US companies opening operations in Spain — a tech firm with European clients, a group setting up a subsidiary to invoice in euros, an LLC investing in property — all run into the same step: the notary or the Commercial Registry wants the company's articles in Spanish, as a sworn translation.
This guide explains which US corporate documents need translating, in what order, and why the state-by-state variety complicates the path a little.
When you're asked for translated US statutes
A sworn translation comes into play whenever a Corporation or an LLC acts before a notary, a registry or a bank in Spain:
- Setting up a Spanish subsidiary (an S.L. or S.A.) with the US company as shareholder.
- Opening a branch of the US company in Spain.
- Having your company join a Spanish company as a partner or in a joint venture.
- An LLC buying or managing property in Spain.
- Opening a corporate bank account, signing contracts or bidding for tenders.
In every case you have to prove the company exists, how it's governed and who can sign.
Which documents need translating
In the US the name depends on the entity type and the state, but the usual package is:
- Corporations: Articles of Incorporation (in Delaware or New York, Certificate of Incorporation) + Bylaws.
- LLCs: Articles of Organization (or Certificate of Formation) + Operating Agreement.
- Very common: a Certificate of Good Standing issued by the state, a board resolution and a power of attorney.
All of them apostilled, then sworn-translated into Spanish.
Apostille and sworn translation: the right order
- The Hague apostille first. The US and Spain are both party to the 1961 Convention. Here's the US-specific catch: corporate documents are state documents, so the apostille is issued by the Secretary of State of the state that registered the company (Delaware, California, New York…), not the federal Department of State. Sending it to the wrong office costs weeks. If the document was signed before a notary public, it usually goes through the county/state first.
- Then the sworn translation into Spanish, signed by a translator accredited by Spain's MAEC. A detail that causes rejections: the apostille is translated together with the document, in the same sworn translation.
One key point: a MAEC sworn translation is valid in Spain, where you file the transaction. The apostille is what crosses the border.
Why it matters who translates your Articles of Incorporation
US and Spanish company law don't map word for word, and the LLC is the trickiest case: it has no exact equivalent in Spain, so it must be translated accurately and with judgement, not turned into a “sociedad limitada” that would change its nature. The same goes for member, manager, managing member, stock, shares, registered agent, bylaws, operating agreement — each term is rendered with the correct legal equivalent and, where there isn't one, with a faithful wording the notary and registrar understand. That's the difference between the document being accepted first time or bounced.
How we do it at Textualia
Everything online, no office visits. Upload the Articles of Incorporation / Organization, the Bylaws or Operating Agreement and the Certificate of Good Standing (already apostilled), see the fixed price on the spot and, once you pay, receive the sworn translation from English into Spanish as an electronically signed PDF, fully valid before notaries and the Commercial Registry. If the notary needs a paper original, we issue it on official State-stamped paper. And if the signing is tight, there's 24 h or 12 h urgency.
We know these documents and their state variants: what a Spanish notary expects, what gets translated and what doesn't, and why the apostille is included. Price by words, VAT included, known before you order.
Gather your apostilled articles and certificates and order the Spanish sworn translation. You can start from our sworn translation of company articles page or upload them into the calculator.