How to check a translator is a sworn translator in Spain
Updated · Official sources checked
Short answer
Search the Ministry of Foreign Affairs register by name and language. Then check the certification on the translation: it names the translator and their title, and a digitally signed PDF carries their appointment number, with a signature you can validate on the government’s VALIDe service.
Where to check
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs register search
Title for written translations
Traductor/a Jurado/a, or the older Traductor/a-Intérprete Jurado/a
Digital translations
Qualified signature, checkable on VALIDe
Agencies
The translator who signs must be on the register
1. Search the register
- Open the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ search for sworn translators and interpreters.
- Search by name and surname, and narrow it by country, province, language and type of title.
- Translators living outside Spain are listed too, with their country: the appointment, not the address, is what makes a translation sworn.
Translator or interpreter?
Under Real Decreto 724/2020, written translations are certified under the Traductor Jurado title and interpreting under the Intérprete Jurado title. Holders of the older combined title, Traductor-Intérprete Jurado, keep its rights for life.
2. Read the certification
A sworn translation carries a certification in the form set by Real Decreto 724/2020: the translator, under the title granted by the Ministry, certifies that it is a faithful and accurate translation into Spanish of a document written in the source language. It must come with a copy of the original, stamped and dated on every page.
Since 8 March 2025 the translator may sign with a qualified electronic certificate instead of a physical seal. The signed file then carries a text box with the translator’s name, the languages they are appointed for and their appointment number.
3. Validate a digital signature
The order that allows electronic signatures names VALIDe, the Spanish government’s validation service, as the place to check them. Upload the PDF as you received it: editing or re-saving it can break the signature.
An agency is not a sworn translator, and neither is a website. What makes the translation official is the person who signs it, so the name on the certification is the one to look up.
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.
How do I know if a translator is sworn in Spain?
Look them up on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs register of sworn translators and interpreters, by name and language. The name on the translation’s certification should match an entry there.
Can a sworn translator who lives outside Spain translate my documents?
Yes. The appointment by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is what counts, and the register lists translators living abroad.
How do I check a digitally signed sworn translation?
Upload the PDF to VALIDe, the Spanish government’s validation service. The text box on the translation should also show the translator’s name, languages and appointment number.
Official sources
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sworn translator register search
- Real Decreto 724/2020, sworn translators and interpreters (BOE)
- Orden AUC/213/2025, electronic signature of sworn translations (BOE)
- VALIDe, Spanish government signature validation service
- Consulate General, London — sworn translators and interpreters