French interpreters and translators for solicitors, NHS trusts, the Home Office, schools and employers anywhere in the UK, whether the speaker grew up in Lyon, Brussels, Montreal or Kinshasa. We provide face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting, certified translation between French and English, and take bookings 24 hours a day.
- 8,000+ linguists
- 350+ languages
- Bookings 24/7, every day of the year
- Free quotes
French interpreting services
European French varies from region to region far less than English does, and any experienced interpreter copes with a Belgian or Swiss speaker. Quebec is the variety most likely to slow a Paris-trained ear. The vowels sound different, and everyday words shift: a car is un char, a girlfriend is une blonde, and going shopping is magasiner. If your client is Canadian, say so and we will try to find someone who has worked with Quebecers.
With an adult who grew up in Africa, ask what they spoke at home and at school before you book. Formal French is often the language of their education and paperwork, not of their feelings, and some people describe pain or fear far better in Lingala or Wolof. Register matters as well. A professional addresses an adult as vous, and the interpreter keeps that courtesy even when the English side of the room is on first-name terms. Consecutive interpreting suits nearly every appointment.
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 French 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 French translation
French civil records come in more than one form. A French birth record can be issued as a full copy, the copie intégrale, or as a shorter extract with or without the parents' names, and UK offices usually want the full copy. Couples married in France also hold a livret de famille, the family record book listing marriage and children, and a criminal record check arrives as bulletin n°3 of the casier judiciaire. Each of our translators works into their native language, so French to English goes to a native English speaker.
Surnames need a note too. Under French law a married woman keeps her birth name as her legal name and may use her husband's as a nom d'usage, so a certificate and a bank letter can show different surnames for the same person. The machine-readable strip of a passport cannot print accents either; we keep the accented spelling from the document and flag any difference.
- 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 French audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to French translation
For most UK leaflets and letters we write standard French as used in France, which readers from Belgium, Switzerland and Africa all accept without a second thought. Canadian readers are different: Quebec has its own official terms, such as courriel for email and fin de semaine for the weekend, and a text for a Montreal client reads better in them. For parents who learned French at school in Central Africa, short sentences and plain words work better than elegant ones. Tell us who the readers are and we will pick the style.
French court and police interpreters
French court work often involves concepts that do not map onto English law. Terms such as garde à vue, the French form of police custody, or mise en examen, formal investigation by a judge, need to be explained rather than swapped for the nearest British word, and papers from a French or Belgian court sometimes arrive in the middle of an English case. For any legal booking we look for French interpreters with legal experience and, since French interpreters holding them do exist, the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or registration with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI).
How to book a French 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 French language
French is a Romance language, spoken mainly in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec) and much of West and Central Africa. It is an official language of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and many African countries, and a working language of the United Nations and the European Union.
French is written in the Latin alphabet.
At the 2021 Census, 120,259 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave French as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the City of Westminster (4,876 people), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (4,711) and the London borough of Camden (4,538). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Many French speakers in the UK come from Africa, from countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire. If the person is from Africa, tell us the country: African French has vocabulary of its own, and they may be more at ease in Lingala, Wolof or another language.
| Name in French | français |
|---|---|
| Language family | Romance language |
| Where it is spoken | France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec) and much of West and Central Africa |
| Writing system | Latin alphabet |
| Language code | fr |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 120,259 people |
Related languages
French interpreters near you
We send French 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.
French interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a French 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 French interpreters work nearby.
How much does a French 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 French 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 French 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 French interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak French in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 120,259 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave French as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the City of Westminster (4,876 people), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (4,711) and the London borough of Camden (4,538). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak French at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
