Buying a home in Spain involves a notary, a bank, the tax office and sometimes a land registry — and each of them has opinions about paperwork. The good news: far fewer documents need a sworn translation than buyers fear. The trick is knowing which ones do. Here's the honest map, from the purchases I've translated for.
What will the notary ask to have translated?
The Spanish notary works in Spanish, so any foreign public document that forms part of the purchase needs a sworn translation. In practice that usually means:
- Power of attorney (POA) — if you sign from the UK through a representative, the POA granted before a UK notary needs an apostille and a sworn translation. This is the single most common document I translate for property purchases.
- Civil status documents — occasionally a marriage certificate is needed to establish the matrimonial property regime.
- Probate documents — if the purchase (or sale) stems from an inheritance, the UK grant of probate needs apostille + sworn translation.
The deed of sale itself (escritura) is drafted in Spanish by the notary. You don't need a sworn translation of it to buy — though many buyers order an informative translation afterwards to know exactly what they signed, which I'm happy to do as a standard (non-sworn, cheaper) translation.
What about the bank and the mortgage?
If you're financing with a Spanish bank, they'll assess your UK income: payslips, employer letters, tax returns, bank statements. Banks generally require official translations of these — and a sworn translation is exactly that. Send the whole set together: one fixed quote, consistent terminology, and the mortgage adviser gets a tidy file instead of a drip of PDFs.
Does everything need an apostille?
No — and this is where buyers overspend. The apostille applies to public documents: notarised POAs, court documents, civil status certificates. Private documents — bank statements, payslips, reservation contracts between private parties — don't get apostilled; they're simply translated. When someone tells you to "apostille everything", check first: it's often half the cost for the same legal effect.
When should you order the translations?
The POA is the time-critical one: UK notary → FCDO apostille → sworn translation → Spanish notary, and the chain takes longer than any single step. Start it as soon as completion dates are discussed. Bank documents can go in parallel; certificates keep in mind they're often required recent. Short documents take 24/48 hours; for a full purchase file you'll get a fixed quote and exact delivery date within 2 hours of sending it.
Tell me where you are in the purchase on WhatsApp and I'll tell you exactly which documents need a sworn translation — and which don't, so you don't pay for paperwork nobody will read.