If you are affiliated with court, not-for-profit organizations, or NGOs, please contact us for special rates.
Chinese-English Translation Fees
Here is our fee structure for Chinese to English or English to Chinese document translation services. The minimum charge for translation projects is $150.
Non-certified translations are processed by one translator only, whereas certified translations by two translators. A Certification of Accuracy letter can be provided for certified translations upon clients’ request.
The turnaround time is usually longer for certified translations than non-certified translations.
No letter of Certification of Accuracy will be provided for non-certified translations which do not go through the stringent QC process. If a client initially requested non-certified translations, and later would like to obtain a letter of Certification of Accuracy, additional charges and extra time will be needed for the preparation of the certified copies.
For more information, please refer to our pages for Legal Translation Services, Medical Translation Services, Pharmaceutical Translation Services, or Life Science Translation Services.
| Category | Non-Certified Translation (USD) | Certified Translation (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Translation | $0.25-0.50/word | $0.30-0.60/word |
| Medical Translation | $0.20-0.30/word | $0.25-0.40/word |
| Pharmaceutical Translation | $0.30-0.40/word | $0.40-0.50/word |
| Life Sciences/Biomedicine Manuscripts or Publications Translation | $0.25-$0.30/word | $0.35-0.40/word |
| Business Communications Translation | $0.15-0.30/word | $0.20-0.40/word |
| Diplomas and Certificates Translation | $50-100/diploma or certificate | $75-125/diploma or certificate |
| School Transcripts Translation | $100-320/transcript | $125-400/transcript |
| Image and PDF Documents Translation* | $40-400/page | $50-500/page |
* For image files and scanned PDFs (e.g., screenshots of text messages and WeChat messages, photocopied email messages and court filings), we may provide you with a quote by the page. Such a quote already factors in the scanned PDF surcharge and the extensive formatting surcharge (described below).
Some surcharges may apply if your project falls in one or more of the following categories.
| Category | Surcharge | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Scanned PDF | 25% | 25% of the regular quote. |
| Extensive Formating | 25-50% | 25-50% of the regular quote. |
| Rush Fee | 100% | 100% of the regular quote. |
| Notarization | $50/document | Notarization is provide by a third party notary public. It is to authenticate the translator's signature. |
| Express Mail (domestic) | $50/document | First-class mail postage is free of charge. |
| Additional Hard Copies | $10/copy | The first hard copy is free of charge. |
| Additional Certification of Accuracy (COA) Letter | $20/letter | Only provided for certified translation. The first COA letter is free of charge. |
Chinese-English Interpretation Fees
Here is our fee structure for Chinese to English or English to Chinese interpretation services.**
Cancellation terms vary by the length of the interpretation projects. Please contact us for the cancellation terms of your specific project.
For more information on the specific types of interpretation, please refer to our pages Mandarin Conference Interpretation Services, Mandarin Deposition Interpretation Services, Mandarin Court Interpretation Services, and Mandarin Business Interpretation Services.
| Category | Minimum | Fee** | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference Interpretation (simultaneous) | One Day | $2400-3200/day | Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Conference Interpretation (consecutive) | One Day | $2400-3200/day | Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Trial Interpretation, for Parties, Non-IP, Non-Commercial Litigation (simultaneous + consecutive) | One Day | $2400/day | Interpretation is provided throughout the proceeding. Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Trial Interpretation, for Witnesses Only, Non-IP, Non-Commercial Litigation (consecutive) | One Day | $1200/day | Interpretation is provided for witness testimony only. Two interpreters are required for testimony longer than 45 minutes. Fee is for one interpreter. # |
| Trial Interpretation, for Witnesses Only, IP or Commercial Litigation (consecutive) | One Day | $3200/day, plus document review at $200/hour | Interpretation is provided for witness testimony only. Two interpreters are required. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Deposition Interpretation, Non-IP, Non-Commercial Litigation (consecutive) | Two Hours | $200/hour, minimum two hours | Consecutive interpretation is provided throughout the proceeding. Two interpreters are required for deposition longer than two hours. Fee is for one interpreter. # |
| Deposition Interpretation, IP or Commercial Litigation (consecutive) | One Day | $1600/day, plus document review at $100/hour | Consecutive interpretation is provided throughout the proceeding. It is strongly recommended to hire two or three interpreters, one of whom serves as check interpreter. Fee is for one interpreter. # |
| FDA Inspections(consecutive) | One Day | $2400-3200/day/inspector | Consecutive interpretation. Two interpreters are recommended for each inspector. Fee is for each inspector (one or two interpreters per inspector). # |
| Seminars, Workshops, and Courses(simultaneous) | One Day | $2200-3200/day | Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Seminars, Workshops, and Courses(consecutive) | One Day | $2200-3200/day | Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Business Interpretation (simultaneous) | One Day | $2400-3200/day | Must hire at least two interpreters. Fee is for two interpreters. |
| Business Interpretation (consecutive) | Half Day | $1000-1600/half-day, $2000-3200/day | Two interpreters are recommended. Fee is for one or two interpreters. # |
| Remote Interpretation (consecutive only) | Two Hours | $250-400/hour, minimum two hours | Two interpreters are recommended. Fee is for one interpreter. # |
** Overtime is not included. Travel cost for onsite interpretation is determined on a case by case basis and is not included in the table. Generally speaking, local assignments involve mileage and travel time, and out-of-town assignments involve travel time, airfare/train fare, ground transportation, lodging, and per diem expenses.
# We strongly recommend hiring two interpreters for consecutive interpreting to achieve high accuracy. For high-stakes matters such as patent litigation, you might want to consider hiring three interpreters. When only one interpreter is hired for consecutive interpreting, it is mandatory that a 10-15 minute break is provided for every 45-50 minutes of interpreting to reduce interpreter fatigue. For full day projects, a one-hour lunch break is mandated, during which time no interpreting service is provided. If clients need interpreting service during lunch time (e.g. a luncheon meeting), we must hire two interpreters. Please let us know beforehand so that we can make arrangements accordingly.
Chinese-English Transcription Fees
Here is our fee structure for Chinese to English or English to Chinese transcription services. The minimum charge for transcription projects is $300.
Certified transcripts are more accurate and can be accompanied by a letter of Certification of Accuracy. If your documents are to be submitted to courts or regulatory agencies, certified copies may be needed. Turnaround time for certified copies is usually longer to allow for additional QC steps.
For more information on the different types of transcription services, please refer to our Transcription Services page.
| Category | Non-certified (USD) | Certified (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Timestamp + Target Language Transcript | $55/per minute of recording | N/A |
| Timestamp + Source Language Transcript + Target Language Transcript | $65/per minute of recording | $80/per minute of recording |
| Interpretation of Recordings | $30/per minute of recording | N/A |