A sworn translation is required so that your document is legally valid abroad or before any public body or Public Administration or so that a foreign document (public of official) written in a language other than Spanish is legally valid before any public body.

Yes, you need to have your Birth Certificate and Criminal Record Certificate translated into Spanish in order to request residency in Spain.

Yes, unless the destination country specifies otherwise. You should check the requirements of the destination country.

A certified translation is recognised as an official document by public authorities and bodies and is signed and stamped by a translator who is authorised and accredited by the MAE. A standard translation has no legal validity with official bodies.

It is not necessary, provided the copy of the document is legible. 

For a short document (Certificate, degree…) one to two days, for other types of longer documents, it will vary depending on the length of the document.

There are two ways to receive it: in physical form, on stamped paper, or in digital form using a digital certificate. Either option is valid.

Yes, the Articles of Association and the Certificate  from the Companies Register need to be translated.

Yes, for any public tender in a foreign country, a certified translation of the Company’s Articles of Association is required, of course, provided, of course, that it is written in a language other than Spanish.

All document that are considered official by a public body or that must be submitted for administrative processes abroad, for example: Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Criminal Record Certificates, Academic Records, Official academic qualifications, etc.

Sworn translations are valid indefinitely, except in specific cases; the only document that has an expiry date is the Certificate of Criminal Record, which is valid for 90 days. Once this period has elapsed, a new sworn translation of the certificate must be obtained.

One cannot be understood without the other; in other words, a birth certificate cannot be valid without an apostille. The ‘apostille’ is the certification that validates your document with public authorities. The apostille procedure involves affixing an extension to the document—the ‘apostille’—which certifies the document’s authenticity.

Documents that can be apostilled:

• Court documents
• Administrative documents
• Notarial documents: Please note that the apostille for notarial documents is issued solely by the Association of Notaries