market convention. We work along the DIN EN ISO 17100 process, with a final check and, where agreed, revision by a second qualified person, and take account of the European legal framework — the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and, from 20 January 2027, the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.

Where a technical document must be submitted to a German authority or court — for instance a patent specification or an expert report — a court-authorised translator (in German, ermächtigter Übersetzer, authorised under the law of a German federal state (Land); under Section 142 (3) ZPO such a translation counts as correct and complete once the translator certifies it) issues a certified translation with stamp, signature and certification note. Whether an apostille is additionally required we check in advance; the apostille itself is issued by the competent authority — termbase does not issue apostilles.

Germany · Austria · Switzerland

Certifying a patent or an expert report: three routes, three legal bases.

termbase covers all three — the certifying authority and the legal basis are not the same. Compare them before you order.

How a certified translation is produced and recognised — Germany, Austria and Switzerland compared
 GermanyAustriaSwitzerland
Certified byA translator authorised by a German court (ermächtigter Übersetzer)An allgemein beeideter und gerichtlich zertifizierter Dolmetsch (§ 190 (1) AußStrG; register and protected title under §§ 14, 14b SDG)Notarisation — a notary confirms the translator's signature and identity
Legal basis§ 142 (3) ZPO§ 14 SDGCantonal notarial law (no federal sworn-translator statute)

Use cases

Three engineering projects: PCT national phase, CE file, patent litigation.

Document type, target market and governing standard decide the format, terminology and form of delivery. Three common jobs — from the starting point to the result.

DPMA filings, machinery on the German market, patent litigation

IP & patents

PCT patent enters the German national phase

Starting point
A US or UK applicant's international (PCT) patent application, filed in English, approaches its 31-month deadline for entering the German national phase at the DPMA.
Process
Engineering-qualified technical translators render the full description, claims and abstract into German to DPMA formal conventions, checked by a second qualified reviewer.
Result
A complete German translation filed with the DPMA before the 31-month deadline — the national phase is validly entered; late entry is not available.

Inbound case

Non-EU machinery enters the German market

Starting point
A UK, US, Australian or Canadian machine builder ships equipment to a German buyer; the CE file — operating instructions, safety notices, EU Declaration of Conformity — exists only in English.
Process
Technical translators convert the instructions and declaration into German to the Machinery Regulation's requirements, with units, tolerances and signal words set to the German-market convention.
Result
Documentation the German market-surveillance authority accepts — the machine can be placed on the German market without a formal language non-conformity.

IP & patents

Foreign party in German or UPC patent litigation

Starting point
A foreign claimant or defendant in a patent case before the Regional Court (Landgericht) Düsseldorf, Mannheim or Munich, or the UPC's German Local Divisions, must submit technical evidence not in the language of proceedings.
Process
A court-authorised translator (ermächtigter Übersetzer, Section 142(3) ZPO) certifies the technical translation of exhibits, specifications and expert reports.
Result
Evidence and exhibits the court accepts into the record without a procedural objection on translation grounds.

European patent validation and a Firmenbuch branch registration

IP & patents

European patent validation in Austria

Starting point
A UK or US applicant is granted a European patent with English as the language of proceedings and wants protection to hold in Austria.
Process
Technical translators with patent-claims experience render the claims into German within the 3-month EPO validation window; a second qualified reviser checks scope-critical wording before filing with the Österreichisches Patentamt.
Result
The German claims translation is filed on time, and the patent is validated and enforceable in Austria.

Recognition

Foreign engineer's degree recognised for Austrian work

Starting point
A Canadian or Irish mechanical engineer relocating for a job in Austria needs a foreign engineering degree assessed by ENIC-NARIC Austria.
Process
A certified translator renders the diploma and transcript into German; for non-EU/EEA degrees the certified translation supports the recognition file submitted via ENIC-NARIC Austria / AAIS (aais.at) or the competent Austrian university.
Result
ENIC-NARIC Austria / AAIS accepts the German translation alongside the original, and the recognition assessment proceeds without a language objection.

Company

US or UK company registers an Austrian branch in the Firmenbuch

Starting point
A US or UK parent company opens a branch (Zweigniederlassung) in Austria and must submit its foreign register extract and articles of association to the Firmenbuch.
Process
A translator authorised under §14 SDG produces a certified German translation with stamp, signature and certification note, matching the technical/commercial terminology used in the source register documents.
Result
The Regional Court's Firmenbuch division accepts the filing without requesting a re-translation, and the branch registration proceeds on schedule.

PrSG/MaschV manuals, IPI patent claims, product-liability evidence

Market access

UK/US machine builder shipping to a Swiss buyer

Starting point
A foreign machinery manufacturer with a complete EU CE technical file assumes it already covers Switzerland because it meets the EU Machinery Directive.
Process
termbase renders the operating manual and safety instructions into German (plus French/Italian for the buyer's region) to PrSG/MaschV and IEC/IEEE 82079-1 conventions — because since the EU-CH MRA update lapsed in May 2021, the EU CE file is not automatically sufficient for Swiss market surveillance.
Result
A manual the Swiss buyer's procurement team and SECO market surveillance treat as Swiss-market-ready, not merely EU-adjacent.

