Sworn Translators and GDPR: In our previous articles, we discussed why certified translations are required, what they look like, and who has the legal authority to issue them. However, our clients frequently ask an equally important question: what happens behind the scenes with all these highly confidential documents and personal data?
In this article, the MS Mostowy Translator’s Office explains the intersection of sworn translations and the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We will outline the sensitive data we handle daily, the strict legal framework governing professional secrecy, and the practical IT and physical security measures we implement to keep your information entirely safe.
Who is a Sworn Translator?
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To understand why you can safely entrust us with your most sensitive information, you must first understand the role itself. A Sworn Translator (tłumacz przysięgły) is not a standard freelancer; they are a public trust official.
They have passed a rigorous state examination administered by the Polish Ministry of Justice and taken a formal oath before the Minister. Consequently, an official certified translation bears the exact same legal weight as your original document. Because they act as quasi-officials, they are bound by laws that strictly regulate how they handle your data.
The Highly Sensitive Data We Handle Every Day
In our daily practice, we process documents containing vast amounts of highly sensitive personal and corporate data. We most frequently assist clients with:
- Civil Registry Procedures: When expats marry or register foreign-born children in Poland, they submit a birth certificate translation, a marriage certificate translation, or a death certificate translation. These documents contain PESEL numbers, parents’ maiden names, and precise birth locations.
- Vehicle & Transportation: Exchanging foreign documents requires a driving license translation, exposing exact addresses, physical attributes, and vehicle ownership history.
- Employment & Background Checks: Applications for jobs or visas often require a police certificate translation, revealing deeply personal criminal background histories.
- Corporate & Financial Services: Banks and investors require certified translations of tax returns (PIT), credit histories, employment contracts, and multi-million-euro corporate agreements.
- Identity Verification: Almost every bureaucratic process involves verifying identity via an ID card translation or a passport translation.
A sworn translator routinely accesses PESEL numbers, exact residential addresses, medical histories, and financial assets. Therefore, strict adherence to GDPR and professional secrecy is not just best practice—it is a legal mandate.
Professional Secrecy and Legal Consequences
Confidentiality is a statutory obligation regulated directly by the Act on the Profession of Sworn Translator and strictly outlined in the Professional Code of Ethics established by the Polish Society of Sworn and Specialized Translators (TEPIS).
According to these regulations, confidentiality covers all sensitive data accessed during work. The Code explicitly lists: “the secrecy of proceedings, negotiations, correspondence, personal data, and other legally protected secrets.”
If a sworn translator leaks an address, financial detail, or confidential corporate negotiation data, they face severe disciplinary action—including the permanent revocation of their license—as well as criminal liability. When you entrust your documents to MS Mostowy, you have an ironclad, legally backed guarantee that your information will never be disclosed to unauthorized third parties.
GDPR Principles in a Translator’s Office
When a sworn translator receives inquiries, replies to emails, or processes an online certified translation, they officially become a Data Controller. All processing must comply with the EU’s GDPR framework, which rests on several core pillars:
- Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: We clearly inform our clients how and why their data is being processed.
- Purpose Limitation: Your data is used exclusively for the agreed-upon purpose (e.g., providing a price quote, executing a translation, and issuing an invoice).
- Data Minimization & Accuracy: We only collect the data necessary to complete the job, and we ensure it remains accurate.
- Storage Limitation: We do not keep your documents forever. Files are retained only as long as legally necessary (e.g., to maintain the statutory translator’s repertory or for tax compliance).
- Integrity and Confidentiality: We implement robust technical and organizational security measures to prevent data breaches, leaks, or unauthorized access.
Practical Security Measures at MS Mostowy
To meet GDPR standards, we maintain highly formalized procedures for receiving, archiving, and releasing documents.
1. Physical Office Security
When a client brings original documents to our office, they are immediately scanned into a secure workstation. The physical originals are then stored in locked, access-controlled filing cabinets. Only authorized staff who have signed strict Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) can access this archive.
When you collect your finished translations in person, our staff will always verify your identity by asking to see your ID card or passport. If we dispatch your documents via courier or registered mail, they are sealed in reinforced, opaque envelopes to prevent tampering or unauthorized inspection.
2. IT and Cybersecurity
GDPR heavily relies on technological security.
- Secure File Transfer: If you prefer remote service, the safest method to send documents for a quote is by packing them in a password-protected ZIP folder. You email us the ZIP file, but you send the password via a completely different communication channel (e.g., via an SMS text message or by dictating it over the phone).
- Encrypted Storage: At MS Mostowy, our hard drives and network-attached storage (NAS) devices are heavily encrypted. We utilize servers and data centers located exclusively within the European Union, falling strictly under GDPR jurisdiction.
- Malware Protection & Backups: We use legal, regularly updated operating systems, premium anti-malware software, and perform routine encrypted backups. Even in the highly unlikely event of a laptop theft, our clients’ data remains completely illegible and inaccessible to thieves.
Summary
In today’s digital landscape, comprehensive knowledge of data protection laws is the foundation of a sworn translator’s work. By combining the strict professional secrecy mandated by the Ministry of Justice with modern GDPR cybersecurity protocols, the MS Mostowy Translator’s Office provides a safe haven for your personal and corporate documents. You can confidently place your order knowing your data is shielded at every step of the process.
FAQ: Sworn Translators and GDPR
Yes, but we strongly recommend taking basic precautions. Instead of attaching a raw PDF or JPG image, place your files inside a password-protected ZIP archive. Email us the ZIP file, and text or call us with the password. This ensures that even if your email is intercepted, the files remain inaccessible.
By law, a sworn translator must keep a formal registry (a Repertory) of all completed translations, which includes your name and a brief description of the document. Additionally, we retain digital copies of translations for a limited statutory period for tax auditing and to quickly issue duplicates if you lose your copy.
Under GDPR, you have the right to request data deletion. However, this right is not absolute. A sworn translator is legally obligated by the Ministry of Justice and the Tax Office to retain certain records (like the Repertory logs and invoices) for a specific number of years. We will delete all supplementary files (like your source scans) upon request, but legally mandated logs must remain until the statutory retention period expires.
Only the authorized sworn translator performing the work and strictly vetted administrative staff (who have signed legally binding NDAs) will handle your documents. We never outsource your documents to unverified third parties or non-EU servers.
A breach of confidentiality by a sworn translator is a severe offense. They face immediate disciplinary proceedings, which can result in the suspension or permanent revocation of their translation license by the Ministry of Justice, alongside potential civil lawsuits and criminal charges.
