In short: for a sworn translator Spain accepts officially, look for a traductor jurado: a professional with a title from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whose sworn translation, signed and sealed, has official status before the administration. For immigration procedures, a foreign public document that is not in Spanish is submitted apostilled or legalised and translated; the usual order is apostille first, translation second. You choose the translator yourself in the Ministry's official search tool, and you agree the price with them.
In person or by representative? The official source does not regulate how the job is ordered or delivered: you agree that with the translator. A sworn translator can sign electronically (see below), but each administration decides whether it accepts that file, so ask your office.
Requirements
Information Sheet 61 of the Ministry of Inclusion (last updated May 2025) sets the general rule for immigration procedures. Foreign public documents are submitted apostilled, if the issuing country is party to the 1961 Hague Convention, or legalised through diplomatic channels, if it is not, unless a convention exempts legalisation. The document must also be translated into Spanish; if the procedure is handled by a body based in a region with a co-official language, that language may be used. Which documents you must submit is listed in the sheet for your specific permit.
According to Sheet 61, these translations are valid:
- One made by a sworn interpreter authorised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (into Spanish) or by the regional government (into its co-official language). The sheet uses the term "intérprete jurado"; the Ministry distinguishes a sworn translator, who translates written texts, from a sworn interpreter, who interprets speech.
- One made or checked by a Spanish diplomatic mission or consular office abroad, with its signed seal, and then legalised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Legalisations Section).
- One by a diplomatic mission or consular office in Spain of the document's country of origin, apostilled or legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry points out that a translation from a foreign language into Spanish has official status if made by someone holding the corresponding title (additional provision 16 of Law 2/2014); so do translations certified by the Language Interpretation Office and the consular ones set out in art. 17 of Royal Decree 724/2020. A translation by a private person without the title is not official. The notarial formula the Embassy of Ukraine proposes, for example, is not on the Sheet 61 list: it is covered in the card on the sworn translation of Ukrainian criminal record certificates.
Apostille first, translation second. Sheet 61 presents legalisation before translation but does not state the order expressly. The usual approach is to apostille or legalise first and then translate the whole document, including the apostille stamp, so the translation covers it. That is the order the Embassy of Ukraine proposes, for example. If you translate first, the translation does not include the apostille. Confirm this with your office. How to get it for Ukrainian documents: apostille on Ukrainian documents.
Alternative: a consulate's translation. Sheet 61 accepts the two consular routes listed above. They add a step (the Ministry's apostille or legalisation of the translation) that does not appear in the sheet for a sworn translator, and the sheet does not say which consulates offer the service or at what price: ask the consulate.
Documents
What you hand to the translator and what the translation must carry:
- The foreign public document, already apostilled or legalised.
- The sworn translator's signature and seal, certifying that the translation is faithful and accurate. The seal shows their full name, the language they are authorised for and their translator number (art. 18 of Royal Decree 724/2020).
- A copy of the original, stamped and dated on every page, attached to the translation so the document can be checked (art. 18 of the same royal decree).
Procedures that ask for a sworn translation, according to our cards: recognition of foreign university degrees, nationality by residence and the criminal record certificate in arraigo social.
Sworn translation with an electronic signature. A Ministry notice of 6 April 2020 allows the translator to sign with the electronic systems of article 10 of Law 39/2015. Later, Order AUC/213/2025 (in force since 8 March 2025) regulated that signature: a qualified electronic certificate of a natural person, a signature that covers the whole document, original and translation, and a text box with name, language and number that replaces the physical seal. The signature is checked on the government's signature validation service (valide.redsara.es). The order does not say every office must accept the digital file: using the signature before administrations depends on them accepting it. If you need an "online sworn translator", first confirm with your office that it accepts the signed PDF.
Steps
- Check in the sheet for your permit which foreign documents are requested and whether they need an apostille or legalisation.
- Get the apostille (placed by the authority of the issuing country, if it is party to the 1961 Hague Convention) or legalisation through diplomatic channels (the Spanish Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over that country).
- Open the official search tool for sworn translators and interpreters and filter by language and type of title.
- Ask one or more translators for a quote and confirm they will translate the whole document, including the apostille.
- Check that the translation carries a signature and seal (or electronic signature) with name, language and number, plus the stamped and dated copy of the original.
- If it is a digital file, confirm with your office that it is accepted before submitting it.
Cost
You agree the price with the translator. The Ministry pages we read list no tariff for the job, and the Language Interpretation Office does not act as an intermediary or make private sworn translations. Ask several translators for a quote and ask what it includes.
Where
The Ministry's search tool requires at least one filter (language, country, province or type of title). For a translator, choose "traductor jurado", "traductor/a intérprete jurado/a" or "todos". The official list shows the language or languages each professional is authorised for. For co-official languages, the regions keep their own registers: Catalonia, Basque Country and Galicia. Contact details for the Language Interpretation Office are on the Ministry's page.
Official source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Sworn Translators and Interpreters, Sheet 61, Ministry of Inclusion.
Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.