Urdu interpreters and translators anywhere in the UK for NHS services, councils, schools, family and immigration solicitors and the courts. We cover face-to-face, telephone and video interpreting, provide certified translation between Urdu and English in either direction, and take bookings 24/7, evenings and weekends included.
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Urdu interpreting services
Urdu has three ways of saying "you": tu for intimates and small children, tum for friends and equals, and aap for anyone owed respect, which covers elders, strangers and every professional setting. An interpreter speaking to a patient, a witness or a parent uses aap throughout, so a clinician who is on first-name terms in English loses nothing by it and the patient hears the courtesy they expect.
Vocabulary follows register too. Formal Urdu, the Urdu of legal papers and news bulletins, draws heavily on Persian and Arabic, while everyday talk is much plainer. A good interpreter pitches the words to the listener: simple speech for a worried parent, precise formal terms where a court or a contract needs them.
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 Urdu 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 Urdu translation
Urdu documents are translated into English by native English speakers, and English into Urdu by native Urdu speakers, because every translator we use works only into their native language. Before you order, look at the paper itself. Pakistan's constitution still lets English serve for official purposes, and much official paperwork there is issued in English, or in English and Urdu side by side, so it may need no translation at all.
The nikah nama, the Pakistani marriage contract, is the usual exception. It is normally completed by hand in Urdu, and it records the dower (haq mehr) and, in column 18, whether the husband has delegated to his wife the right to divorce. Both can matter in a family case in England, so we translate every column, blank ones included.
- 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 Urdu audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Urdu translation
Set Urdu in a Nastaliq typeface. It is the style Pakistani readers learn and expect, and software that falls back to Naskh, the style used for Arabic, produces a page that looks foreign to them and is harder to read. One written standard serves readers from Pakistan and India alike, so there is no national version to choose. For text messages, consider Roman Urdu, the Latin-letter spelling that many younger speakers use on their phones.
Urdu court and police interpreters
Court demand for Urdu has grown fast: figures given to Parliament show that requests for Urdu interpreters in the courts of England and Wales nearly doubled between 2020 and 2024. Criminal, family and immigration hearings need an Urdu interpreter who knows how a courtroom works, so we look for that experience first and then, wherever such interpreters can be found, for the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or a place on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). If a hearing turns on a document written in Urdu, have it translated beforehand rather than read aloud on the day.
How to book an Urdu 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 Urdu language
Urdu is an Indo-Aryan language, spoken mainly in Pakistan, and India, especially Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi. It is the national language of Pakistan and an official language of several Indian states.
Urdu is written in the Perso-Arabic script, in the Nastaliq style, which runs from right to left.
At the 2021 Census, 269,849 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Urdu as their main language, making it the fourth most common main language after English. The local authorities with the most were Birmingham (25,131 people), Manchester (17,572) and Bradford (15,270). Source: Office for National Statistics.
Before you book: Urdu is Pakistan's national language but the first language of a minority there. Many British Pakistanis speak Punjabi or Pahari-Pothwari at home and read Urdu, so for spoken work check which language the person is most comfortable in.
| Name in Urdu | اردو |
|---|---|
| Language family | Indo-Aryan language |
| Where it is spoken | Pakistan, and India, especially Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi |
| Writing system | Perso-Arabic script, in the Nastaliq style, which runs from right to left |
| Language code | ur |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 269,849 people |
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Urdu interpreters near you
Urdu is not confined to the big Midlands and northern cities. At the 2021 census the North West had the highest share of Urdu speakers of any English region, and Slough, in the South East, the highest of any council area: 4.3% of its residents, about 7,000 people, gave Urdu as their main language.
Urdu interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book an Urdu 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 Urdu interpreters work nearby.
How much does an Urdu 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 Urdu 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 Urdu is not written in the Latin alphabet, send us the passport spelling of every name so the translation matches it.
Do you provide Urdu 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 an Urdu interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Urdu in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 269,849 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Urdu as their main language, making it the fourth most common main language after English. The local authorities with the most were Birmingham (25,131 people), Manchester (17,572) and Bradford (15,270). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Urdu at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
