Sworn translation for university degree homologation in Spain

What homologation is (and how it differs from equivalence)

If you earned your degree abroad and now want to work or keep studying in Spain, the qualification does not take effect on its own: a Spanish authority has to recognise it. That recognition is handled by Spain's Ministry responsible for universities, and it comes in two forms that are easy to mix up.

Homologation equates your foreign degree with an official Spanish one that opens the door to a regulated profession: medicine, nursing, law, architecture, engineering, clinical psychology, veterinary science. This is the route when you intend to practise. A declaration of equivalence recognises your degree at Bachelor's or Master's level for academic and administrative purposes —entry to an official master's, a doctorate, a competitive public exam (oposición)— but does not qualify you for a regulated profession. Most non-regulated fields go through equivalence.

The authority decides which one applies and rules on the application. That part isn't ours. Our work starts earlier, with something the Ministry simply takes for granted and that has to be flawless from your very first submission: every document in Spanish, by sworn translation.

Which documents need a sworn translation

Any document not written in Spanish has to be filed together with its sworn translation. For a homologation or equivalence application that usually means:

• The university degree (the diploma): the graduate's name, the awarding university, the official title of the qualification and the date of issue.
• The official academic transcript: subjects, credits, grades and total workload. This is where the translator's note earns its keep, explaining the original grading system —the US GPA, UK first-class honours, Latin American honourable mentions— so the evaluator has nothing to interpret.
• The study plan, when the university issues one or the Ministry asks for it.
• The apostille or legalisation. Yes, the apostille is translated too: it is part of the official document.

One point about order saves both money and headaches: apostille first, translate afterwards. Translate before the apostille arrives and you'll pay for translation twice. Degrees from the EU, the EEA and Switzerland are exempt from the apostille; those from other Hague Convention countries —the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Latin American states— need it on both the degree and the transcript. The exact requirements for your case are set by the authority; we focus on getting the translation right.

How Textualia handles it

The whole process is online and built so you don't lose weeks to paperwork. You upload scans of the degree, the transcript and the apostille, see an instant quote with the deadline in Spanish working days, pay, and receive the translation. No prior registration, no trips to an office.

The translation is signed by a sworn translator authorised by the MAEC (Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs). It reproduces the original faithfully —the title of the qualification, the grades, visible stamps and signatures— and clears up any spelling difference between your name on the degree and on your passport or NIE with a translator's note. That's common, so tell us when you upload and we keep everything consistent. We don't judge the equivalence or homologation; the translation is faithful, the decision belongs to the Ministry.

By default we deliver a PDF with a qualified electronic signature, valid before the Ministry, universities and professional bodies in Spain. If your particular university or professional college still asks for paper, we issue it on official Spanish stamped paper and post it by certified mail after the digital delivery.

Why Textualia

A homologation application is measured in months, and a single request for correction over a non-sworn translation or a poorly prepared document sends you back to the end of the queue. That's why what you submit on day one has to be right. We work English→Spanish and French→Spanish, we know how Spanish authorities read these applications, and we take care of the academic terminology that so often gets translated carelessly.

One useful caveat: a sworn translation by an MAEC translator is fully valid in Spain. It proves nothing before authorities in other countries; if your procedure is abroad, the route is different. For what you need here, we get the translation side ready to file. Work out your quote and request the sworn translation of your degree and transcript in a few minutes.