The official language rule: when a non-German filing still saves your deadline

Last checked against the official sources: 29 August 2026

“The official language is German” — the single sentence that opens § 23, and most people read it as a refusal of anything not in German. The truth is finer and far more useful: the provision contains two opposite rules, one that preserves your deadline when you file in Arabic and translate afterwards, and one that postpones the deadline imposed on the authority. Knowing the difference lets you stop the clock in your favour at the critical moment.

The rule that saves your claim

This is paragraph 4, and it is the most valuable thing in the section for anyone whose German is not yet fluent.

Where the purpose of a notification, application or declaration of intent — arriving in a foreign language — is to preserve a deadline in the participant’s favour towards the authority, to assert a public-law claim, or to request a benefit, that document counts as submitted at the time it reached the authority — provided a translation is supplied, at the authority’s request, within a reasonable period set by it.

Otherwise — if no translation arrives within that period — the operative time is when the translation does arrive.

The practical effect is considerable: if an objection deadline or a benefit application is about to lapse and there is no time to translate, file your document in Arabic today. The deadline is preserved as of today, and the translation follows when requested. Waiting until the translation is ready is what loses the right, not the other way round.

The mirror rule — and knowing which is which

Paragraph 3 runs in the opposite direction and concerns deadlines imposed on the authority, not on you.

Where a notification, application or declaration is meant to set running a period within which the authority must act in a particular way, and it arrives in a foreign language, that period does not begin until the translation is available to the authority.

In other words, the administration is not held to a clock it cannot read. So if what you want is to start the authority’s clock — a decision deadline, say — the translation is not a luxury but the condition for the counting to begin.

That distinction is the one to remember:

• A deadline on you (an objection, a benefit claim) → file immediately in any language, translation to follow.
• A deadline on the authority (a decision, a reply) → translate first, or the period never starts.

Who translates — and who pays

Paragraph 2 sets the path. Where applications, submissions, records, documents or other papers are filed in a foreign language, the authority shall immediately demand that a translation be produced. The wording directs the administration: it asks, rather than refusing at the outset.

The severity then escalates: in justified cases it may demand a certified translation, or one prepared by a publicly appointed or sworn interpreter or translator. A sworn translation is therefore not the default in every case; it is demanded where there is a reason — decisive official records, for instance.

And where the demanded translation is not produced immediately, the authority may obtain one itself at the participant’s expense. Inaction does not stop the procedure; it converts it into a bill addressed to you.

Where the authority engages an interpreter or translator, they are remunerated by corresponding application of the Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act — a statutory tariff, not a freely negotiated fee.

Practical steps

1. Never delay an objection while waiting for a translation. Paragraph 4 preserves your filing date; the translation follows within the set period.
2. Write on the document that you will supply a translation on request. One sentence signals readiness and makes paragraph 4 easy to apply.
3. If you want to bind the authority to a deadline, translate first. Its period does not start until the translation arrives.
4. Ask whether a sworn translation is genuinely required. The statute limits it to justified cases, and it costs considerably more.
5. Do not ignore a request for a translation. The authority may commission one and charge you for it.
6. Keep proof of the filing date. Everything about preserving the deadline rests on it.

Frequently asked questions

Will my documents be rejected if they are in Arabic?

Not at the outset. German is the official language, but the authority asks you for a translation and may obtain one at your expense if you do not produce it promptly.

Does an application in Arabic preserve my deadline?

Yes, where it is meant to preserve a deadline in your favour, assert a claim or request a benefit. It counts as submitted when it arrived — provided the translation follows within the reasonable period set by the authority.

Why does the authority sometimes take longer?

Because periods imposed on it do not begin until the translation is available to it. If you want its clock running, supply the translation early.

Is a sworn translator always required?

No. A certified translation, or one by a publicly appointed or sworn translator, is demanded only in justified cases.

Who pays for a translator the authority engages?

The participant, where the translation was not produced promptly; the translator is paid under the Judicial Remuneration and Compensation Act.