British Columbia is one of the most linguistically diverse provinces in Canada, with cities like Vancouver, Victoria, Surrey, Burnaby, and Richmond running on English, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Tagalog, Portuguese, and dozens of other languages.
Demand for translation comes from four sectors above all: technology, tourism, healthcare, and international trade.
BeTranslated delivers translation and interpretation services across British Columbia, for businesses and individuals.
We work in English and French, plus all the other languages BC actually uses.
Specialised translation services in British Columbia
Legal translation
Legal translation in BC needs to hold up in front of provincial courts, federal courts, and regulatory bodies. We deliver translations that do.
Our work covers contracts, court documents, official records, witness statements, immigration files, and corporate documents.
Our certified translators in BC are recognized by STIBC, the Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia, and their translations meet provincial and federal legal standards.
We also provide interpreter services for legal proceedings, including ASL for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Medical translation
BC healthcare serves patients in dozens of languages. Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, and Vancouver each have large communities that need medical care delivered in their first language.
We translate patient records, consent forms, medical reports, prescriptions, and clinical research, with the confidentiality this work demands.
Our medical translators have backgrounds in healthcare or pharmaceutical work. We deliver in Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and other languages used across BC’s healthcare settings.
We also provide interpreter services for healthcare appointments, in English, French, and the other languages your patients speak.
Technical translation
Vancouver’s tech sector exports software, hardware, and services into markets that do not run in English.
We translate user manuals, software interfaces, knowledge bases, API documentation, and technical specifications into Japanese, Korean, German, Italian, Mandarin, and other languages your customers use.
Our technical translators have sector background, so the terminology lands right the first time and stays consistent across documents.
That keeps your products usable for customers from East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and beyond.
Multilingual SEO and localisation
If your business sells across borders, your website needs to rank in the markets you sell into.
We translate and localise your content, keywords, meta tags, and headings for BC’s local-language audiences and your international markets: Russian, Polish, Turkish, Cantonese, Mandarin, French, and others.
Translated content that is not optimised for search will not get found. Optimised content gets you traffic and conversions in the markets you are targeting.
Interpretation across BC
Interpretation covers live spoken communication: business meetings, healthcare appointments, legal proceedings, conferences.
We provide both simultaneous and consecutive interpretation, on-site and remote.
We also provide American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Our interpreters are matched to your sector and language pair. The output sounds natural and conveys the speaker’s intent, not just the words.
Translation services in Vancouver
Vancouver, a hub for multilingual work
Vancouver is one of the most culturally diverse cities in BC. The languages spoken at home include Mandarin, Punjabi, Cantonese, Spanish, French, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, and dozens more.
It is also a major business hub and tourist destination, which keeps demand for translation and interpreter services high.
We cover the full range in Vancouver: legal and medical document translation, conference interpretation, community events, and personal documents.
Interpretation in Vancouver
Vancouver hosts international conferences, business meetings, and community events that need interpreters.
Our interpreters work in simultaneous and consecutive formats across legal, healthcare, corporate, and conference settings.
Whether your event is a corporate launch, a legal proceeding, or a healthcare consultation, we match the interpreter to the room.
Community translation resources
Vancouver’s communities also need translation for personal and community work: birth certificates, marriage licences, academic transcripts, and immigration documents.
We deliver those translations with the certifications each authority demands.
For community events, we provide interpreters who help communication and integration happen in real time.
Preparing documents for translation
Document preparation tips
Before submitting documents, do a quick check. Source material that is clear and unambiguous translates better and faster.
If your document has context, background, or specific terminology the translator should know about, send it along. The more context we have, the closer the translation lands to your intended meaning.
Our team can also walk you through how to prepare your documents if you have not done this before.
Turnaround times
Turnaround depends on three things: document complexity, language pair, and volume.
Standard work runs 2 to 5 business days. Urgent projects we quote separately and deliver to your deadline.
For time-sensitive legal or business work, plan ahead where you can. We commit to a delivery date at quote time and meet it.
How to choose a translation provider in British Columbia
What to look for
The right translation provider matters. Three things to check:
- Certification: Translators recognized by STIBC or another provincial regulatory body, for work that needs to be officially accepted.
- Sector expertise: Translators with experience in your industry, not generalists guessing at the terminology.
- Track record: Client work that has held up over time, and references from clients in your sector.
Why BeTranslated
BeTranslated has been delivering translation services since 2002. We work primarily with businesses, across sectors that include marketing, technical, IT, legal, medical, and general business communications.
What we bring:
- Two decades of sector experience: Marketing, technical, IT, legal, medical, and corporate translation.
- Business-focused service: Built around how companies actually buy translation, not retail one-off jobs.
- Fair rates: Standard pricing from $0.11 per word, market-competitive for the quality we deliver.
- Language flexibility: Core coverage in six main languages, with extension to additional pairs for ongoing clients.
Services we deliver:
- Document translation
- Audio-visual content localisation
- Business document translation
- Marketing material adaptation
- Technical documentation translation
The Canadian translation industry, in numbers:
- The Canadian translation industry is worth approximately $450 million, not counting in-house translation.
- It employs over 4,500 professionals.
- The market is growing at 5 to 10% annually.
We work on every project, regardless of size, with attention to detail and a second pair of eyes on every file.
Whether you are expanding into new markets, localising marketing materials, or translating technical documentation, we deliver translation that does the job.
Contact us to discuss your project in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, or Ottawa.
Request a free quote to get started.
FAQs about translation services in British Columbia
What is the difference between translation and interpretation?
Translation is written text from one language to another. Interpretation is spoken, in real time.
How do I know my translation is certified?
A certified translation comes with a signed declaration from a translator recognized by a regulatory body. In BC, that body is STIBC. Our certified translations meet the standards required for legal, immigration, academic, and government use.
How long does translation take?
Standard projects deliver in 2 to 5 business days. Complex or urgent work gets quoted with its own timeline.
What are the most common languages translated in BC?
Mandarin, Cantonese, Punjabi, Spanish, French, Tagalog, Korean, Farsi, and Japanese top the list, reflecting BC’s population.
How much do translation services cost in BC?
Cost depends on the type of service, language pair, document complexity, and turnaround. Standard rates start at $0.11 per word. We quote each project before starting.
