Good to know · Legal

Apostille and sworn-translate US documents for use in Spain

US public documents (birth or marriage certificates, FBI background checks and similar) normally need a Hague apostille from the right US authority and then a sworn translation into Spanish by a translator appointed by Spain’s foreign ministry before Spanish authorities accept them.

Why it matters

Visa, family-member residence cards, civil-status registration and other Spanish procedures often ask for apostilled and translated US documents, and getting the order and the freshness dates wrong can force you to start again.

When

A Spanish consulate, the foreigners' office, the police or another Spanish authority asks for a US-issued document to be 'apostillado' and 'traducido por traductor jurado'.

How long it takes

State apostilles typically take 1-3 weeks and federal ones can take up to several weeks to months at peak times (Spain Handbook, secondary; Los Angeles consulate FAQ says FBI apostille 1 day to 3 weeks). Plan for freshness limits such as 3 months for criminal-record certificates.

Official page

Authenticate an official document for use outside the U.S.

Last checked

6 Oct 2026