WELCOME TO THE ÖVGD

The ÖVGD, the Austrian Association of Sworn and Certified Legal Interpreters and Translators, was founded in 1920.

The ÖVGD is a non-political and non-profit association that has set itself the task of representing and promoting the professional interests of generally sworn and certified legal interpreters in Austria ("court interpreters"). Certification as a court interpreter is the main admission criterion for a full membership to the association.

As the only professional association for legal interpreters in Austria, the ÖVGD is in regular contact with all Austrian courts and authorities and discusses with them all questions and concerns (e.g. Expert and Interpreter Act, Fee Entitlement Act) that arise in connection with translation and interpreting work for courts and authorities. Information on the work of court interpreters disseminated through the media serves to improve public understanding of the contribution of professional translators and interpreters to fair proceedings.

As a service for all courts and authorities, but also companies and private individuals, the ÖVGD provides a directory of its members on its website, sorted by language. This allows you to contact the court interpreters you need directly.

The ÖVGD advises its members on fee issues and promotes their further training by holding seminars, lectures and other events. To inform its members, the ÖVGD sends electronic newsletters and publishes a regular newsletter. The Internet forum set up by the ÖVGD serves as a platform for members to exchange information on professional issues.

A professional code of conduct and ethics that is mandatory for ÖVGD members complements the association's efforts to be a professional association for qualified and professional court interpreters.

The ÖVGD is also involved in the certification of legal interpreters, for which it nominates language-savvy examiners.

People who apply to be included in the list of generally sworn and court-certified interpreters (become court interpreters) can prepare for certification in the seminars (events) organized by the ÖVGD and perfect the translation and interpreting techniques that are most commonly used in courts and authorities. The ÖVGD provides a variety of work and study aids to provide an opportunity for well-founded preparation for the certification exam.

The ÖVGD acts as an arbitration body in disputes, e.g. over certified translations.

The ÖVGD currently has around 614 members (as of March 2025), who can be found in the members database organized by language or province.

The ÖVGD is a member of:

Fédération Internationale des Traducteurs (FIT)

European Association of Court Interpreters (European Legal Interpreters and Translators Association / EULITA)

Professional Association of Austrian Registrars (FVB)

Main Association of Sworn and Court-Certified Experts in Austria

and is in constant contact with comparable associations in Austria and abroad.