Africa, Europe, North America, South America
French translation and interpreting services
Certified French translation and professional French interpreters for government agencies, courts, healthcare, schools, and businesses, matched to readers in France, Quebec, Belgium and Switzerland, or French-speaking Africa.
French, in its own words
Français
Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
French in the United States
- Speakers at home
- 1.3 million people age 5 and older speak French at home, Cajun included (1,276,702 in 2024)[1] source
- Limited English
- 279,230 of them, 22 percent, speak English less than “very well”[1] source
- Largest communities
- New York (134,665 speakers), California (131,065), Florida (123,268), Texas (91,046), then Maryland and Louisiana; the largest metro areas are New York, Washington, D.C., and Miami[1] source
- Haitian Creole is counted separately
- The Census records Haitian as its own language, with another 1,041,231 speakers at home[1] source
- Africa
- Most of the world’s French speakers live in Africa, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie’s 2026 report[2] source
- Canada
- The second-largest U.S. trading partner in goods in 2024, with $762.1 billion in total trade, and a market where product labels carry French by law[3] source
One French spelling, many French vocabularies
French readers in Montreal, Brussels, Geneva, and Dakar share a spelling standard, not a dictionary of everyday words. Each word below is from the Larousse dictionary, which marks where a usage is regional.
- dépanneurQuebecconvenience store (in France, a repair technician)
- magasinerCanadato go shopping
- septanteBelgium and Switzerlandseventy (France: soixante-dix)
- nonanteFrench-speaking Switzerland and Belgiumninety (France: quatre-vingt-dix)
- essencerieSenegalgas station
- cadeauterAfricato give as a gift
Numbers matter as much as words: “septante” on a Belgian or Swiss invoice is “soixante-dix” in Paris. A Quebec reader who needs a dépanneur wants a corner store, not a mechanic. That is why we ask where your French readers live before we translate.
What good French translation takes
fr-FRfr-CAfr-SN
Choose the market before the wording
French spelling is shared, but vocabulary and even numbers are not. Quebec, France, Belgium and Switzerland, and West and Central Africa each have everyday words of their own, and readers notice a mismatch. Tell us where your readers live, and we write for that market.
fr-CAen-CA
Selling in Canada means a French label
Canada’s Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations require the mandatory information on a prepackaged product’s label in both official languages, English and French, with limited exceptions. Build Canadian French into packaging, inserts, and catalogs from the start, not after the English is final.
LingalaWolof
In Africa, French is often a second language
Across much of French-speaking Africa, French is learned at school and spoken alongside other languages, such as Lingala in Kinshasa and Wolof in Senegal. For a hearing or a medical visit, ask which language the person understands best before you book.
Kreyòl ayisyen
Haitian Creole is not French
Haitian Creole is not mutually intelligible with standard French, and it is the native language of most Haitians, while only a small share speak French. Book a Haitian Creole interpreter for a Haitian Creole speaker, and see our Haitian Creole page for documents written in Kreyòl.
Why agencies choose us for French
Our French team carries the credentials courts, hospitals, and agencies ask for.
Court-certified interpreters
French interpreters certified by the Colorado Judicial Branch, for hearings, depositions, and attorney–client meetings.
CCHI-certified medical interpreters
Medical interpreters nationally certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters.
ATA-certified translators
French translators certified by the American Translators Association.
The simultaneous interpretation team provided was necessary and outstanding. I would highly recommend them for future SPP workshops. Thanks for the support on such short notice.
Who relies on our French linguists
Courts and legal
Certified translation of contracts, judgments, and evidence, and French interpreters for depositions, hearings, and asylum matters.
Immigration documents
Certified translations of French-language civil records, diplomas, and police certificates for USCIS filings.
Healthcare
Patient materials, consent forms, and clinical documents, plus interpreters for appointments in person, by phone, or by video.
Business with Canada
Product content, labeling, and marketing localized for Canadian French readers.
Conferences and diplomacy
Simultaneous French interpretation for international meetings, delegations, and multilingual events.
French translation services
Our French translators work into and out of English and other languages, following an ISO 17100 process: translation by a qualified linguist, then revision by a second linguist before delivery. Certified translations include a signed statement of accuracy, and files move through our encrypted client portal.
