Spanish–English Translation Proofreader, Quality Reviewer, and Translation Certifier

# Spanish–English Translation Proofreader, Quality Reviewer, and Translation Certifier ## Project Overview American Translations and Interpreting Services (ATIS) is seeking a highly qualified and dependable **Spanish–English bilingual translation proofreader and quality reviewer** for ongoing assignments. The selected professional will review translations in both language directions: * Spanish to English * English to Spanish Most assignments will involve proofreading and independently verifying translations prepared by another translator. Depending on the specific assignment, the selected professional may be identified as the: * Translator * Proofreader * Translation reviewer * Quality-control linguist * Certifier * Translator and proofreader * Translator, reviewer, and certifier The exact role stated on each document or certification will depend on the work actually performed. We will not misrepresent the professional’s role, credentials, or involvement in an assignment. This is not basic grammar editing. The selected professional must carefully compare the complete source document against the complete translation and accept professional responsibility for confirming the accuracy and completeness of the final version. ## Nature of the Documents Assignments may include, but are not limited to: * Birth certificates * Marriage certificates * Divorce records * Death certificates * Passports and identity documents * Immigration documents * USCIS supporting documents * Court records * Police and criminal-history records * Academic transcripts * Diplomas and educational certificates * Medical records * Financial records * Employment records * Powers of attorney * Affidavits and declarations * Contracts and legal documents * Government-issued records * Personal correspondence * Business documents Many documents contain sensitive personal information, including full names, dates of birth, identification numbers, addresses, signatures, immigration information, medical information, academic records, financial information, and other confidential material. ## Primary Responsibilities The selected professional will be responsible for: 1. Comparing every part of the translation against the original source document. 2. Confirming that the translation is complete, accurate, and faithful to the original. 3. Identifying and correcting: * Mistranslations * Missing text * Added information * Incorrect names * Incorrect dates * Incorrect numbers * Incorrect document titles * Incorrect legal or administrative terminology * Grammar and spelling errors * Punctuation errors * Inconsistent terminology * Formatting inconsistencies * Improper transliterations * Misidentified stamps, seals, signatures, or handwritten entries 4. Ensuring that no visible information has been omitted, summarized, interpreted, or unnecessarily rewritten. 5. Preserving personal names, surnames, document numbers, dates, locations, and other identifying information exactly as required by the source document and project instructions. 6. Checking that stamps, seals, signatures, handwritten notes, watermarks, security patterns, checkboxes, blank fields, and illegible content are properly represented through appropriate translator’s notes or labels. 7. Ensuring that unclear information is not guessed or invented. 8. Marking unreadable content appropriately, such as: **[illegible]** 9. Following assignment-specific requirements concerning: * Date formats * Name spellings * Transliteration * Tables * Text boxes * Page order * Headings * Capitalization * Checkboxes * Stamps and seals * Translator’s notes * Certification wording 10. Returning a clean, final, publication-ready translation. 11. Providing a list of corrections or tracked changes when requested. 12. Completing reasonable corrections requested during the client review process. ## Certification Responsibilities The selected professional must be willing to certify translations after personally and independently reviewing the complete source document and complete translated document. A certification may state that the signer: * Is competent in Spanish and English; * Has reviewed the complete source document and translation; * Certifies that the translation is complete and accurate to the best of their professional knowledge and ability; and * Accepts responsibility for the linguistic review and certification performed. The selected professional’s legal name may appear on the Certificate of Translation Accuracy and, when applicable, on the translated document. Depending on the assignment, the professional may be asked to provide: * Full legal name * Professional title * Signature * Electronic signature * Date of certification * Language pair * Business address or professional mailing address * Telephone number * Email address * Translator identification number, when applicable * ATA certification number, only when the professional is genuinely ATA-certified * Other relevant credentials, when required by the receiving institution By accepting an assignment that requires certification, the professional expressly authorizes ATIS to use the information they approve for inclusion on the related translation and certification documents. The professional must review and approve the final certification wording before signing when the wording materially describes their qualifications or role. ## Accuracy of the Professional’s Role The selected professional must never sign a certification without reviewing the complete source and target documents. The professional must not certify: * A language pair in which they are not competent; * A document they did not review; * A translation containing unresolved errors; * A document whose source text is unavailable; * A translation they cannot confidently verify; * Qualifications or credentials they do not hold; or * Facts they know to be false or misleading. The professional’s role will be described truthfully. For example, a person who only proofread and certified a translation will not automatically be represented as the original translator unless the nature and extent of the work support that designation and the professional expressly approves it. Applicants must understand that: * A “certified translation” is not automatically the same as a translation completed by an “ATA-certified translator.” * Applicants may not describe themselves as ATA-certified unless they currently hold the applicable