Sworn translations
To deal with an inheritance in Spain, documents issued in the UK may require translations into Spanish by an official sworn translator. You may also want to see an English translation of the documents issued in Spain. Our in-house sworn translator can help with all these translation requirements.
Scroll down to find out more.
Spain operates a system of officially recognised translators. This means you need to contact someone with the qualification of ‘sworn translator’ (traductor jurado) when arranging the translation of documents for legal and official use.
With an in-house sworn translator, we can prepare the sworn translations for any UK documents needed to deal with an inheritance in Spain. Equally, we can translate into English any of the documents originating from Spain (e.g. a Spanish will or the deed of acceptance of inheritance).
Some of the documents we can translate
These are only examples of typical documents from the UK that may need translating into Spanish to sort out an inheritance in Spain:
- Death certificate
- Will and codicils
- Grant of probate or letters of administration
- Birth, adoption and marriage certificates
- Certificate of law or affidavit of law
- Power of attorney
- Court orders
How sworn translations work
Who can issue them
Spanish sworn translations need to be issued by a Spanish sworn translator-interpreter (traductor-intérprete jurado) —often shortened to just ‘sworn translator’ (traductor jurado). This is a translator officially appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Spanish sworn translator will add a certification to the translation confirming it is an accurate translation. Additionally, the certification includes the translator’s signature and official stamp, which confirms the translator’s language combination and official registration number.
Paper or digital translations?
It is now possible for Spanish sworn translators to issue their certified translations in digital or electronic form. The Spanish authorities are, at least in principle, bound by law to accept digitally issued documents as long as they meet the legal criteria. For this, it is crucial that the sworn translator uses a digital signature with official recognition.
We now issue most of our Spanish sworn translations in digital form but can also arrange physical translations if needed.