What we translate in French
- Birth, marriage, and death certificates
- Diplomas, transcripts, and immigration documents
- Contracts, court filings, and legal evidence
- Medical records and patient materials
- Technical manuals and safety documents
- Websites, software, and training content
French interpreters
Our French interpreters work in person, by phone, and by video, in consecutive and simultaneous modes. We match each assignment to the setting, with court-certified or credentialed interpreters where the work requires them, send briefing materials ahead so interpreters arrive prepared, and assign a team for long or simultaneous sessions. Every French interpreter is background-checked and bound by a confidentiality agreement.
More French services
French simultaneous interpreting and equipment
French interpreters plus receivers, headsets, and booths for delegations, partnership programs, trainings, and international meetings.
Canadian French for products and packaging
Labels, inserts, catalogs, and product specifications written for Canadian readers, for products bound for a market that requires English and French labels.
Certified translation of francophone records
Birth certificates, diplomas, and police records from France, Canada, Haiti, and French-speaking Africa, with a signed statement of accuracy for USCIS and courts.
Our French work
Selected French projects for our clients.
- County human services agenciesOn-site, video, and phone French interpreting.
- Federal contractorsSimultaneous and video French interpreting.
- Municipal courtsOn-site French interpreting.
- Federal agenciesFrench interpreting.
- Mountain West FinancialCertified French-to-English translation of more than 30,000 words in two and a half business days.
- TrimbleTechnical translation of French RFP documents into English on a short deadline.
French in Colorado
Our headquarters is in Aurora, in the Denver metro area, so we schedule on-site French interpreters across Colorado and nationwide, for hearings, medical visits, employee meetings, and international delegations.
- Colorado
- 19,969 Coloradans age 5 and older speak French at home, Cajun included[8] source
- Denver metro
- 12,491 of them live in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area, about 6 in 10 of the state’s French speakers[8] source
French translation and interpreting FAQs
Do we need Canadian French or France French?
For readers in Quebec or elsewhere in Canada, Canadian French: its vocabulary, terminology, and typographic conventions differ from France’s, and Canadian readers notice. For France or international audiences, use European French. Tell us the market and we set the standard.
Do readers in Belgium and Switzerland need their own French?
For most documents, standard European French reads naturally to them. Numbers and some everyday words are local, though: Belgian and Swiss readers say septante and nonante where France says soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix. For pricing, marketing, or anything written out in words, we follow local usage.
Can a French interpreter cover clients from West and Central Africa?
Often, but confirm first. Many people from French-speaking African countries learned French in school and speak another language at home, such as Lingala or Wolof. Ask which language the person understands best; we schedule French interpreters and, with advance booking, interpreters in many African languages.
Should Haitian clients get French or Haitian Creole?
Ask the person. Haitian Creole is the language most Haitians grew up speaking, and it is not mutually intelligible with French. French is still the preferred language of instruction in most Haitian schools, so a document written in French may need a Haitian Creole interpreter to explain it.
Do you provide certified French translation?
Yes. Certified French translations include a signed statement that the translation is complete and accurate, the format courts, schools, and immigration authorities such as USCIS require.
How much does French translation cost?
Price depends on the word count, subject matter, deadline, and whether you need certification. Send your files for a fixed quote and delivery date, with no obligation.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Table B16001: Language spoken at home by ability to speak English (national, state, and metro) (opens in a new tab)
- French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Journée internationale de la Francophonie 2026 (citing the OIF report La langue française dans le monde 2026) (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade, Top Trading Partners, December 2024 (year to date) (opens in a new tab)
- Government of Canada, Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations (C.R.C., c. 417), section 6 (opens in a new tab)
- African French (opens in a new tab)
- Haitian Creole (opens in a new tab)
- OHCHR, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, French (Français) (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Table B16001: Colorado and the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: dépanneur (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: magasiner (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: septante (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: nonante (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: essencerie (opens in a new tab)
- Larousse, Dictionnaire de français: cadeauter (opens in a new tab)
Tell us what’s at stake. We’ll show you how we’d handle it.
Send your files or describe your event. A language specialist replies with a fixed quote and a delivery date, with no obligation.
Prefer to call? 720-325-0459