Farsi interpreters and translators anywhere in the UK, working with Iranian patients, clients and families for the NHS, councils, solicitors and courts. Our interpreters attend face-to-face or join by telephone and video, our translators produce certified translations between Farsi and English, and bookings are open 24/7.
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Farsi interpreting services
Spoken Farsi and written Farsi are further apart than spoken and written English. Books, news bulletins and official letters use formal Persian; everyday talk, especially in Tehran, shifts vowels and shortens words, so bread, nan on the page, is nun in the street. An interpreter has to be at home in both: the formal register of a letter from the Home Office and the colloquial speech of the person it was sent to.
For a long asylum statement taken over several sessions, it pays to book the same Farsi interpreter throughout, so the account is interpreted in one consistent voice and the terms chosen on the first day are the ones used on the last.
Face-to-face interpreting
The interpreter comes to you: a hospital ward, a courtroom, a council office, a home visit or a business meeting. It is the best choice when people need to read expressions as well as words, or when the conversation is long or sensitive.
Telephone interpreting
The quickest option to set up. It works well for short calls, triage, appointment reminders and quick checks with a client.
Video interpreting
A Farsi interpreter joins by video for remote hearings, consultations and meetings, which helps when there is no interpreter near you.
We also provide medical interpreting and conference interpreting.
Certified Farsi translation
Every Farsi translator we use works only into their native language: an Iranian certificate goes to a native English speaker for its English version, and an English letter to a native Farsi speaker. The key Iranian civil document is the shenasnameh, the identity booklet, which is not a birth certificate in the British sense. It is updated for life, with pages for marriage and divorce, the details of each child and, in time, the holder's death, so every page with an entry needs translating; the version issued to children under 15 has no marriage pages and no photograph.
Iranian degree certificates use their own names: kardani is a two-year associate degree, karshenasi a bachelor's and karshenasi arshad a master's. We translate the title and leave comparisons with British degrees to the body that assesses them.
- Certified translation of birth, marriage and death certificates, passports, driving licences, degree certificates and bank statements, for the Home Office, courts, universities and employers.
- Legal translation: witness statements, court bundles, contracts and immigration papers.
- Document translation of medical reports, letters, leaflets and patient information.
- Urgent translation when a deadline is close.
- Transcription of Farsi audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Farsi translation
Translate into formal written Persian, not the colloquial style, even for a friendly leaflet: it is what Iranian readers expect in print. The typing matters as much as the wording. Persian has its own forms of the letters yeh and kaf, which can look the same on screen as the Arabic ones but are different characters, so text keyed on an Arabic keyboard can defeat a search for the same word. Persian spelling also uses a zero-width non-joiner, the half space, in forms such as the plural ending -ha, and a translator who types it correctly spares the reader words that run together.
Farsi court and police interpreters
Iranian family cases bring their own vocabulary. An Iranian marriage certificate records the mehrieh, the sum a husband promises his wife, usually as a number of Bahar Azadi gold coins, and in a divorce or financial remedy case in England the exact figure and wording matter. Our first requirement for a legal booking is a Farsi interpreter with courtroom or police-station experience; beyond that we look for the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or NRPSI registration (the National Register of Public Service Interpreters), where interpreters with those credentials are available.
How to book a Farsi interpreter
- Tell us about the assignment: the date, time and address, or that you need telephone or video; how long it should last; and what it is for, such as a hospital appointment, a hearing or a business meeting.
- Tell us about the speaker: their country or region and, if you know it, their dialect. Mention any preference for a male or female interpreter.
- Get your quote. We email you a quote, with no obligation to book.
Call 0800 2425 125, email info@uklinguisticservices.co.uk or request a quote online.
About the Farsi language
Farsi is the Persian language's own name for itself, and the name most UK public services use for the Persian of Iran. See also our Persian interpreter and translator page.
Persian is a south-western Iranian language of the Indo-European family, spoken mainly in Iran, Afghanistan (as Dari) and Tajikistan (as Tajik). It is the official language of Iran, and an official language of Afghanistan (as Dari) and Tajikistan (as Tajik).
Persian is written in the Perso-Arabic script, which runs from right to left; Tajik uses Cyrillic. Varieties include Iranian Persian (Farsi), Dari and Tajik.
At the 2021 Census, 87,713 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Persian or Farsi as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Barnet (8,442 people), Birmingham (4,143) and the London borough of Ealing (3,807). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Iranian Farsi and Afghan Dari are written the same way but sound different and use different everyday words. Iranians usually want a Farsi interpreter and Afghans a Dari one.
| Name in Persian | فارسی |
|---|---|
| Language family | South-western Iranian language of the Indo-European family |
| Where it is spoken | Iran, Afghanistan (as Dari) and Tajikistan (as Tajik) |
| Writing system | Perso-Arabic script, which runs from right to left; Tajik uses Cyrillic |
| Language code | fa |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 87,713 people |
Related languages
Farsi interpreters near you
We send Farsi interpreters to appointments across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and telephone and video interpreting work wherever you are. Choose a town for its local page.
Farsi interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a Farsi interpreter?
We take bookings 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Telephone and video interpreting are usually the quickest to arrange. For a face-to-face appointment, give us as much notice as you can: same-day cover is often possible, but it depends on where you are and how many Farsi interpreters work nearby.
How much does a Farsi interpreter cost?
The price depends on the type of interpreting (face-to-face, telephone or video), how long the appointment lasts, where it is and how much notice you give. We quote before anything is booked, and quotes are free: call 0800 2425 125 or use our online quote form.
Does the Farsi dialect matter when booking an interpreter?
It can. Persian varieties include Iranian Persian (Farsi), Dari and Tajik. Tell us where the speaker is from, or the dialect they use, so the interpreter is a good match for them.
Can you certify Farsi translations for a UK visa or immigration application?
Yes. We translate and certify documents such as birth and marriage certificates, passports and police certificates for visa, settlement and citizenship applications. UK Visas and Immigration asks for each translation to confirm that it is accurate and to show the date and the translator's full name, signature and contact details, so tell us when you order that the document is for an immigration application. Because Persian is not written in the Latin alphabet, send us the passport spelling of every name so the translation matches it.
Do you provide Farsi interpreters for courts, tribunals and police interviews?
Yes. Tell us the setting when you book, for example a Crown Court trial, an immigration tribunal hearing or a police interview under caution, so we can match a Farsi interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Farsi in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 87,713 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Persian or Farsi as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Barnet (8,442 people), Birmingham (4,143) and the London borough of Ealing (3,807). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Farsi at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
