NAATI Endorsed vs NAATI Certified: How the Two Credentials Differ

Two NAATI credentials sit at the centre of Australian translation. They each answer different questions and increasingly they are showing up together in the same conversation. NAATI certification is held by the individual translator. NAATI LSP Endorsement is held by the agency. Most serious translation work involves both.

The two might be easy to confuse because they share the NAATI name, but they prove different things and are issued through different processes. A translator can hold certification without their agency being endorsed. On the flip side, an agency can be endorsed only if it uses certified translators. Knowing which is which makes the difference between assessing the person doing the work and assessing the business or LSP (Language Service Provider) standing behind them.

What's the difference between NAATI certified and NAATI endorsed?

The simplest way to think about it: certification is about a person, endorsement is about an organisation.

NAATI certification confirms that an individual translator has demonstrated professional competence in a specific language pair and skill set. The translator passes assessment, holds a practitioner number, and operates under NAATI's code of ethics. When a piece of work calls for NAATI-certified translation, the requirement is about who's doing the translating, not which company they work through.

NAATI LSP Endorsement confirms that a language service provider operates to a defined set of standards covering quality, security, conduct, and accountability. Endorsement applies to the company as a whole. It says nothing about the individual translators although it does mean that the endorsed LSP is working with NAATI certified individuals, which is why the two credentials work alongside each other rather than substituting for each other.

A fully compliant framework typically requires both: NAATI-certified practitioners delivering the work, and a NAATI-endorsed LSP providing the framework around how that work is sourced, secured, monitored, and reviewed. You can read the full definition of NAATI LSP Endorsement in our glossary, along with the related entry on NAATI accreditation, which is the older term still used by some buyers for what's now formally called certification.

What does NAATI certification cover?

NAATI is the only body in Australia that issues credentials for translators. It transitioned from an accreditation model to certification in 2018, and credentials are issued at several levels depending on the assessment passed. The most commonly referenced level is Certified Translator, which is the minimum standard most Australian government frameworks require for official documents. Higher levels exist for advanced and specialised practice, including Certified Advanced Translator and Certified Specialist Translator.

Certification is held by the individual. A translator carries their NAATI credentials across roles, languages, and contracted work. The practitioner number on a stamped translation belongs to the translator, not to the company managing the project. That's a deliberate design choice. It places professional accountability with the person doing the work, where it belongs.

What certification doesn't cover is how the language service provider operates around the translator. It says nothing about cyber security, quality assurance processes, data handling, complaint mechanisms, or the agency's governance. Those questions used to be answered by ISO certifications or self-reported claims in tender responses. NAATI LSP Endorsement was designed to address that gap directly.

For a fuller view of certification at the practitioner level, see our complete guide to NAATI certification.

What does NAATI LSP Endorsement cover?

LSP Endorsement was authorised by Australian, state, and territory governments to support access and equity in language services procurement, and commenced on 24 February 2026. It's backed by the same governments that fund NAATI's operations and procure most of its services.

To obtain and maintain endorsed status, an LSP must meet six ongoing requirements:

1. Engage NAATI-certified practitioners for assignments wherever possible
2. Agree to the LSP Code of Conduct
3. Meet minimum cyber security standards
4. Report service-related data to NAATI every three months
5. Operate a service quality assurance and customer feedback mechanism
6. Run an induction process for new practitioners

Each of these requirements maps to a specific risk area. Practitioner engagement keeps qualified people in the workflow. The Code of Conduct governs how the LSP conducts itself with clients, translators, and NAATI. Cyber security reflects the sensitivity of much of the material that moves through a language service. Quarterly data reporting gives NAATI ongoing visibility rather than a point-in-time snapshot. The QA and feedback mechanism ensures issues surface and are addressed. The induction requirement ties new practitioners into the agency's standards from day one.

Endorsement applies for two years from the date NAATI issues the formal letter of offer. Endorsed providers are listed publicly on NAATI's online directory and issued with a unique provider number and endorsement logo for use on websites and marketing materials. NAATI conducts periodic reviews through system checks, formal annual meetings, and data analysis. Spot checks can follow any formal complaint.

There's no cost to apply for or receive endorsement. Compliance costs sit with the provider, which means an endorsed LSP has voluntarily taken on the operational discipline that endorsement requires. That's a meaningful signal on its own.

Why endorsement carries weight

Three things distinguish endorsement from the other quality signals that appear in language services.

It's independently verifiable. NAATI's directory is public, and verification doesn't require evidence collection from the provider or trust in claims made on a website. A directory listing is the source of truth, and it's checkable in seconds.

It's government-backed. NAATI is jointly owned by Australian, state, and territory governments. The standard behind endorsement was set and is reviewed by the same governments that procure most language services in the country, which gives it weight that an industry-issued credential rarely achieves.

NAATI is the body that already sets the standard for translator competence in Australia. Endorsement extends that authority to the agency level, giving organisations a way to be measured by the same body that certifies their translators. Where ISO 17100 and ISO 27001 already cover translation production and information security, endorsement adds a language-services-specific layer built around the realities of Australian translation work.

For anyone working on multilingual communications in the government and public sector, endorsement now sits alongside individual certification as part of the standard evaluation lens.

How endorsement relates to ISO certifications

A reasonable question is whether endorsement overlaps with the ISO certifications that some established language service providers already hold. The answer is partial overlap, not duplication.

ISO 17100 sets out a translation-specific quality process, including the requirement for independent revision by a second qualified linguist. ISO 27001 establishes an information security management system. ISO 9001 covers general quality management. These are international standards, audited by independent certification bodies.

Endorsement covers a narrower set of obligations specific to Australian language services, including the requirement to engage NAATI-certified practitioners, agree to NAATI's Code of Conduct, and report quarterly data to NAATI. It's set, monitored, and reviewed by NAATI itself rather than by an international standards body.

The two work together. An LSP holding both ISO 17100 and NAATI Endorsement has a stronger combined assurance profile than one holding either in isolation, because each covers ground the other doesn't.

Reading the credentials accurately

A few details are worth knowing when looking at how credentials are described.

Endorsement is verified on NAATI's directory, not on the provider's website. A logo on a marketing page isn't the same as an active listing on the register. Endorsement is two-yearly and reviewable, so a claim made earlier in the year might not be current later. The directory is the source of truth.

There's also a difference between being NAATI-endorsed and working with NAATI-endorsed partners. Those are different statements. A subcontracting relationship doesn't transfer the credential. Where endorsement matters to the framework, the prime needs to hold it directly.

Terminology can drift. "NAATI-approved," "NAATI-recognised," and "NAATI-accredited" don't carry the same precise meaning as "NAATI-certified" or "NAATI-endorsed." Accreditation is the older term for what's now certification at the practitioner level. Endorsement is the term for the organisation-level credential. Where language is ambiguous, the precise question is which specific credential is held, at what level, and whether it's verifiable in NAATI's public registers.

For a broader view of how the wider quality framework reads in practice, our guide on how to choose a translation provider for government covers the full set of considerations alongside the NAATI questions.

The bottom line

NAATI certification and NAATI LSP Endorsement do different things. Certification answers a question about people. Endorsement answers a question about organisations. Both questions matter on serious language services engagements, and both credentials are verifiable through NAATI directly.

If you're ever in doubt or want to understand how this affects your translation requirements, we are here to help. Simply get in touch and speak to one of our team. We're endorsed, we're working through the same questions, and we can read the spec with you.