# Form Translator

> Plain-language help for confusing forms: field-by-field hints and jargon explained. Paste or upload (incl. photo/OCR) an official, insurance or tax form in English or German. Form Translator detects the fields, recognises what kind of entry each needs (date, signature, checkbox, IBAN, tax ID …), explains jargon from a curated glossary of 160 terms and lists the documents you will probably need.

Part of usefulweb.site (https://usefulweb.site/). Results are deterministic calculations from the inputs and the listed assumptions; the API returns exactly what the web page shows.

## Use it
- Human interface: https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/ (interactive tool at https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/tool)
- JSON API: POST https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/api/v1/calculate with a JSON object of inputs (schema: https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/api/v1/tool)
- OpenAPI: https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/openapi.json
- MCP (Streamable HTTP): https://formtranslator.usefulweb.site/mcp - tool `form_translator`

## Inputs
- text (textarea): Form text - Paste the form text (labels and instructions), or upload a PDF/DOCX/photo below.
- file (file): Or upload a file - TXT, PDF, DOCX, HTML or a photo/scan (PNG/JPG, read with OCR). Max 5 MiB.

## Method
- Lines are scanned for field labels: "Label:" followed by blanks, labels next to fill lines (____ or ....), checkbox options (☐, □, [ ], ( )) and short label-only lines that contain a field keyword.
- Each label is classified with keyword rules into field types (date, signature, checkbox, IBAN/bank, tax ID, ID/reference number, e-mail, phone, address, name, amount, marital status, nationality, place+date), each with a fixed fill-in hint.
- Jargon is matched against an editorial glossary (160 English and German admin, tax, insurance, benefits, banking and legal terms incl. inflected German forms). Explanations are written by usefulweb.site editors, not generated.
- Documents are listed when a sentence asks to attach/enclose/provide proof (beifügen, Nachweis, Kopie, Bescheinigung …), quoted verbatim, plus documents commonly requested for recognised glossary terms (marked as such).
- IBANs found in the text are checked with the ISO 13616 mod-97 checksum (German IBANs must have 22 characters). A valid checksum does not prove the account exists.

## Limits
- Not legal, tax or insurance advice. Explanations are editorial plain-language summaries for orientation and may not match the exact legal meaning in your country, contract or authority. The detection is rule-based and never complete; when in doubt, ask the issuing office.