Ofício Distribuidore

05:18 Jan 23, 2011 

"Ofício Distribuidores" is how the text appears in the original document. Its not extremely well written and is in bullet point format, which makes it even more complicated to translate. There is some context, but not much. Thank you for commenting.

04:53 Jan 23, 2011 

These questions involving different legal systems are thorny. It's hard to avoid translator's notes and one needs to find a compromise. Yes, in the US the clerk's office would keep these records, but in Brazil those "Ofícios Distribuidores" or "Cartórios de Distribuição" are separate legal entities, with a specific purpose: that of avoiding "venue shopping", meaning that the filer cannot choose the judge or court that will handle the case. Whether or not that distinction is important enough to be noted depends on the rest of the document and the purpose of its translation. That's up to your judgment. Regardless, on the interest of accuracy, these "Ofícios Distribuidores" are not restricted to credit complaints. Any legal action must be distributed by one of them. That being understood, whatever the terminology you adopt should be in the plural. Normally, the party must obtain clear record (called "certidão negativa") from each of the several "Ofícios Distribuidores" covering a "comarca" (essentially a county). It is a bit as though a county were subdivided in several judicial districts, each with its own courthouse.

02:15 Jan 23, 2011 

Coolbrowne, so far your answer is closest to what I was shooting for. Initially my thought was that its more akin to a clerk's office (in US court houses the clerk's office is in charge of the records, not a legal records office). I was a bit afraid to use the word clerk, though, since it has other meanings that might be misunderstood by those not versed in US law. Also, I'm thinking of changing "Registry of Protest" to "Registry of creditors" or "Registry of credit complaints". Thanks for your input. I appreciated the thoughtful response.