ATA certification. * Applicants may not use another person’s credentials, certification number, signature, seal, or professional identity. * Any certification must accurately describe the signer’s actual qualifications and involvement. ## Required Qualifications Applicants must have: * Full professional fluency in Spanish and English; * Excellent written command of both languages; * Demonstrated professional translation or proofreading experience; * Strong knowledge of Spanish-language civil, educational, immigration, legal, and administrative documents; * Strong attention to names, dates, numbers, formatting, and terminology; * Experience comparing source and target documents line by line; * Ability to detect omissions and additions; * Ability to work with scanned and occasionally difficult-to-read documents; * Ability to follow detailed written instructions; * Ability to meet agreed deadlines; * Reliable communication; * Willingness to sign translation certifications when appropriate; * Willingness to accept professional responsibility for approved work; and * Ability to protect confidential and personally identifiable information. ## Preferred Qualifications The following qualifications are preferred but not necessarily required: * ATA certification in Spanish into English, English into Spanish, or both; * Degree in translation, linguistics, Spanish, English, law, or a related field; * Experience with USCIS document translations; * Experience with court, immigration, academic, medical, or government documents; * Experience preparing or reviewing Certificates of Translation Accuracy; * Experience with Microsoft Word formatting; * Experience using tracked changes and comments; * Knowledge of Latin American civil-registry terminology; * Familiarity with regional Spanish terminology; * Errors and omissions or professional liability insurance; * Notary commission, when independently relevant to the applicant’s services; and * Membership in a recognized professional translation association. Please clearly identify which credentials you actually hold. Do not imply that you hold a license, certification, membership, or government authorization that you do not possess. ## Confidentiality and Data Security Strict confidentiality is required. The selected professional must: * Keep all documents, translations, client information, and project communications confidential; * Use project materials only for completing the assigned work; * Prevent unauthorized persons from viewing or accessing the materials; * Store documents only on secure, password-protected devices; * Use reasonable safeguards against unauthorized access, loss, disclosure, or theft; * Immediately report any suspected loss, breach, unauthorized disclosure, or security incident; * Delete project materials when instructed or when continued retention is no longer authorized; * Return or permanently delete documents upon request; * Refrain from discussing assignments with third parties; * Refrain from posting documents or excerpts online; * Refrain from using client documents in a portfolio, training course, presentation, publication, or promotional material; * Refrain from retaining client names, signatures, identification numbers, or other personal information for unrelated purposes; and * Sign a separate nondisclosure or confidentiality agreement when requested. The professional may not upload documents to public artificial-intelligence systems, machine-translation websites, cloud platforms, file-sharing services, or other third-party tools unless ATIS has specifically approved the service and its use in writing. Unauthorized use of Google Translate, public AI tools, public OCR platforms, or similar services for confidential client documents is prohibited. ## No Unauthorized Subcontracting The selected professional may not subcontract, delegate, share, or transfer an assignment to another person without prior written approval from ATIS. No assistant, colleague, family member, agency, outside translator, AI service, or third party may access project documents without authorization. The person whose name appears on the certification must personally complete the required review and must personally approve the final version. ## Conflicts of Interest The professional must promptly disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest, including: * A personal relationship with the client or document subject; * Prior involvement in the underlying legal or immigration matter; * A financial interest in the outcome; * A relationship with an opposing party; * An inability to remain impartial; * A prior confidentiality obligation that may affect the assignment; or * Any circumstance that may reasonably call the professional’s independence into question. ATIS will determine whether the assignment may proceed after disclosure. ## Intellectual Property and Work Product Unless otherwise agreed in writing, all project-specific work product created for a paid assignment will belong to ATIS or its client upon payment, subject to Upwork’s applicable terms. Work product may include: * Edited translations * Corrected files * Proofreading notes * Terminology decisions * Formatting work * Certification language * Quality-control reports * Comments * Tracked changes * Templates customized for the assignment * Final deliverables The professional may not sell, reuse, distribute, publish, disclose, or provide the work product to another person or company. Preexisting tools, general linguistic knowledge, and independently developed resources remain the professional’s property, but confidential client information must not be incorporated into reusable resources. ## Independent Contractor Relationship This is an independent-contractor opportunity offered through Upwork. The selected professional: * Is not an employee, partner, representative, or agent of ATIS; * Has no authority to bind ATIS or make promises on behalf of ATIS; * Is responsible for their own taxes, insurance, equipment, internet access, licensing, and business expenses; * Controls how the professional linguistic work is performed, subject to the assignment requirements and deadlines; * Is responsible for maintaining any credentials they claim to hold; and * Must comply with applicable laws, professional obligations, Upwork requirements, and the agreed contract terms. Nothing in the posting guarantees a minimum number of assignments or a specific amount of income. ## Quality Standards and Corrections Payment is for