A sworn translation is valid in Spain when it has been produced and signed by a sworn translator-interpreter appointed by Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation (MAEC) for that language, and it carries the translator's certification, signature, stamp and date, with a copy of the source document attached. That is the whole test. Headed paper does not make it valid, nor does an agency logo, a notary or the word "certified". If any of those pieces is missing, the receiving office can reject it, and it does so more often than people think. I am Elena Peñaranda, sworn translator of English no. 7310, and this article shows you how to check in five minutes whether the translation in front of you will pass.
1. Who is allowed to sign a sworn translation in Spain
In Spain the only person who can do it is a sworn translator-interpreter (traductor-intérprete jurado), a title granted by the MAEC through its Office of Language Interpretation, either by examination or by recognition of a qualification from another EU Member State. Each appointment is for one specific language and carries a sworn translator number. Mine is 7310, for English: I can certify translations from English into Spanish and from Spanish into English, and no other combination.
Two practical consequences follow. First, an agency is not a sworn translator. It can act as intermediary, but the translation is signed by a named person with a number, and that person is legally responsible for every sentence. Second, a sworn translator of French cannot sign a translation from English, however good their English is. This happens more often than you would expect when a job passes through several hands.
2. How to check the appointment on the official register
The MAEC publishes the official register of sworn translator-interpreters, and that is precisely what an official consults when in doubt. Look up the name on the stamp and check three things: that the person appears, that the language matches your document and that the number is the same as the one on the stamp. If the name is not there, or is there for a different language, the translation is not sworn no matter what the heading says.
One honest caveat: the register is updated periodically, and very recent appointments can take a few weeks to show up. If the translator tells you they have just been appointed, ask for their appointment number; the office can verify it with that. In my case there is no room for doubt: I have been on the register for years and anyone can check.
3. What the translation must carry, page by page
The current rules (Royal Decree 724/2020 and the order regulating the stamp and certification) set a fairly strict format. This is what must appear:
- The closing certification, in the official wording: the translator, identified by name and number, certifies that the foregoing is a faithful and complete translation into the target language of a document written in the source language, and signs it in a specific place on a specific date.
- The signature of the translator, handwritten on paper or electronic in a PDF, next to the certification.
- The stamp, with the full name, the words "Traductor/a-Intérprete Jurado/a de [language]" and the appointment number. No address, no logos: the official model is plain and allows no decoration.
- The date of the certification, which the office will treat as the date of the translation.
- A copy of the source document, stamped and dated, attached to the translation. The translator certifies the translation of that specific document, not of an abstract text; without the copy, the official cannot tell what was translated.
- All of the content: stamps, apostille, signatures, handwritten notes and marginal annotations. Anything that cannot be translated is described in square brackets ("[illegible stamp]", "[signature]"). A sworn translation never summarises or leaves things out.
If you want to see this applied to a real case, the page on official validity of sworn translations (in Spanish) explains how it is checked by ministries, universities and consulates.
4. Digital signature: yes, it is valid, and this is how you verify it
Since 2020 the Office of Language Interpretation has accepted sworn translations signed electronically and delivered as a PDF, and Spanish public bodies accept them across the board for online submission. The digital signature does not replace the stamp and the certification: it goes with them. The PDF must carry the certification, the image of the stamp and the date, plus the translator's electronic signature embedded in the file.
To verify it, open the PDF in a reader that shows the signature panel (Adobe Acrobat Reader does) and check that the signature is valid, that the signer's name is the translator's and that the document has not been modified since it was signed. If the PDF is just a scanned image of a signature with no electronic signature behind it, it is a digital copy of a paper translation: it may do if the office accepts copies, but it is not a digitally signed translation.
Table: valid versus likely to be rejected
| What to check | Valid translation | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Who signs | MAEC sworn translator-interpreter, with name and number | Agency stamp, "certified translator", notary or a signature with no number |
| Official register | Listed for that language and that number | Not listed, or listed for another language |
| Certification | Official wording, place and date | Missing, in another language or reads "certified translation" |
| Stamp | Name, language and number; plain | Logos, address, no number or a different language |
| Copy of the original | Attached, stamped and dated | Only the translation is delivered |
| Content | Complete: stamps, apostille, notes | Apostille missing or "irrelevant" paragraphs left out |
| Digital signature | Valid electronic signature in the PDF | Pasted image of a signature, no electronic signature |
5. Typical mistakes I see in translations from some agencies
Not every agency works badly; many subcontract to serious sworn translators and deliver a flawless product. But when a client brings me a rejected translation, it is almost always for one of these reasons:
- It is signed by a non-sworn translator and the agency "certifies" it with its own stamp. In the UK or the US that is a certified translation and it works; in Spain it does not.
- The translator is sworn for a different language. Common with bilingual documents or with multi-country files split up carelessly.
- One version was translated and another was stamped: the client sends a draft, then the final document with the apostille, and the translation does not include the apostille.
- The copy of the original is missing, or attached without a stamp. The easiest defect to fix and the most common one.
- The electronic signature is not the translator's but the agency's, or the PDF was "flattened" after signing and the signature shows as invalid.
- Translation of a translation: the original is in Hindi or Arabic, someone translated it into English, and the sworn translation was made from that English. Many offices will not accept it.
If you are unsure what kind of translation you are being sold, sworn vs certified translation walks through the differences calmly.
6. What to do if the office rejects it
First, ask for the reason in writing. "It is not valid" is not a reason; "the copy of the original is missing" or "the translator is not on the register" is. With the reason in hand there are three scenarios:
- A defect the same translator can fix (copy missing, a page missing, apostille not translated). Contact the sworn translator who signed: they have a professional duty to deliver a complete translation and usually put it right at no cost or for a small fee.
- The translator is not sworn, or not for that language. Nothing can be done with that translation; you need a new one. Claim against whoever sold it to you, keeping the written rejection as evidence.
- The official is wrong. It happens, especially with electronic signatures. Provide the link to the MAEC register and, for a PDF, the signature validation report. If they insist on paper, the translator can courier you the original; in my case the price of the translation is the same, only postage is added.
And if you do need it redone, do not start from scratch blindly: send me the source document and the rejection letter, I will tell you within 2 hours what went wrong and give you a fixed price. Standard certificates (birth, marriage, criminal record) start at €35 and are delivered in 24/48 hours.
Message me on WhatsApp with the document and the reason for the rejection, or see the sworn English translator page to learn how I work.