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Order processing, from offer to payment.

Every Trusted Lingo order goes through the same six steps in the translator portal. Here is what happens at each one, what we ask of you, and how shipping and payment work.

How an order is processed

  1. Offer Email + Requests

    When we assign an order to you, you get an email and the order appears under Requests in the portal. The offer shows the document, language pair, delivery speed, number of certified originals and your fee — the fee is fixed at this point and does not change when you accept.

    Open the order to see the source documents before you decide. The customer is only told once you accept.

  2. Accept or decline Requests · order page

    Click Accept & start to take the order. Acceptance is what makes it binding (Terms § 3.2) — silence never does. Accept only if you are authorised to certify this language pair and can meet the delivery speed.

    If you can't, click Decline, ideally with a short reason, and the order goes straight back to us for someone else. Decline early rather than late.

  3. Translate & upload Current Orders · order page

    Read the order carefully — the delivery speed and any notes from the customer matter. Download the source documents and translate them yourself.

    Certify the translation (see Format for certified translations), then upload a scan of the signed and stamped translation as PDF, JPG, PNG or WebP and click Mark ready for review. Check that every file belongs to this customer before you upload. On a Digital order this file is the delivery itself, so it must be the scan of the signed and stamped translation.

  4. Customer review Order page

    The customer reviews the upload and either approves it or requests changes. A change request brings the order back to In translation, with the customer's note at the top of the page and in an email to you.

    Fix what is genuinely wrong, upload the corrected version and mark it ready again. If a request goes beyond a correction, email us before acting on it.

  5. Certify & ship Order page · Mark shipped

    Once the customer approves, the order shows Delivered. Post the signed and stamped originals — as many as the order lists under Certified originals to produce — to the shipping address on the order, with our cover letter on top.

    Then click Mark shipped and enter the carrier and tracking number. The customer is emailed the tracking details, and the order completes once they confirm receipt or a few days after dispatch.

    Digital orders skip this step: nothing is posted. Once the customer approves the uploaded final file — which must be the scan of the signed and stamped translation — the order completes automatically, with nothing to ship.

  6. Invoice & payment Email

    Send an invoice for the fee shown on the order, quoting the order number, to contact@trustedlingo.com. XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or PDF are all fine (Terms § 14.2).

    We initiate the bank transfer within 7 calendar days of receiving both the completed work and a proper invoice (Terms § 14.3).

Important rules

Upload and post the right customer's documents — every time

Sending one customer's documents to another is a data-protection incident we may be legally obliged to report to the supervisory authority and the people affected. Check names and the order number before you upload or post anything. If it happens anyway, email admin@trustedlingo.com immediately — preferably within 24 hours of noticing (Terms § 11.3, NDA § 3.6). Lost post and misdirected deliveries count too.

Only you certify

Only a person genuinely authorised to certify may sign and stamp the translation. Never let anyone else use your seal or signature, and never invent illegible passages — mark them as illegible (Terms § 5, Code of Conduct § 3).

Keep customer contact on the platform

Talk to the customer through the order chat only, never privately, and never ask them for payment (Terms § 13, Code of Conduct § 6.3).

Delete working copies

Delete your local copies of the customer's documents and translation once the order is complete, and at the latest 30 days after (NDA § 6.1).

Shipping certified originals

After the customer approves, you post the signed and stamped originals to them on behalf of Trusted Lingo. Digital orders are not posted: once the customer approves the final file (the scan of the signed and stamped translation), the order completes automatically. How to prepare the documents themselves is on Format for certified translations.

  • Use a trackable method (Terms § 7.2). We recommend Deutsche Post Einschreiben in a stiffened A4 envelope; any trackable carrier offered in the Mark shipped dialog is fine.
  • Print the cover letter, write in the customer's address, the order number and the date, and put it on top of the translation. It is laid out for a DIN window envelope.
  • Use the Trusted Lingo address as the sender, so the shipment is recognisably from us and returns reach us.
  • If the order has Scan requested, the file you uploaded for review must already be a scan of the signed and stamped translation — uploads close once the customer approves.
  • Keep your posting receipt until the order is complete; we may ask for it (Terms § 7.2).
  • Postage is reimbursed only where the order provides for it or we agreed beforehand in text form (Terms § 7.3). Ask before you post if you're unsure.

