How to use this guide
Use the recommendations below to prepare a clearer brief, compare quotations on the same basis and identify decisions that should be resolved before production begins.
This guide provides general project-planning information. Requirements imposed by a court, embassy, regulator, receiving institution, venue or technology platform should always be confirmed directly with that authority.
Classify the material
Personal data, legal privilege, health information, research identities and commercial sensitivity require different controls.
Decision to record: How does this point apply to your audience, language pair, final use and approval process?
Limit access
Only the people and tools needed for the agreed work should receive the material.
Decision to record: How does this point apply to your audience, language pair, final use and approval process?
Agree transfer and retention
The client and provider should define how files are sent, stored, returned and deleted.
Decision to record: How does this point apply to your audience, language pair, final use and approval process?
Control technology use
Confidential content should not enter unapproved public machine-translation or transcription systems.
Decision to record: How does this point apply to your audience, language pair, final use and approval process?
When professional support becomes important
Seek a properly briefed language professional when the communication affects rights, safety, consent, money, institutional acceptance, research validity or a large public audience. Urgency does not remove the need to confirm language variety, intended use and review responsibility.