Our privacy policy: how we handle your documents and personal data

It applies to this website, the quote form, email and WhatsApp. This policy is effective from 12 October 2026. It replaces any earlier version.

Who is responsible for my personal data?

The data controller is Spain Sworn Translators: the business that decides why and how your data is used. We serve clients in Spain and abroad. We answer requests about your data free of charge.

We have appointed a representative in the European Union under Article 27 GDPR. You can obtain their contact details by writing to info@spainsworntranslators.com. People in the EU, and EU data protection authorities, may contact our representative instead of us.

Which data protection laws apply to us?

We offer services to people in Spain and the EU, so we follow the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), under its art. 3(2).

For clients in Spain, we also respect Spain's data protection law, Ley Orgánica 3/2018 (LOPDGDD). Where the laws differ, we apply the rule that protects you more.

What personal data do we collect?

We collect only what we need to quote, translate and deliver your documents. That means your contact details, the documents themselves, and the order and payment records. We never ask for card details in the quote form or by WhatsApp.

Some documents hold sensitive data, such as a medical certificate or a police record. Many also name other people, such as parents or a spouse. We use that data only to produce the translation you order.

Why do we use my data, and on what lawful basis?

We use your data to prepare your quote and carry out your order. That is processing needed for a contract you ask for (GDPR art. 6.1.b). We keep invoices because tax law requires it (art. 6.1.c). Marketing emails need your separate consent (art. 6.1.a).

Without your documents and an email address, we cannot quote or translate. We make no automated decisions about you, and we do no profiling.

How do you handle police certificates and medical documents?

We handle them only because you ask us to translate them. The quote form asks for your explicit consent before you upload. You can withdraw it, but we then cannot complete the order.

• A police certificate is processed only to produce the translation you must file with a Spanish authority.
• We rely on your explicit request and on the need to establish or defend legal claims.
• Access is limited to the coordinator and the sworn translator on your order.
• Firms that send a client's certificate confirm they may share it with us.

Who receives my documents?

Your documents go only to the people needed to complete your order. That is the MAEC-appointed sworn translator for your language pair, and the providers that run our systems. We never sell your data or share it for advertising.

• Sworn translators. Each is an independent professional appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC). They work as our processors under a written agreement (GDPR art. 28) and a duty of confidentiality. Where a law requires a translator to keep their own records, they do so as an independent controller.
• Hosting, email and file storage. Our website is hosted on secure servers in Europe. We use a business email and cloud storage provider with European data centres. Both act as our processors.
• Payments. Card payments go through a PCI-DSS certified card payment processor. PayPal payments go through PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A. Bank transfers go through our bank. Each acts as an independent controller for payment and fraud checks.
• WhatsApp (Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd), only if you choose to contact us that way. WhatsApp handles your messages under its own privacy terms.
• Couriers, only when you order paper copies: DHL, MRW, SEUR or Correos Express.
• Our professional advisers, such as accountants or lawyers, under a duty of confidentiality.
• Public authorities and courts, only when a law obliges us, or to defend a legal claim.

Every processor acts only on our written instructions and must keep your data secure.

Is my data sent to other countries?

Yes, in part, because our team and our translators work in different countries. Every transfer is covered by an official adequacy decision of the European Commission.

If a provider stores data in another country, we use a recognised safeguard. That means an adequacy decision or the EU standard contractual clauses (SCCs). You can ask us for a copy of the safeguard that applies.

How long do you keep my documents?

Your files are deleted within 7 days of delivery. That covers your scans, the drafts and the delivered translation on our systems and our translators' systems. We keep a short order record for longer, without your documents.

The order record holds no copy of your documents. Keep the signed PDF we send you, because we will no longer hold it. A claim under our re-issue policy only needs the office's notice and your copy of the translation.

What are my data protection rights?

Under the GDPR, you can ask to access, correct or delete your data. You can also object, restrict its use, or receive it in a portable format. Exercising these rights is free, and we reply within one month. That can be extended by two months for complex requests.

• Access: a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Rectification: correct wrong or incomplete data.
• Erasure: delete data we no longer need.
• Objection: stop processing based on our legitimate interest, or any marketing.
• Restriction: pause processing while a dispute is checked.
• Portability: your data in a common electronic format.
• Withdraw consent: at any time, without affecting earlier processing.

Write to info@spainsworntranslators.com (see our contact page) and name the right you are using. We may ask for proof of identity first. Some rights have limits, for example when tax law obliges us to keep an invoice.

How do I complain to a data protection authority?

Please contact us first, so we can try to fix the problem. We acknowledge privacy complaints within 2 working days and answer within one month. You can still go to an authority at any time.

• In Spain: the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (AEPD), through its electronic office.
• Elsewhere in the EU: the data protection authority where you live or work.

The AEPD explains your rights on aepd.es.

Does this website use cookies?

Our website uses technical cookies that it needs to work, such as those that keep the quote form running. Analytics or advertising cookies are set only with your consent, through the cookie banner. That follows Spain's LSSI (Ley 34/2002), art. 22.2.

The cookie banner lists each cookie, with its purpose and duration. You can change your choice at any time from the cookie settings link in the website footer.

How do you keep my files secure?

Files reach us through the encrypted (HTTPS) quote form, by email or by WhatsApp. They are seen only by the people working on your order. Translators sign digital translations with a qualified electronic signature, so any change to the PDF shows.

• Access is limited to the coordinator and the sworn translator on your order.
• Translators delete their working copies on the same 7-day schedule.
• We sign a data processing agreement (encargo de tratamiento) with business clients; see our sworn translation service for law firms and gestorías.
• If a breach puts your rights at risk, we tell the competent data protection authority, such as the AEPD, and you.

Can I send my child's documents?

Yes. A parent or guardian sends a child's documents and gives any consent needed. Under LOPDGDD art. 7, a person under 14 cannot consent alone. Our services are aimed at adults.

How will we tell you about changes to this policy?

We may update this policy when the law or our services change. The date at the top shows the version in force. If a change affects an open order, we tell you by email.

Frequently asked questions

Ready to send your documents for a quote?

Your files are used only for your order and seen by one MAEC-appointed sworn translator per language pair. For the order rules, read our terms and conditions. Prices are on sworn translation prices, and the steps are in how an order works.

When you are ready, request a free sworn translation quote. Free, prioritised re-issue if rejected on formal grounds.

We only translate. We never sell appointments.

Sources: GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (art. 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 15–22, 27, 28 and 77); LOPDGDD (art. 7, 10, 11, 12–18); AEPD: your rights; LSSI. Last checked: 12 October 2026.