Delivery speeds

Standard
3–5 business days
Express
48 hours
Digital
24 hours, not posted

The speed on the order is what the customer paid for. Tell us at once if anything puts it at risk.

Cover letter (Begleitschreiben)

A one-page Trusted Lingo letter, in German and English, that goes on top of every certified translation you post. It is laid out for a DIN window envelope.

Download the cover letter (PDF)
Sender on the envelopeTrusted LingoKäthchen-Paulus-Straße 260486 Frankfurt am MainGermany

Invoicing & fees

  • Your fee is fixed when the order is offered, and shown on the offer and the order page before you accept.
  • Once the customer has approved, invoice the fee to contact@trustedlingo.com, quoting the order number — XRechnung, ZUGFeRD or PDF.
  • We initiate the bank transfer within 7 calendar days of receiving the completed work and a proper invoice (Terms § 14.3).
  • Postage and other expenses are paid only where the order provides for them or we agreed beforehand in text form.

Questions?

Orders, shipping and payments: contact@trustedlingo.com

Wrong or lost documents, and account access: admin@trustedlingo.com

Not working with us yet? Registration

Order processing FAQ

How do I get orders?
We assign each order to one translator whose language pairs and certification fit it. You get an email and the order appears under Requests in the portal. There is no job board to watch.
When does an order become binding?
When you click Accept & start. Until then you can decline without any consequence (Terms § 3.2).
I accepted an order but now can't finish it. What do I do?
Email contact@trustedlingo.com straight away with the order number. Don't hand it to a colleague yourself — passing work on needs our prior consent (Terms § 9.1). We will reassign it.
What deadline applies?
The delivery speed on the order is what the customer paid for: Standard 3–5 business days, Express 48 hours, Digital 24 hours. Plan your work so it is met, and tell us as soon as anything puts it at risk (Code of Conduct § 7.1).
A page is missing or unreadable. What now?
Ask the customer in the order chat, or email contact@trustedlingo.com if it needs our decision. Never guess at illegible text — mark it as illegible in the translation.
Can I use machine translation or AI tools?
Not without our prior consent in text form (Terms § 8.2). Customer documents must never be put into external tools.
Who approves my translation?
The customer. When you mark the order ready for review they can approve it or request changes. Approval moves the order to Delivered and makes your fee earned. On a Digital order approval also completes the order — there is nothing to post.
The customer requested changes. Do I have to make them?
Correct genuine errors free of charge (Terms § 15.2). If the request is really new work or a change of instructions, email contact@trustedlingo.com before acting on it.
The customer needs the translation for another country. Is mine valid there?
Requirements differ between authorities and countries. If the order says where it will be used and you're not sure your certification is accepted there, email contact@trustedlingo.com before accepting.
Does it have to be registered mail?
It has to be trackable (Terms § 7.2), so the customer can follow it and we can trace a loss. Deutsche Post Einschreiben is the simplest; other carriers with tracking are fine. Enter the tracking number carefully — it is what completes the order.
Who pays the postage?
Postage is reimbursed only if the order provides for it or we agreed beforehand in text form (Terms § 7.3). If an order needs unusual or expensive shipping, ask us first.
How is my fee worked out?
From the rate card you accepted during setup: the document's base rate adjusted for the language pair, plus any classification allowance, rush supplement and extra certified copies. The total is shown on the offer before you accept.
How do I get paid?
Invoice us at contact@trustedlingo.com with the order number once the order is delivered. We initiate the bank transfer within 7 calendar days of receiving the completed work and a proper invoice (Terms § 14.3). We don't issue credit notes (Gutschriften) unless separately agreed (§ 14.2).
Something in the portal isn't working.
Reload the page and try another up-to-date browser. If it persists, email contact@trustedlingo.com with the order number, what you clicked and a screenshot.

The full rules are in the agreements every Trusted Lingo translator accepts: Translator Terms of Service · Non-Disclosure Agreement · General Code of Conduct. Where this page and an agreement differ, the agreement applies.