Court Interpreters and Translated Documents in Singapore: When a Company Witness or Exhibit Is Not in English

Short answer: Singapore court proceedings are conducted in English. A company witness who is more comfortable in another language can give evidence through a court interpreter or a sworn private interpreter, and any document filed or used in court that is not in English must come with an English translation certified by a court interpreter or verified by a translator’s affidavit.

Many Singapore companies deal with suppliers in China, staff from Malaysia, Indonesia or India, and directors who think in Mandarin or Tamil. When a dispute reaches court, that becomes a practical problem: a key witness may not be able to give evidence in English, and the contract, WhatsApp messages or bank letters may be in Chinese or Bahasa. This guide explains how the court interpreter Singapore courts provide works for a company, when you need a private interpreter instead, how foreign-language exhibits must be translated, what it costs and what the company secretary prepares while the solicitor makes the requests.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

Why does language matter in a Singapore court case?

Because the court works only in English, every word a non-English-speaking witness says and every non-English page the company relies on must be put into English accurately. If it is not, the evidence may be delayed, challenged or not available on the day.

The Singapore Courts state that all court proceedings in Singapore are conducted in English. Language support comes in two forms, and a company often needs both: interpretation of spoken evidence, so a director can answer in Mandarin while the judge hears English, and translation of written documents such as contracts, invoices and chat histories.

Court interpreters use simultaneous interpretation for judgments and submissions, consecutive interpretation (during pauses) for witnesses testifying, and sight interpretation for affidavits and exhibits. For how a witness gives evidence generally, see our guide to giving evidence in court in Singapore.

What is the legal basis for interpreters and translations?

The Rules of Court 2021 set the English-language rule for documents and the safeguards for affidavits, while the Supreme Court and State Courts Practice Directions set out how to request interpreters and translations.

You can read the Supreme Court rules in Part 2 of the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, and the Singapore Courts’ guide to arranging interpretation services.

When does your company need an interpreter or a translation?

You need an interpreter whenever a company witness will give oral evidence and is not fully comfortable in English, and a translation whenever the company files or relies on any document that is not in English.

Typical examples are a founder who negotiated the deal in Mandarin, a site supervisor whose first language is Tamil or Bahasa Indonesia, a supply contract written partly in Chinese, and WhatsApp or WeChat messages mixing English with another language.

Raise language needs early. In the High Court, the Pre-Case Conference Questionnaire asks about the languages of factual and expert witnesses (see our guide to case conferences in a Singapore civil claim), and when trial dates are fixed, solicitors must tell the Registrar whether any witness will require interpretation so that enough hearing days are allowed. Interpreted evidence takes longer than evidence in English.

Court interpreter Singapore: how does a company book one?

Your solicitor files a request with the court hearing the case, giving the case details, witness names, hearing dates and the language needed. The deadline and fee depend on whether the case is in the Supreme Court or the State Courts.

1. List every witness the company will call, with each person’s preferred language or dialect.
2. Check whether that court’s in-house interpreters offer the language (see the table below). If not, engage a private interpreter.
3. Supreme Court: the solicitor files a Request (Form B1) to the appropriate Head Interpreter through eLitigation not less than 7 working days before the interpreter is needed. The outcome is given within 3 working days.
4. State Courts civil cases: the solicitor files a Request for Hearing Administrative Support within 2 working days of the conference fixing the hearing date, or at least 2 weeks before the hearing, whichever is earlier, stating the case, witnesses, dates, number of days and language.
5. Pay any Supreme Court fee once the request is approved. If it is unpaid by the day, the request is cancelled.
6. File a fresh Supreme Court request for any adjourned or part-heard hearing.
7. If the interpreter is no longer needed, for example on settlement, tell the court in writing at once. In the Supreme Court, notice at least 1 clear working day ahead is needed for a refund, which must be requested within 1 month.

Late requests are not refused outright, but interpreters are then assigned subject to availability, which may mean the witness cannot give evidence on the scheduled day.

Which languages do the courts provide?

What if the witness speaks another language?

The company must find and pay a private interpreter, and that interpreter must be sworn in before giving evidence. In the Supreme Court, a party may engage a private interpreter for any language, and must do so for a language not listed in Form B1. The private interpreter attends before the Duty Registrar, by appointment requested through eLitigation, to take the Oath of Office of an Interpreter at least 3 working days before the hearing; the signed oath form is then sent to the court through eLitigation by the next working day. In the State Courts, a private interpreter for a civil case completes the court’s Oath Form and submits it to the court officer where the hearing takes place. Private interpreters set their own fees.

How must foreign-language documents and exhibits be translated?