professionally acceptable work, not merely for time spent opening or reviewing a file. The professional must notify ATIS immediately when: * The source document is incomplete; * A page is missing; * Text is unreadable; * The translation cannot be verified; * Instructions conflict; * A required term is uncertain; * A deadline cannot be met; * The language variety is outside the professional’s competence; or * The professional cannot ethically certify the document. The professional must not guess, conceal uncertainty, or silently approve questionable content. Reasonable corrections related to the original assignment must be completed without additional charge when the issue resulted from an error or omission in the professional’s review. Materially expanded scope or newly supplied documents may be handled as a separate milestone. ## Turnaround and Availability Assignments may range from one-page civil documents to longer legal, academic, medical, or administrative records. Some assignments may require: * Same-day review * Twenty-four-hour review * One- to two-business-day turnaround * Weekend availability * Urgent corrections * Electronic signature * Final review after client-requested spelling corrections Applicants should state their normal availability, time zone, daily capacity, minimum fee, per-page rate, per-word rate, and hourly rate. Do not accept an assignment unless you can meet the agreed deadline. ## Communication and Payment Project communications, contracts, milestones, and payments must remain within Upwork unless Upwork expressly permits otherwise. The selected professional must: * Respond to assignment offers promptly; * Confirm the deadline before beginning; * Ask necessary questions before certifying; * Communicate delays immediately; * Submit work through the agreed channel; * Maintain professional and respectful communication; and * Avoid contacting ATIS clients directly unless specifically authorized. The professional may not solicit ATIS clients, redirect them to another provider, or use client information to obtain independent business. ## Application Instructions Please include the following information in your proposal: 1. Your full name and location. 2. Your strongest translation direction: * Spanish to English * English to Spanish * Both directions equally 3. Whether Spanish or English is your native language. 4. Your years of professional translation and proofreading experience. 5. Your experience with certified translations. 6. Your experience reviewing immigration, legal, civil-registry, academic, medical, or government documents. 7. Whether you are willing to sign Certificates of Translation Accuracy. 8. Whether you consent to your approved name, professional title, signature, and relevant credentials appearing on certifications for assignments you personally review and approve. 9. Whether you hold ATA certification. If yes, identify the exact language direction and current certification status. 10. Any translation degree, professional membership, license, notary commission, or other relevant credential. 11. Your proofreading or review rate: * Per page * Per word * Per hour * Minimum assignment fee 12. Your usual turnaround time for one to five pages. 13. Your time zone and normal working hours. 14. Whether you are available for urgent or weekend assignments. 15. The software you use, including Microsoft Word and tracked changes. 16. A description of how you verify that a translation is complete and accurate. 17. A description of how you protect confidential client documents. 18. Confirmation that you will not subcontract assignments without written approval. 19. Confirmation that you will not upload confidential documents to public AI or machine-translation services. 20. Two professional references or relevant Upwork work history, when available. Please do not submit confidential documents belonging to previous clients as samples. Any sample provided must be your own, publicly available, or fully anonymized with proper authorization. ## Screening Questions Please answer these questions directly: 1. Are you professionally competent to review and certify translations in both Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish directions? 2. Have you previously signed a Certificate of Translation Accuracy? 3. Are you comfortable having your name and signature appear on a certification for a translation you have fully reviewed? 4. How do you verify names, dates, document numbers, stamps, seals, signatures, and handwritten information? 5. What steps do you take when part of a document is unclear or illegible? 6. Are you ATA-certified? If yes, in which exact language direction? 7. Will you personally perform every assignment and avoid unauthorized subcontracting? 8. Will you keep all documents confidential and avoid uploading them to unapproved AI or machine-translation platforms? 9. What is your minimum fee for reviewing and certifying a one-page document? 10. What is your typical turnaround time for a one-page document? 11. Please provide your proofreading and certification rate per source word for Spanish-to-English and English-to-Spanish translations. Clearly state whether your rate includes the final quality review, corrections, and signing the Certificate of Translation Accuracy. ## Important Acknowledgment By accepting an assignment, the selected professional confirms that: * They possess the language competence required for the assignment; * All qualifications and credentials they provided are truthful; * They will personally review the complete source and target documents; * They will not sign or approve a certification containing false or misleading information; * They authorize only the approved and accurate use of their professional information; * They will maintain strict confidentiality; * They will disclose conflicts of interest; * They will not subcontract without written authorization; * They will comply with project instructions and agreed deadlines; and * They understand that repeated material errors, confidentiality violations, false credential claims, unauthorized subcontracting, or false certifications may result in immediate termination of the contract and other remedies available under the contract or applicable law. We are seeking a long-term professional relationship with a careful, ethical, responsive, and highly detail-oriented Spanish–English language professional. Accuracy, honesty, confidentiality, and reliability are more important to us than speed alone.