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Certified French Property Deed Translation
Certified translation of the documents that record the ownership of land and buildings in France, including the registry annotations and endorsements that carry the legal effect and that a reader unfamiliar with the system will otherwise skip. eVerbary translates it into English for $24.95 per page with no word cap; most orders are delivered within a few hours.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, no word cap. No hidden fees.
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Accepted by USCIS and by US universities, colleges and schools, or your money back.
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Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The notarial deed (acte authentique), and the land registration office (service de publicité foncière)
A French transfer is an acte authentique before a notaire, who keeps the minute and publishes the act at the service de publicité foncière.
What circulates is a copie authentique or an attestation de propriété, and the notary's office and the publication reference identify the act. We reproduce them.
Alsace-Moselle, which runs a different system
The three departments of Bas-Rhin, Haut-Rhin and Moselle keep a German-derived livre foncier — a genuine land register administered by a judge — rather than the French publicity system.
A deed from there references the livre foncier and reads differently. A translator who does not know the distinction will render it wrongly, and we name the system.
Matrimonial regime, and indivision
A French deed states the parties' matrimonial regime — communauté réduite aux acquêts by default, or séparation de biens — which decides who owns what and whose consent is needed.
Property may also be held in undivided co-ownership (indivision) in stated shares, or split into usufruct (usufruit) and bare ownership (nue-propriété), which is extremely common in French estate planning and is not the same as ownership.
The cadastre, and the diagnostics
Property is identified by commune, section and numéro de parcelle, and the deed carries the mandatory diagnostics — lead, asbestos, energy, termites, natural risk.
Those annexes are part of the act and their absence has consequences. See our French page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page with no word cap, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Marginal annotations are translated in place, in the margin, and every seal, stamp and registry endorsement is translated with the text. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Who holds the original deed?
The notaire, as the minute. A copie authentique circulates.
My deed mentions a livre foncier.
Alsace-Moselle keeps a German-derived land register rather than the French publicity system.
What is usufruit?
A right of use and income split from bare ownership. Very common in French estate planning, and not ownership.
What are the diagnostics?
Mandatory surveys — lead, asbestos, energy, termites, risk — annexed to the act.
Ready to get started?
Upload the document and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.