IP & patents

Irish/US inventor filing a national patent at the Swiss IPI

Starting point
A foreign applicant files technical documents in English with the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI, Bern) and must meet the translation deadline without narrowing the claims.
Process
An engineer-trained technical translator renders the claims into German, French or Italian within the IPI's 3-month deadline (16 months from the priority date for English filings), with legal-terminology review to preserve scope of protection — and flags whether the 1 Jan 2027 reform lets them file without a mandatory translation.
Result
Claims on file on time in the correct official language and accepted by the IPI, with the applicant clear on how the 2027 reform affects their filing.

Product liability

Foreign supplier in a Swiss product-liability matter

Starting point
A component supplier abroad must submit a technical expert report or specification to a Swiss court or authority in a liability dispute tied to PrSG obligations.
Process
A notary-certified translator produces a certified German technical translation with the required certification note and notarised signature; termbase confirms in advance whether an apostille is additionally needed — advising on it without issuing it.
Result
A technically precise translation the Swiss court accepts, delivered on the binding fixed price, with the apostille question settled before submission.

Quote & price

What a technical translation costs, and what the fixed price already includes.

We review volume, language direction, format and terminology need and name a binding fixed price. Technical translation is priced per standard line; for ongoing documentation we agree fixed conditions in a framework contract — format handling and a final check included.

Binding fixed price
from € 0.89 / standard linetechnical translation · everything included
Price up front · no unannounced extra costs
Technical translation by a specialist✓included
Terminology & Translation Memory upkeep✓included
Format / DTP handling (XML, DITA, InDesign, CAD)✓included
Final check; second-person revision on request✓included
ISO 17100-governed language technology✓included

Technical translation is priced per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces), from € 0.89; we name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →

Request a quote

FAQ

Questions manufacturers and patent attorneys ask before commissioning.

Which translators handle technical documentation at termbase?

Technical translators with an engineering background and experience in your industry, supported by managed terminology. That keeps designations correct and consistent across every document; on request a second qualified person revises the work under the four-eyes principle.

Which formats do you translate in — XML/DITA, InDesign, CAD?

We translate directly in the format – XML/DITA, InDesign, editorial systems, CAD derivatives – and deliver print- or deployment-ready, so you do not have to reformat. Placeholders, variables and tags stay untouched.

How do you keep terminology consistent across releases?

Through glossaries and Translation Memories: once a designation is defined it is used consistently across all documents, product lines and releases – on request we build up your corporate terminology systematically.

Do you translate in compliance with CE marking?

Yes. We translate operating manuals, safety notices and declarations of conformity into the required official language and take account of the European legal framework (incl. Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, replaced from 20 January 2027 by the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230) as well as standards for information for use such as IEC/IEEE 82079-1.

Can you provide a certified technical translation for an authority?

Where a technical document is submitted to a German authority or court, a court-authorised translator (ermächtigter Übersetzer, authorised under the law of a German federal state (Land); under Section 142 (3) ZPO such a translation counts as correct and complete once the translator certifies it) issues a certified translation with a certification note. Whether an apostille is additionally required we check in advance – it is issued by the competent authority, not by termbase.

What does a technical translation cost and how long does it take?

The price depends on volume, language direction, format and terminology need; after a brief review we name a binding fixed price from € 0.89 per standard line. Manageable documents usually take a few working days, faster by 24-hour express where feasible.
Our machines go to customers in Bavaria and Upper Austria and the operating instructions have to travel with them. termbase works from our source files, so what comes back is ready to print rather than a Word document somebody here has to rebuild.
★★★★★

Barry McGrath · Technical Documentation, Athlone

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Work with us

Become a technical translator for manufacturers and patent work.

If you translate technical documentation, the market rewards a pairing few can offer: an engineering field you can defend plus target-language mastery at native level. For certified work — patent specifications, expert reports for a court — you also need court authorisation granted under the law of a German federal state (Land). We work continually with technical translators, employed or freelance.

The path

An engineering field you can defend, plus a native target language

Understanding a data sheet is not the same as writing one that an engineer will act on. The market rewards the combination: a field you can defend — mechanical engineering, automotive, electronics, IT — and the terminology that comes with it, paired with target-language writing at native level. Add fluency with the tools of the trade — Translation Memories, terminology databases, XML/DITA editorial formats — and you can take on the documentation a manufacturer actually relies on.

Why it holds up

Managed terminology, post-editing judgement, and court authorisation

Where safety and liability are at stake, machine output still needs a qualified specialist to raise it to release quality — post-editing (MTPE) is judgement, not a rubber stamp, and on request we translate entirely without it. For certified translations you apply to the competent Regional Court (Landgericht) to be authorised under the law of a German federal state (Land); under Section 142 (3) ZPO such a translation counts as correct and complete once the translator certifies it. Careful human work here is not nostalgia; it is what the certification body and the receiving authority require.

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