Sworn or certified translation for Spain? What each consulate accepts

Updated 9 Oct 2026 · Official sources checked 8 Oct 2026

Short answer

Inside Spain, an official translation is one signed by a sworn translator appointed by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC), or one made by a consulate. Spanish consulates abroad set their own rules: London, Edinburgh and Manchester require a sworn translator, while most US consulates, Ottawa and Sydney also accept a certified translator from their own country.

Key facts

Official translations under Spanish law

MAEC sworn translator or consulate (RD 724/2020, art. 17)

London, Edinburgh and Manchester consulates

Sworn translator required

Most US consulates, Ottawa, Sydney

Local certified translator also accepted

Digital nomad visa filed in Spain

Sworn translation for everything except the CV

What makes a translation “sworn” in Spain

A sworn translation — traducción jurada — is signed by a traductor-intérprete jurado: a translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a specific language pair. Real Decreto 724/2020 lists what counts as an official translation in Spain: one certified by the Ministry’s Language Office, one made by an appointed sworn translator, one made by a Spanish consulate abroad, or one made by the issuing country’s consulate in Spain for its own documents.

Since 8 March 2025, sworn translators can sign with a qualified electronic signature instead of a stamp and a handwritten signature. The signed PDF carries a text box with the translator’s name, languages and appointment number, and the signature can be checked on the government’s VALIDe service.

A “certified” translation is something else. In the United States it usually means a translator’s signed statement of accuracy, sometimes notarised; in Canada and Australia it often means a translator accredited by a local association. Some Spanish consulates accept these for a visa. None of them is an official translation once a document is filed with an office inside Spain.

What each Spanish consulate says

Translation wording on each consulate’s English-language visa page or checklist, as read on 8 and 9 October 2026.
Consulate	What the page asks for	Local certified translator accepted?	Source
Washington DC	“Official translation into Spanish by a sworn/certified translator”, with a link to the American Translators Association	Yes	Official page
Boston	“Sworn/certified translator”; bank statements and IRS returns “no need to be translated”	Yes	Official page
Miami	“Sworn/certified translator”, with a link to the American Translators Association	Yes	Official page
Houston	“Translated into Spanish by a certified translator”	Yes	Official page
Chicago	“Translated into Spanish by a certified translator”; bilingual medical certificate	Not stated	Official page
Los Angeles	“Translated into Spanish by a certified translator”	Not stated	Official page
New York	“Official translation into Spanish”, translator type not named	Not stated	Official page
San Francisco	“Official translation”, with a link to the Ministry’s sworn translator list	Not stated	Official page
London	“Translated into Spanish by a sworn Translator-Interpreter… registered in Spain”	No	Official page
Edinburgh	“All documents requiring translations must be completed by a registered sworn translator”	No	Official page
Manchester	“Must be translated into Spanish by a sworn translator”, with a list of sworn translators on the consulate’s website	No	Official page
Ottawa	“Sworn/certified translator”, with a link to the Ontario translators’ association (ATIO)	Yes	Official page
Sydney	“Official translation”, with a link to NAATI-accredited translators	Yes	Official page

Translation wording on each consulate’s English-language visa page or checklist, as read on 8 and 9 October 2026. Consulates and their visa centres change these pages without notice. Check yours before you order anything.

Every consulate checked accepts a sworn translator registered in Spain

The difference between consulates is whether they also accept a cheaper local alternative. A Ministry-appointed sworn translation works at all of them.

Applications made inside Spain

Offices in Spain are stricter than most consulates. For a digital nomad application filed from Spain, the Unidad de Grandes Empresas (UGE-CE) asks for public documents not written in Spanish to come with a translation by a Ministry-appointed sworn translator, and for the rest of the file to be translated by a sworn translator as well. The only exception it lists is the CV, which can have a simple translation.

Degree recognition works the same way. Real Decreto 889/2022 asks for the degree and transcript to be accompanied by “the corresponding official translation into Spanish”, and an official translation is one of the kinds listed in Real Decreto 724/2020.

Translate at home or in Spain?

Applying in London, Edinburgh or Manchester: you need a sworn translator. A UK certified translation will not do.
Applying at a US consulate, in Ottawa or in Sydney: a local certified translator may be enough for the visa itself. Check your consulate’s current page.
Filing anything with an office in Spain — a digital nomad application with the UGE-CE, or a degree for recognition: only an official translation works there.
If one document will be used both at the consulate and later in Spain, a sworn translation covers both.

How to check a translator is sworn

Search the Ministry of Foreign Affairs register by name and language, and check that the appointment is marked active.
Read the certification: it names the translator, the language pair and the appointment number.
For a digitally signed PDF, upload it to VALIDe to confirm the signature. Do not edit the file, or the signature breaks.

Questions

Juranza is a translation service, not a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. Requirements published by Spanish consulates and immigration offices change without notice — always check your own consulate before submitting.

Is a certified translation the same as a sworn translation in Spain?

No. A sworn translation is signed by a translator appointed by Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is an official translation under Spanish law. A certified translation from another country is accepted only where the receiving office says so, such as several US consulates for visa applications.

Does my sworn translator have to live in Spain?

No. What matters is the appointment by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which appears on its public register, and the register includes translators living outside Spain. London’s checklist links to that list of sworn translators “registered in Spain”.

Does a sworn translation need an apostille or legalisation?

No. The Miami consulate states that translations by Ministry-appointed sworn translators need no legalisation of any kind. The apostille goes on the original public document, before it is translated.

Will a consulate accept a digitally signed sworn translation?

Sworn translators have been able to sign electronically since March 2025, and offices in Spain that work electronically can verify the signature. The consulate pages checked for this guide do not yet mention electronically signed translations, and many still ask for originals and copies, so ask your consulate or visa centre how they want it presented.