Apostille and sworn translation of French documents for use in Spain

You hold a document issued in France and need to use it in Spain. In nearly every case you'll be asked for two things: the apostille and the sworn translation into Spanish. These are separate steps, handled by different people, and it pays to keep them apart. Here's the essential of each, and how we take care of the translation for you.

What you need: apostille plus sworn translation

The Hague Apostille certifies that your French document is genuine so it can have legal effect abroad. France issues it, not us. For French public documents (birth certificates, criminal records, court rulings, notarial deeds) the competent authority is the relevant Cour d'appel, the court of appeal for the place where the document was issued. It's a French procedure, handled there.

Once apostilled, your document arrives in Spain in French. The Spanish authorities want it in Spanish. That's where the sworn translation comes in: a translation signed and stamped by a translator accredited by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC), with official validity in Spain. One point people often miss: the apostille is translated too. The document and its apostille travel together, so they're translated together.

Which French documents we translate

We work daily with the most common French documents for procedures in Spain:

• Acte de naissance (birth certificate), acte de mariage and acte de décès.
• Bulletin n°3 (B3) of the casier judiciaire: the French criminal record certificate, usually required for residence, nationality or certain jobs. Depending on how it's issued, the B3 can't always be apostilled, so ask the requesting authority which version they need.
• Diplômes and relevés de notes (degrees and academic transcripts) for recognition or study.
• Notarial deeds, powers of attorney and contracts.
• Court judgments and rulings, family record books, residence certificates and the like.

Document not on the list? Write to us. The odds are we handle it too.

How we do it: online, no trips required

You don't need to set foot in an office. Here's how it works:

1. You send us the already-apostilled document, scanned or photographed clearly (everything legible, the apostille included).
2. We review it, confirm a fixed price and turnaround, and you pay online.
3. A sworn French→Spanish translator translates and certifies it with their official signature and stamp.
4. You receive the sworn translation as a digitally signed PDF, valid for most procedures and accepted by a growing number of bodies. If a hard copy is required, we send it on official Spanish stamped paper by courier.

The document and its apostille go in a single order, so you receive one coherent set, ready to submit.

Why Textualia

Because this is all we do, and we do it well. Our translations are signed by a translator accredited by the MAEC, with full official validity in Spain. We give you a fixed price upfront, no surprises, and realistic timelines. We match the layout to the original so the official can compare the two at a glance. And if you're unsure whether you need the apostille, the translation, or both, we'll guide you before you pay a cent.

To be clear: a MAEC sworn translation is valid in Spain. We don't certify its validity before authorities in other countries, and the apostille is always issued by the country of origin, France in this case. For the exact requirements and timelines of the French procedure, confirm with the Cour d'appel or the body handling your case. The sworn translation into Spanish is ours to handle, and we make it flawless.