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Certified German Articles of Incorporation Translation
Certified translation of the documents that constitute and evidence a German company, with the corporate form, the registry references and the powers of the representatives reproduced exactly rather than mapped onto US equivalents that carry different law.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
A GmbH does not exist until it is entered
A German GmbH is formed by Gesellschaftsvertrag executed before a Notar, who files it for entry in the Handelsregister. The company does not exist as a GmbH until that entry is made — before it, it is a GmbH in Gründung, a distinct legal state appearing on documents as "i.G." with different liability for the founders. It is not a typo and it is not a draft.
What a foreign office normally wants is not the founding deed but the Handelsregisterauszug, the register extract, which shows the company's current state including every change since formation.
GmbH, UG and what the suffix means
A UG (haftungsbeschränkt) is a GmbH variant with a minimum capital of one euro rather than 25,000, obliged to retain a quarter of its profits until it reaches the GmbH threshold. The suffix is part of the legal name and dropping it in translation misstates the company's capital position to anyone reading it.
Neither is an LLC. Capital maintenance, tax treatment and governance all differ, and we keep the German form with a literal rendering rather than an American approximation.
Vertretungsbefugnis is the clause that matters
The register states each Geschäftsführer and their Vertretungsbefugnis — whether they represent the company alone (einzelvertretungsberechtigt) or only jointly with another, and whether they are released from the self-dealing prohibition of §181 BGB.
That is what a counterparty is actually reading, and it is translated precisely rather than as "authorised to sign". A jointly-authorised director signing alone binds nothing, and a translation that obscures the distinction is worse than no translation.
Umlauts, and what a complete extract carries
German umlauts are commonly expanded abroad, so a company or a director may appear as Müller in the register and MUELLER in a US record. Both are the same name; we reproduce the German and note a genuine difference rather than silently adopting one.
The extract also carries the registered office, the stated object of the company, the share capital and the date of every entry. All of it is translated — an extract with entries missing is not evidence of current standing, which is the only thing it is ever produced to prove.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, 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. Every seal, stamp, notarial recital and registry annotation is translated — a corporate document with its endorsements missing is not a complete document. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
What does i.G. mean?
In formation. The company does not exist as a GmbH until entered in the Handelsregister, and the founders' liability differs until then.
Is a UG an LLC?
No. It is a GmbH variant with a one-euro minimum capital and a profit retention obligation. The suffix is part of the legal name.
Why does the representation clause matter so much?
A jointly-authorised director signing alone binds nothing. It is the clause a counterparty relies on.
The name is spelled Mueller elsewhere.
Umlauts are commonly expanded abroad. Same name, and we note the difference.
Ready to get started?
Upload the deed or the registry extract and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.