Every non-English document the company files or relies on needs an English translation filed with it, either certified by a court interpreter or verified by an affidavit from a qualified translator. Simply attaching the original and summarising it in English is not enough.

There are two routes:

• Court translation: the courts translate Chinese, Malay and Tamil into English, only for documents to be filed or used in court proceedings. The fee is S$45 per translated page, with the total advised when the translation is complete. Requests should be made at least 4 weeks before the translation is needed, because completion takes at least 4 weeks depending on length and complexity.
• Private translation: for any other language, or where the court declines the request, a professional translator prepares the English version and makes an affidavit verifying it.

The courts may decline a translation request where the documents are for private use, the source document is illegible, it contains specialised technical terms, or the request is made at short notice. Technical contracts, engineering reports and financial statements therefore often go to a private translator from the start. See the Singapore Courts’ page on translation of court documents.

Every page of an exhibit must be fully and clearly legible, and a non-compliant affidavit or exhibit may be rejected with costs. Our guide to production of documents under Order 11 explains which company documents must be exchanged in the first place.

Can a director who does not read English swear an affidavit for the company?

Yes. The affidavit is still written in English, but it must be read to the director in a language they understand, and the commissioner for oaths must certify that this was done properly.

Under Order 15, Rule 24, the commissioner must certify that the affidavit was read to the maker in their presence in a language or dialect the maker understands, that the translator was competent, that the maker understood and confirmed it, and that the maker signed or placed a fingerprint willingly in the commissioner’s presence.

• Solicitor commissioners for oaths may take affidavits only from people who speak and understand English or, at their discretion, a language in which the solicitor is proficient (Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021, para 82(1)).
• Where reading or interpreting the documents will take more than 20 minutes, a special appointment is needed: through the Head Interpreter in the Supreme Court, or the Registrar in the State Courts.

More on who should swear for the company, and the risks of getting it wrong, is in our guide to affidavits for a Singapore company.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

Court interpreters are free in State Courts civil cases and in Supreme Court chambers hearings; the main costs are Supreme Court open court days, translation pages and any private interpreter or translator.

Assumptions: a civil claim under the Rules of Court 2021; fees as published by the Singapore Courts and checked on 9 November 2026. Solicitors’ fees for preparing requests and checking translations vary, so ask your law firm for a written estimate. If an overseas witness will also give evidence by video link, add the separate deadlines in our guide to remote court hearings.

What does the company secretary prepare, and what does the solicitor do?

The company secretary or corporate service provider (CSP) gathers the company’s records, identifies which are not in English and keeps the authorisations in order. Court proceedings are conducted by a Singapore Advocate and Solicitor, who files the interpreter and translation requests and runs the case.

Raffles Corporate Services does not give legal advice or act in court; a law firm from our panel handles any proceedings. Interpreter and translation arrangements are not lodged with ACRA, although a judgment or settlement that changes directors, shareholdings or registered particulars triggers the usual ACRA filings, which we can handle.

What are the common mistakes?

Most problems come from discovering the language issue too late, when the court deadlines have passed.

• Assuming a director’s business English will survive hours of cross-examination.
• Requesting an interpreter after the 7 working day (Supreme Court) or 2 week (State Courts) window.
• Forgetting a new Supreme Court request when a hearing is adjourned or part-heard.
• Exhibiting Chinese or Bahasa messages without a certified or verified English translation.
• Having a bilingual employee translate exhibits informally instead of a qualified translator who can swear a verifying affidavit.
• Asking the court interpreter for legal advice or personal opinions.

To keep litigation deadlines in view alongside the company’s statutory dates, use our free compliance tools. If a hearing is close and the language issue has not been raised, speak to a lawyer straight away.

Frequently asked questions

Can our director give evidence in Mandarin even though they speak some English?

Yes. The courts provide interpretation for parties who do not speak, or are not comfortable communicating in, English. It is better for a witness to give evidence in the language they think in than to struggle in English under cross-examination.

Can a bilingual staff member act as the interpreter at trial?

Not informally. An interpreter who is not from the court’s own interpreters must be sworn in before the court (in the Supreme Court, before the Duty Registrar) before interpreting. Ask your solicitor before proposing an employee, since the interpreter must interpret accurately and without bias.

Who pays for interpreters and translations?

The party requesting the service pays the court fee or the private interpreter’s or translator’s charges in the first instance. Whether those costs can later be recovered from the other side depends on the court’s costs orders.

Do we need to translate every page of a long Chinese contract?

Order 3, Rule 7 requires a non-English document filed or used in court to be accompanied by an English translation. But where an affidavit needs to refer to only certain portions of a document, only those portions need to be annexed (Order 15, Rule 27(3)), which can reduce the translation bill. Your solicitor will decide what is needed.

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.