Following the model of pragmatic translation, the article provides an insider’s perspective on the Polish / English, English / Polish translation of birth, marriage and death certificates on the basis of authentic materials. The discussed areas are: 1. The Polish scene of public translating – the bird’s view (an overview of the phenomena related to the Polish context of public translating including such factors as the legal status of the sworn translator, public image and social demands, qualifications and expertise). 2. Genre characteristics of BDM certificates for translation skopos (essential genre features which affect the translator’s decision process). 3. Sample analysis of translation problems within the genre. 4. Didactic implications from BDM translation practice (a few hints on how parallel BDM documents can and should be implemented in translator training).