Bosnian Translation

A document from Bosnia and Herzegovina raises three questions first: which language, which alphabet, which entity. All three change how the document is handled.

4 min readLast updated 2 September 2026

Short answer

Bosnia and Herzegovina has three official languages (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian) and two alphabets, and the country is divided into two entities with separate administrative practice. Whichever language your document is in determines the oath record required.

Official languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Alphabets: Latin and Cyrillic, both official
Administration: Two entities with separate practice
Apostille: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Türkiye are parties

Three languages, two alphabets, two entities

Three languages hold official status in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and official documents may be issued in one or several of them. Add two alphabets and the separate administrative arrangements of the two entities, and two documents from the same country may look nothing alike.

What determines how a document looks
Factor	Options	Consequence for translation
Language	Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian	Each requires its own oath record
Alphabet	Latin or Cyrillic	A translator who reads both is needed
Entity	Federation or Republika Srpska	Institution names and document formats differ
Canton	The Federation has ten cantons	The issuing authority differs

What determines how a document looks

Turkish loanwords and shifted meanings

Bosnian carries markedly more words of Turkish origin than the other languages of the region. To a reader coming from Türkiye that familiarity looks like an advantage, yet some of the words have shifted away from their Turkish meanings.

Familiar-looking words whose meaning has moved
Bosnian	Meaning in Bosnian	Meaning in Turkish
čaršija	City centre, the old market quarter	Marketplace
avlija	The paved yard in front of a house	Courtyard
komšija	Neighbour	Neighbour
merak	Contentment, ease	Curiosity, concern
ćeif	Pleasure, being in the mood	Pleasure
sevap	A good deed	A meritorious act

Familiar-looking words whose meaning has moved

The "merak" row is the clearest case: in Bosnian the word denotes calm and enjoyment rather than concern or curiosity. In a witness statement that difference can produce a false picture of someone's state of mind. Such words appear less often in official documents but frequently in interpreting and in testimony.

Bosnian documents and how we render them

Frequently seen documents
Document	What it is	Our approach
Izvod iz matične knjige rođenih	Extract from the register of births	The issuing municipality is stated
Uvjerenje o državljanstvu	Certificate of citizenship	Separate from the birth certificate
Uvjerenje o nekažnjavanju	Criminal record certificate	The issuing authority varies by entity
CIPS prijava	Residence registration	A record tied to the identity system
Diploma / Dodatak diplomi	Diploma and supplement	Two separate documents

Frequently seen documents

The name of the issuing authority varies by entity and canton. The translation preserves it in the original and states which administrative unit it belongs to; for a Turkish institution that is the only way to tell where the document came from.

official languages: 3official languages
official alphabets: 2official alphabets
entities with separate administration: 2entities with separate administration

Yugoslav-era and post-war documents

Documents from before the 1990s labelled the language Serbo-Croatian and could use either alphabet. After the war some registers were reconstituted; documents from those come not from the original record but from a reconstructed one, and say so on their face.

01
The language is established
Yugoslav-era documents may carry the label Serbo-Croatian. Which of today's languages that corresponds to is determined from the content.
02
Reconstructed records are flagged
Where a document comes from a reconstructed rather than an original register, the translation says so; the institution needs to know.
03
Place names are given twice
Changed place names are preserved and today's equivalent noted in brackets.
04
The apostille comes from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Where the document was issued within today's borders, the apostille comes from there; which entity's authority applies depends on the document.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether my document is Bosnian, Serbian or Croatian?

You do not need to. Send us a single page and we will tell you which one it is. The three are mutually intelligible, but a sworn translation needs the right oath record, so the identification matters. We can tell from the alphabet and the terminology.

Is an apostille enough for a document going to Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Yes. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so sworn translation, notarisation and an apostille are valid; consular legalisation is not required.

Bosnian is full of Turkish words and I can read it. Do I still need a translation?

For an official procedure you do. The shared words feel familiar, but some have shifted in meaning and the grammar is Slavic. The institution also requires a text signed by a sworn translator.

My document is printed in both Latin and Cyrillic. Is that a problem?

No, it is the country's official arrangement. Documents issued at state level may be printed in both alphabets. The translation states which section it works from and notes any difference in name spelling between them.