SPAIN · CERTIFIED TRANSLATION
Certified Translation of Spain Documents for USCIS
Spanish civil documents are among the most standardized in Europe, yet they carry quirks that trip up USCIS filings. Every person carries two surnames (paternal then maternal), and certificates from Catalonia, the Basque Country, Galicia, or Valencia are frequently issued wholly or partly in a co-official regional language rather than Castilian Spanish. Records are held by the Registro Civil under the Ministerio de Justicia, and because Spain is a full Hague Apostille member, authentication is a single apostille rather than consular legalization. A word-for-word certified English translation must capture every stamp, marginal note, and regional-language heading — USCIS rejects partial translations — and our native Spanish specialists preserve both surnames and render the "certificación literal" fields exactly as the registry recorded them.
Updated July 11, 2026 · Reviewed by Victor Luján, Founder — certified translations since 2018
DOCUMENTS FROM SPAIN
Pick Your Document
Spanish Birth Certificate →
Spanish Marriage Certificate →
Spanish Divorce Decree →
Spanish Death Certificate →
Spanish Diploma →
Spanish Academic Transcript →
Spanish Police Record →
Spanish Single Status Certificate →
GOOD TO KNOW
Issuing Authority & Authentication
Civil records in Spain are issued by the Registro Civil (Civil Registry), under the Ministerio de Justicia (Ministry of Justice) · official language(s): Spanish (Castilian), Catalan, Galician, Basque (Euskera), Valencian. Spain is a full member of the Hague Apostille Convention (since 1978), so documents need a single apostille — never US embassy or consular legalization. Civil-registry and criminal-record documents are apostilled by the Spanish Ministry of Justice and court judgments (such as a divorce) by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia; USCIS then requires a certified English translation of the apostilled original.
Every document above is translated by a native specialist, reviewed by a second linguist, and delivered with a signed Certificate of Accuracy that USCIS accepts under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) — or we fix it free and cover your resubmission fee.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do Spanish documents for USCIS need an apostille or embassy legalization?
An apostille — not embassy legalization. Spain has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 1978, so a single apostille from the Spanish Ministry of Justice (for civil-registry and criminal-record documents) or the relevant Tribunal Superior de Justicia (for court judgments) is all the authentication USCIS needs, together with a certified English translation of the original.
My certificate is in Catalan, Galician, Basque, or Valencian. Can you still translate it?
Yes. Certificates from Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, Valencia, Galicia, or the Basque Country are often issued in a co-official language or bilingually. Our native-speaker specialists translate the full text — including regional-language headings, seals, and stamps — into English so nothing is left untranslated for USCIS.
Should I request the 'literal' or the 'extracto' version of my certificate?
For immigration, request the 'certificación literal' (full verbatim copy). It contains all the registered details, both surnames, and marginal notes USCIS expects; the abbreviated 'extracto' can trigger a Request for Evidence for missing information.
How do you handle Spanish two-surname names?
We keep both surnames — paternal and maternal — exactly as they appear, in the original order. This prevents 'name discrepancy' RFEs, since your Spanish birth and marriage certificates will show two surnames while US forms may record only one.
Do I need to translate the apostille itself?
The apostille uses a standardized international layout and USCIS generally does not require it to be translated, but we translate its key fields on request for completeness. What USCIS does require is a complete certified English translation of the underlying Spanish document, with a signed Certificate of Accuracy meeting 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3).