Finnish interpreters and translators for police stations, courts, law firms, NHS trusts and companies anywhere in the UK, offering face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting, certified translation between Finnish and English, and bookings taken 24 hours a day.
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Finnish interpreting services
Everyday spoken Finnish (puhekieli) and the written standard (kirjakieli) differ more than most people expect: pronouns shrink, endings drop, and a Helsinki teenager and a pensioner from Savo or Ostrobothnia sound quite unlike each other. A professional Finnish interpreter speaks the standard but understands the regional speech. Consecutive interpreting suits nearly every setting, from a hospital consultation to a witness statement. For long hearings or conferences, simultaneous interpreting needs two interpreters taking turns, so mention it at the time of booking.
Speakers from the Torne valley on the Swedish side may use Meänkieli, a related Finnic variety with its own vocabulary, so ask where in the north someone grew up.
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 Finnish 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 Finnish translation
People bring us Finnish birth and marriage extracts from the population information system, school and university certificates, court judgments, tax decisions from Vero and payslips. Each of our translators works into their native language, so a Finnish certificate is put into English by a native English speaker who reads Finnish fluently.
Finnish records identify a person by the henkilötunnus, a personal identity code that starts with the date of birth written day, month, year. Dates in the text appear with full stops (30.9.2026), and Finns often refer to week numbers rather than dates, so a phrase like "viikolla 40" is converted to real dates in brackets. Names keep their ä and ö exactly as in the passport.
- 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 Finnish audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Finnish translation
Finnish builds long compound words and adds case endings rather than prepositions, so English text often becomes fewer, longer words that wrap badly in narrow boxes or on forms; allow room in the layout. Much public information in Finland addresses the reader directly in plain Finnish, and we follow that habit for UK leaflets, patient letters and HR notices.
Finnish court and police interpreters
Finnish cases in UK courts include criminal trials, extradition hearings, child arrangements disputes between Finnish and British parents, and commercial claims involving Finnish firms. For legal bookings we look for Finnish interpreters with courtroom experience and, where interpreters holding them exist for Finnish, the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or registration with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). Finland's legal system is a civil law system, so terms such as käräjäoikeus (district court) have no exact English twin, and a careful interpreter explains rather than forces a match.
How to book a Finnish 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 Finnish language
Finnish is a Finnic language of the Uralic family, spoken mainly in Finland and northern Sweden. It is an official language of Finland, alongside Swedish, and of the European Union.
Finnish is written in the Latin alphabet.
At the 2021 Census, 4,741 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Finnish as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the City of Westminster (132 people), the London borough of Camden (120) and the London borough of Southwark (111). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Finnish is not related to Swedish or Russian. Around one in twenty people in Finland speaks Swedish as a first language, and official documents are often bilingual, so check which language a document is actually in.
| Name in Finnish | suomi |
|---|---|
| Language family | Finnic language of the Uralic family |
| Where it is spoken | Finland and northern Sweden |
| Writing system | Latin alphabet |
| Language code | fi |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 4,741 people |
Related languages
Finnish interpreters near you
We send Finnish 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.
Finnish interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a Finnish 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 Finnish interpreters work nearby.
How much does a Finnish 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.
Can you certify Finnish 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.
Do you provide Finnish 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 Finnish interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Finnish in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 4,741 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Finnish as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the City of Westminster (132 people), the London borough of Camden (120) and the London borough of Southwark (111). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Finnish at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
