It's one of the translations French businesses ask us for most when they expand into Spain. The project might be a subsidiary in Madrid, a branch on the Costa del Sol or an SCI buying a flat in Alicante — but the sticking point is always the same: the notary or the Commercial Registry wants to see the company's statuts in Spanish, and not in any version, but as a sworn translation.
This guide explains which French corporate documents need translating, in what order, and why the choice of translator matters.
When you're asked for translated French statutes
A sworn translation of the statuts comes into play whenever a French company acts before an authority, a notary or a bank in Spain. The most common cases:
- Setting up a Spanish subsidiary (an S.L. or S.A.) with the French company as shareholder.
- Opening a branch (succursale) of the French company in Spain.
- Having your French company join an existing Spanish company as a partner or in a joint venture.
- An SCI (société civile immobilière) buying or already holding property in Spain.
- Opening a corporate bank account, signing contracts or bidding for a tender.
In every case, the other side needs to confirm who the company is, how it's governed and who can sign on its behalf. That information lives in the articles of association.
Which documents need translating (not just the statuts)
It's rarely a single file, so it's worth knowing up front:
- Statuts (articles of association): the company's founding document. The centrepiece, and always translated.
- Extrait Kbis (or extrait RCS): the French company's "ID card". It proves the company exists, its legal form, capital and officers. It's almost always required alongside the statuts — and watch out, it expires quickly (usually needs to be less than 3 months old).
- Depending on the deal: the meeting minutes or resolution authorising it (procès-verbal d'assemblée), a power of attorney (pouvoir), or the beneficial-owner record (registre des bénéficiaires effectifs).
All of them apostilled in France, then sworn-translated into Spanish.
Apostille and sworn translation: the right order
This is where most people get stuck, so step by step:
- The Hague apostille first. France and Spain both signed the 1961 Convention, so an apostilled document is recognised without going through a consulate. The apostille is issued by the competent French authority — check the current procedure before you send it off, as it has changed in France in recent years.
- Then the sworn translation into Spanish, signed by a translator accredited by Spain's MAEC. A detail that causes plenty of rejections: the apostille is part of the document and gets translated too, within the same sworn translation. Apostilling the statuts but translating only the body, leaving the apostille in French, sends the file back incomplete.
One key point: a MAEC sworn translation is valid in Spain, which is where you file the transaction. The apostille is what crosses the border; the translation you order because the Spanish authority or notary requires it.
Why it matters who translates your statuts
French and Spanish company law don't map word for word, and a literal translation confuses the notary or the registrar. SAS, SARL, gérant, président, parts sociales, actions, siège social, objet social, capital social — each term has its correct Spanish legal equivalent: the gérant is the administrador, parts sociales are participaciones, the siège social is the domicilio social. Translating it accurately — faithful to the original but in the terminology the Commercial Registry expects — is what gets the document accepted first time.
How we do it at Textualia
Everything online, no office visits. Upload the statuts and the Kbis (already apostilled), see the fixed price on the spot and, once you pay, receive the sworn translation from French 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 send it to you. And if the signing is on a tight deadline, there's 24 h or 12 h urgency.
We know these documents inside out: what a Spanish notary expects to see in a set of statuts, what gets translated and what doesn't, and why the apostille is included. The price is calculated by words, VAT included, and you know it before you order.
Gather your apostilled statuts and Kbis and order the Spanish sworn translation — we hand them back ready to file. You can start from our sworn translation of company articles page or upload them straight into the calculator.