FBI Background Check Translation for Spain
What Spanish consulates and offices ask for: the apostille, how long the check stays valid, and who may translate it.
Not available yet
We are not taking criminal record certificates yet. What this page explains about the apostille, validity and who may translate still applies, and any sworn translator on the Ministry’s register can do it.
Check what your consulate asks forThe FBI check and the apostille
An FBI Identity History Summary is a public document, so Spain requires it to be legalised with a Hague apostille before it means anything to a consulate. For a federal document that apostille comes from the US Department of State, not from a state Secretary of State.
The order matters. Apostille first, then translate. The apostille becomes part of the document, and the sworn translator certifies the set they were given — so a translation produced before the apostille was attached leaves you with a mismatch.
The apostille itself is issued on the standard multilingual Hague form and, for this workflow, is submitted as issued rather than translated separately. Upload both files and your plan will show you exactly how yours is handled, with the source we based that on.
How long your FBI check stays valid
Spanish consulates in Washington DC, Miami, New York and London publish a six-month validity window for criminal record documents in visa applications. The clock runs from the issue date on the document, not from the date you apply.
That window is why ordering the translation early is worth it: an FBI check that expires while you are waiting has to be requested again from scratch, and the apostille with it.
Why an appointed translator matters
A traducción jurada is produced by a translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC) for that specific language pair, who signs it under their own name and appointment number. Under Real Decreto 724/2020 it is an official translation in Spain; a certified or notarised translation made in another country is not.
Consulates abroad set their own rules. London, Edinburgh and Manchester require a sworn translator, while most US consulates also accept a local certified translator. Offices inside Spain ask for an official translation, and when a translation is not accepted, art. 68 of Ley 39/2015 gives ten working days to fix it before an application can be shelved.
We verify every translator against the Ministry’s public register, including their active status, before assigning work.
Questions
Based on the current published requirements for this application. Requirements may change.
Does my FBI background check need an apostille as well as a translation?
For visa and residency applications, yes. The apostille comes from the US Department of State because the FBI check is a federal document. Get the apostille first, then have the set translated.
Can I use a translation done by a certified translator in the US?
For the visa itself, often yes: the Washington DC, Boston, Miami and Houston consulates accept a sworn or certified translator and link to the American Translators Association. Check your own consulate’s page. Offices inside Spain ask for an official translation, so if the same document will also be filed in Spain, a sworn translation covers both.
What if my FBI check has more than one page?
The standard Identity History Summary is one page and is covered by the fixed price. If yours runs longer, the extra pages are priced at a fixed rate and shown to you before you pay.
How quickly can you deliver it?
Standard delivery for an FBI background check is 48 hours. Priority delivery brings it to 24 hours.
Check your other documents
See which of your documents need a sworn translation for your consulate or office, with the source for each answer.