# How to do an English to French PDF translation

For an English to French PDF translation, upload the PDF to LoreAI, choose French and download an editable Word file. Written dates become French, as in 14 mai 2023, and numbers in digits stay exactly as written, so nothing on a record changes by accident.

## How dates and numbers come through in French

LoreAI keeps every date and number written in digits exactly as it is, so nothing on an official record changes by accident. Dates written in words are translated into French. France writes the day first and uses a decimal comma, and the last column shows that form for a reader who expects it.

*English values, LoreAI's French file and the form used in France*

| In the English PDF | In LoreAI's French file | As a reader in France writes it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| September 30, 2026 | 30 septembre 2026 | 30 septembre 2026 |
| 06/22/1994 | 06/22/1994 | 22/06/1994 |
| 04/03/2023 (April 3) | 04/03/2023 | 03/04/2023 |
| 3.72 on a 4.00 scale | 3.72 sur une échelle de 4.00 | 3,72 sur 4,00 |
| 124.5 credits | 124.5 | 124,5 |
| 12,480.50 dollars | 12,480.50, dollar sign kept | 12 480,50 USD |

A reader in France takes 04/03/2023 as 4 March, so write the month in words, as in 3 avril 2023, where a date in digits matters. French also separates thousands with a no-break space, as in 12 480[1].

## Punctuation spacing in the French Word file

French puts a space before the colon, semicolon, question mark and exclamation mark, and inside guillemets. LoreAI's Word file puts those spaces in, as in Date de délivrance : 30 septembre 2026, and turns English quotation marks into « guillemets ».

France's language office, the DGLF, says the space before ; : ! and ? should be a no-break space, so the sign never ends up alone at the start of the next line[1]. To make every one of them a no-break space in Word, open Find and Replace, search for a space followed by the sign, and replace it with ^s followed by the sign. ^s is Word's code for a no-break space.

Readers in Québec follow other rules. The Office québécois de la langue française recommends no space before the semicolon, question mark and exclamation mark, a no-break space before the colon, and no-break spaces inside guillemets[2]. For a Canadian reader, the same Find and Replace adjusts the spacing in a minute.

## Degrees and office names in French

A scanned US enrollment and degree verification comes back with names, the student ID, the e-mail address and every digit as written, and with its wording in French.

- **Degree**: Bachelor of Science in Biology, cum laude becomes Licence ès sciences en biologie, avec mention bien.
- **Office names**: The Registrar becomes le registraire, the word Québec universities use. A French university calls that office the service de la scolarité.

Keep the English degree title in brackets after the French one, because Licence is a French degree with its own meaning. The official comparison of a US degree with French levels is the [attestation de comparabilité](https://www.loreai.org/fr/attestation-de-comparabilite) (page in French).

## How to translate an English PDF to French with LoreAI

1. **Create a free account.** Your first document is free, up to 3 pages and 3 MB.
2. **Upload the English PDF.** A PDF with text, a scan and a phone photo saved as JPG or PNG all work.
3. **Choose French.** LoreAI detects English on its own.
4. **Download the Word file.** Tables and headings keep the layout of the PDF.

## When a French office asks for a traducteur agréé

In France, an official translation is made by a traducteur agréé, an expert judiciaire on the list of a cour d'appel or on the national list of the Cour de cassation[3]. If you have the translation made abroad, some consulates publish the translators approved by the local authorities, and the consulate certifies the translator's signature[3].

LoreAI is not a sworn or certified translation service. Its Word file is for reading, for a draft to share, or for the traducteur agréé to start from. The [sworn translation guide](https://www.loreai.org/sworn-translation) explains how sworn translation works in other countries.

## Questions people ask

### Can I translate an English PDF to French for free?

Yes. Your first document on LoreAI is free, up to 3 pages, scans included.

### Does LoreAI change dates written in digits?

No. LoreAI keeps a date written in digits exactly as written, so 06/22/1994 stays 06/22/1994 and nothing changes meaning by accident. Dates in words are translated, as in 30 septembre 2026.

### Is it French from France or from Canada?

LoreAI writes French with the spacing used in France, a space before ; ? and !. Québec puts no space before those three signs[2], and Find and Replace in Word adjusts it.

### Will a French authority accept the translation?

Not as an official translation. In France that comes from a traducteur agréé on a court list[3].

## Sources

1. [Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France (Ministère de la Culture): Repères, Vers une norme française pour les claviers informatiques](https://www.culture.gouv.fr/content/download/132976/file/Rep%C3%A8re_claviers_enligne.pdf?inLanguage=fre-FR), accessed November 3, 2026
2. [Office québécois de la langue française, Banque de dépannage linguistique: Espacement avant et après les signes de ponctuation et les symboles](https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/22039/la-typographie/espacement/espacement-avant-et-apres-les-signes-de-ponctuation-et-les-symboles), accessed November 3, 2026
3. [Service-Public.gouv.fr: Traduction d'un document, comment trouver un traducteur agréé ?](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F12956), accessed November 3, 2026

By Matt Mountain · Updated November 3, 2026