Sworn translation of a criminal record certificate: requirements and timelines

A criminal record certificate from the country of origin is one of the most frequently requested documents by the Spanish administration: residence, citizenship, public-sector positions, public contracts, certain jobs. And it almost always arrives in a hurry, because the certificate has a short shelf life. Here is how to translate it properly so the procedure does not get stuck.

What document we are translating

Each country issues criminal records under a different name and format:

• United Kingdom: ACRO Criminal Record Check.
• United States: FBI Identity History Summary or state-level Police Clearance.
• France: Bulletin n.º 3 du Casier judiciaire.
• Belgium: Extrait du casier judiciaire modèle 595.
• Morocco: Certificat du casier judiciaire (B3).
• Latin American countries: national criminal or judicial record certificates.

All of them serve the same legal function: certifying that the person has no criminal record (or, where applicable, listing what does exist). The sworn translation into Spanish reproduces the layout and translates the document's fields plus the seals.

Validity period: the factor that catches people out

Here is the catch we hear most often: criminal record certificates have a very short validity before the Spanish administration. Typically:

• 3 months from the date of issue for many immigration and civil registry procedures.
• 6 months in some specific cases.

Important: the clock starts from the date of the original certificate, not from the date of the translation. If you translate a certificate that was issued two months ago, you only have a few weeks left to file it. Request the certificate as close as possible to the filing date.

Apostille and translation

Like any official foreign document filed in Spain, criminal records need:

1. The Hague Apostille (or diplomatic legalisation if the country is not a signatory) on the original.
2. A sworn translation into Spanish of the document and the Apostille, by a translator accredited by the MAEC.

Apostille first, translate afterwards. If you do it the other way around, the Apostille added later will also have to be translated.

Procedures it is required for

The most common ones:

• Initial residence / arraigo / non-lucrative: records from the country of origin and from any country where you have lived in the last 5 years.
• Spanish citizenship by residence: record from the country of origin.
• Student or work visa from outside Spain: through the Spanish consulate in your country.
• Public-sector applications and positions: up-to-date criminal records.
• Some positions in regulated sectors (health, education, security, finance).

Common mistakes

• Apostilling the certificate when it has already expired. Administrations look at the date of the original document.
• Translating the certificate but not the Apostille. Everything in a foreign language must be translated, seals included.
• Names that do not match. If your certificate says "Jane M. Smith" and your passport "Jane Marie Smith", it gets rejected. Clarify the name with the issuing body before translating.
• Relying on "certified" translations done in the country of origin. In Spain only a sworn translation by a MAEC translator is valid.

At Textualia we translate criminal record certificates from English and French into Spanish, with a standard turnaround of 2-3 days and a 24-hour urgent option for cases where the certificate is about to expire.