Sworn Spanish translation of your police clearance certificate

The translation is official in Spain with no further legalisation, and also serves visa files abroad. We are not affiliated with any Spanish authority.

Sample: a police clearance certificate translated

A sworn translation reproduces every part of the original, including stamps, QR codes and the apostille. Each page carries the translator's seal and MAEC number.

How much does a police certificate sworn translation cost?

A police certificate sworn translation costs from €29 per certificate with us, apostille included, as one fixed total. Standard delivery is 24–48 hours. Most police certificates are one or two pages. Three countries' certificates are priced together as one file.

As an indicative market range, sworn translations in Spain cost about €30–120 a page. That is roughly €30–80 for the first page and €15–40 for later pages (Cronoshare, January 2026). This is a market range, not our price.

These are starting prices. For your final price, send your details through the quote form. We email you a written quotation, and work starts only after you approve it. Prices shown are for English, French, Italian, Portuguese and German. Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian and Romanian start from €39 per certificate. Chinese, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali and other languages start from €49. A tracked paper copy by courier within Spain costs €9.

The apostille is always translated together with the certificate. Compare every document in the full price table, or get a fixed quote for your police certificate now.

How fast can a police certificate be translated into Spanish?

A police certificate is usually one or two pages, so a MAEC-appointed sworn translator can translate it into Spanish within 24–48 hours as standard. That clock starts once the apostille or legalisation is on and we have a full scan. Express delivery is possible when a cita or a requerimiento deadline is close.

Add your appointment or deadline date when you upload. Same-day options and cut-off times are on our urgent sworn translation page. The slow part is usually the apostille, not the translation, so start that first.

What is the police certificate called in my country?

Each country issues its own police certificate under a different name and by a different authority. India issues a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC), the UK an ACRO police certificate, the USA an FBI Identity History Summary. Spanish officials call all of them a "certificado de antecedentes penales".

Each country name opens our guide to that country's documents, including how to get them while you live in Spain. Apostille status per country: HCCH Apostille status table.

Two traps are common at this stage. First, a state apostille on an FBI check is rejected; it needs the federal apostille from the US Department of State. That costs $20 per document and takes about four weeks by mail, plus mailing time (source: travel.state.gov, 12 October 2026). Second, the UK cannot issue an e-Apostille for ACRO certificates. The FCDO paper apostille costs £45 and usually takes up to 25 working days, plus postage (source: gov.uk, 12 October 2026).

What we need from your police certificate

• A clear scan or phone photo of every page, front and back.
• The apostille or legalisation page. Apostille or legalise first, then translate both together.
• A copy of your passport photo page. We check every name against it.
• Your appointment or deadline date, so we plan delivery around it.

Originals are never needed. If a name on the certificate is spelled differently from your passport, the translator reproduces the certificate exactly and adds a translator's note.

Which Spanish procedures ask for a criminal record certificate?

Most residence, nationality and visa procedures ask for a criminal record certificate from abroad. Inside Spain, that means arraigo and other Extranjería files, the 2026 regularisation and Spanish nationality. Abroad, consulates ask for it on most long-stay visas. Each certificate is apostilled or legalised first, then sworn-translated into Spanish.

The regularisation window closed on 30 June 2026. Permits last one year, so renewals fall due from 2027; check the official Ministry page for what renewals ask. Visa files usually add a medical certificate sworn translation as well. For arraigo, Hojas 28 and 31 ask for no criminal record in Spain or in the countries you lived in during the last 5 years.

Which countries' police certificates do I need?

It depends on your procedure. Visa checklists usually name your country of nationality and countries of recent residence. For arraigo, Extranjería asks for a criminal record certificate from each country you lived in during the last 5 years. Your consulate's or office's checklist is the final word.

Three countries can mean three certificates, three apostilles or legalisations and three translations. Send us the list and we price them as one file. Your file will often include a birth certificate sworn translation into Spanish or a marriage certificate translated into Spanish too; see every document we translate.

How long is a police certificate valid in Spain?

There is no single national rule. Validity is set by each office, commonly 3 to 6 months from the issue date. Indian consulates use 6 months (New Delhi and Mumbai checklists). Nationality files use 6 months unless stated. New Delhi accepts the family reunification police certificate for 6 months.

Validity runs from the issue date printed on the certificate, not from the translation date (New Delhi student visa). The sworn translation itself has no separate expiry; our guide on whether sworn translations expire in Spain explains why. Last checked: 1 October 2026.

How do I stop my police certificate expiring?

Order your police certificate last. Collect every other document first, then request the certificate, apostille or legalise it, and translate it. Work back from your appointment date, allowing time for the apostille route and 24–48 hours for the sworn translation.

For a UK ACRO certificate or a US FBI check, add the apostille times from the two traps above. The sworn translation then takes 24–48 hours.

We confirm delivery in your time zone. Living in Spain? Each country guide above explains how to request the certificate from here. Where facts allow, it covers your consulate in Spain or a relative at home.

Why police certificate translations get rejected and how we prevent it

• Apostille missing from the translation. The police certificate was translated before it was apostilled. We start only once the apostille is attached (apostille before sworn translation).
• Wrong apostille. A state apostille on an FBI check is rejected. We flag it before translating.
• Certificate expired by the appointment. We compare the issue date with your appointment date and warn you.
• Alias or spelling differs from the passport. The translator keeps the certificate wording and adds a translator's note.
• QR code or verification text left out. Every page, stamp and QR code is translated and sealed.
• Not a sworn translation. A certified translation made outside Spain, for example by a UK or US translator, is not a sworn translation, and most Spanish offices won't accept it. Ours are signed by a MAEC-appointed sworn translator, listed in the official MAEC search (Buscador-STIJ).

Ordering a criminal record translation: your concerns answered

A police certificate is the document most likely to expire before your cita, and the most private one you send. These answers cover both worries.

• Is the translator real? Each translator we work with is appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC) and works with their own official seal. Check any seal yourself with our guide to verify a Spanish sworn translator.
• What if Extranjería or the consulate rejects it? Free, prioritised re-issue if rejected on formal grounds. Read how a free re-issue works.
• Is my record kept? A criminal record is sensitive. Files are deleted within 7 days of delivery, under our privacy policy.
• Requerimiento or cita soon? A requerimiento gives 10 working days (días hábiles) under Ley 39/2015, art. 68. Tell us the date and we plan around it.

Frequently asked questions

Get your police certificate translated

Send a scan or photo of every page, including the apostille. You see a fixed price and a delivery date before you pay.

We only translate. We never sell appointments.