Urdu translator

For Pakistan, much of the British-Pakistani community and certain Indian states you choose Urdu; for most Indian contexts you choose Hindi. Urdu and Hindi are nearly identical when spoken (a shared Hindustani base), but they differ in writing. Urdu uses the Perso-Arabic Nasta'liq script (right-to-left) and draws more heavily on Persian and Arabic; Hindi uses Devanagari (left-to-right) with Sanskrit loanwords. We confirm the choice per project so the document reads correctly for its intended reader.

Yes. Our Urdu translators deliver in correct Nasta'liq typography, the flowing Perso-Arabic calligraphic style that differs from the more upright Arabic Naskh. We use DTP software that renders Nasta'liq properly, so there is no simple Arabic font substitution. The result reads naturally to an Urdu reader rather than looking foreign or careless.

An Urdu translation agency like Ecrivus provides certified translation: a signed and dated statement of accuracy from the translator or the agency, with our contact details. The UK has no sworn-translator institute, so there is no "sworn translator" as a legal office here. Where a body asks for more, the translation can be escalated to notarisation by a solicitor or notary public, or to an apostille or legalisation through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). We confirm in the quote which level your receiving authority — the Home Office, UKVI, a court or a university — requires. See [Get a document legalised (FCDO)](https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised).

Our DTP specialists set Urdu text correctly right-to-left, mirroring layouts, page numbers and digit conventions where needed. Mixed documents containing Urdu and English receive bidirectional treatment, so each segment keeps the correct text direction and the layout stays readable on the page.

Yes. The written norm is largely shared, but formal texts in Indian Urdu may use Sanskrit-leaning alternative terms where Pakistani Urdu prefers Persian-Arabic variants. We confirm the target variant per project based on the country and the receiving authority, and hold to that choice across the document.

For legal Urdu translation — contracts, NIKAH certificates, judgments, asylum files — we pair you with a translator who has a legal background and match the register and terminology to the document. Our legal-translation page goes deeper into certification, the closing statement of accuracy and document handling. See [legal translation](/en/services/legal-translation/).

We work with native specialist translators and reference the recognised UK professional bodies — the ITI (Institute of Translation and Interpreting), the CIOL (Chartered Institute of Linguists) and, for interpreting, the NRPSI (National Register of Public Service Interpreters). These are bodies of reference for the profession; we name them so you can see the standard the work is held to.

An Urdu translation agency takes the coordination off your hands. We select the specialist who fits your document and sector, deliver in correct Nasta'liq script with the right RTL layout, arrange certification, notarisation or legalisation where an authority requires it, and have the work checked by a second reviewer where the field, risk profile or volume requires it. You keep one point of contact for variant, terminology, scheduling and delivery, all under a single quote. A skilled freelance translator does excellent work too; the difference an agency adds is bringing those moving parts together so you are not managing them separately.