You divorced in the United States and now you are getting married in Spain. The marriage file (expediente matrimonial) before the Spanish Civil Registry requires you to prove that your previous marriage ended, and the document that proves it is your divorce decree. This is exactly where most second-marriage files get stuck — requesting the wrong paper in the US, apostilling it in the wrong place, or translating only part of it.
Divorce decree and divorce certificate are not the same thing
The US produces two documents with similar names and very different jobs:
| Document | Who issues it | What it contains |
|---|---|---|
| Divorce decree (also judgment of divorce or final decree) | The state court that handled the divorce. Certified copies come from the county court clerk, with signature and seal | The complete court order: dissolution of the marriage, custody, support, property division |
| Divorce certificate | The state vital records office — and not every state issues one | A summary: names of the parties, date and place of the divorce |
For the certificate, the official USAGov guidance itself tells you to check whether your state even issues it. But here is the point that matters: for the Spanish marriage file, standard Civil Registry practice — and the published criteria of Spain's consulates in the US — is to require the complete, final divorce judgment, not the vital records summary. Order a certified copy of the full decree from the court clerk; the certificate is rarely enough.
The judgment has to be final
The Civil Registry will not accept just any ruling: the judgment must be final (firme) — no appeal can still be lodged against it. Many US decrees say so in the text itself ("final judgment"); if yours is not explicit, the court clerk can certify that no appeal is pending. If the divorce was contested and produced several rulings, submit the complete final judgment, not interim orders.
Apostille: always state-level, never federal
A divorce decree is a state court document, so the apostille comes from the Secretary of State of the state where the judgment was issued — not from the federal Department of State in Washington. It follows the same circuit as the rest of your file; timelines and details in our US apostille guide: federal vs state. One prerequisite: the apostille is only attached to the clerk-certified copy, never to a plain photocopy.
What the Civil Registry looks at in your case
As a divorced applicant, your documentary package usually includes:
- Final divorce decree, clerk-certified, apostilled and with a sworn translation into Spanish.
- Certificate of the previous marriage, depending on what your Registry asks for: it shows which marriage the divorce dissolved. Also apostilled and translated if it is American.
- Affidavit of marital status before a US notary, stating that you are divorced and free to marry, apostilled in the notary's state.
- The rest of the file (long-form birth certificate, passport, proof of residence) is the general package we cover in getting married in Spain as a US citizen.
An honest warning: the exact requirements are set by each individual Civil Registry office. Some ask for the previous marriage certificate, others are satisfied with the decree; some want certificates issued within the last six months. Confirm the list with your specific Registry before ordering anything. And if you are registering as an unmarried couple instead of marrying — the Spanish pareja de hecho — the regional registry will also ask you to prove you are divorced, with the same document through the same circuit.
When exequatur comes into play
One legal nuance is worth knowing. If the marriage that was dissolved was registered in the Spanish Civil Registry, or involved a Spanish citizen, the US divorce needs to be recognised in Spain before it produces effects: either through incidental recognition by the Registry official, or through exequatur proceedings before a Spanish first-instance judge (with lawyer and court agent). Spain's consulates in the US describe both routes. This is genuinely legal territory with its own case law: if you are in this situation, speak to a lawyer before setting a wedding date. This article deals with documents and their translation — it does not replace that advice.
The sworn translation of the divorce decree
The Spanish Civil Registry only accepts translations by sworn translators accredited by the MAEC (Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs). An American "certified translation" or "notarized translation" has no validity in Spain. In practice:
- The complete judgment is translated as submitted, apostille included — the apostille is part of the document.
- Order matters: apostille first, translation second. Translate before apostilling and you will have to retranslate to include the apostille.
- US decrees tend to be long (custody, property division, alimony); the procedural terminology calls for a translator experienced with court documents.
Mistakes that delay second marriages
- Submitting the vital records divorce certificate instead of the full certified judgment.
- An uncertified plain copy: the Secretary of State will not apostille photocopies.
- Sending a state court document through the federal apostille circuit.
- A judgment with no evidence of finality when the decree does not state it.
- Leaving the apostille untranslated alongside the judgment.
Related pages
- Marriage in Spain with foreign documents — the full procedure step by step.
- Getting married in Spain as a US citizen — the general file (birth certificate, affidavit, timelines).
- US apostille: federal vs state — where each document gets apostilled.
- UK divorce and Spanish paperwork — the decree absolute and final order case.
- Pareja de hecho in Spain — the alternative to marriage, with similar documentary requirements.
At Textualia we translate US divorce decrees into Spanish with sworn translators accredited by the MAEC. Upload the apostilled judgment to our quote tool and get an instant price, with delivery as an electronically signed PDF valid before every Civil Registry in Spain.