Sworn Translation of a Birth Certificate

In Spain, "certificado de nacimiento" is the official name for the document (the term used by the Ministry of Justice); "partida de nacimiento" is a very common equivalent phrase, especially in Latin American usage. Both refer to the same document, and this guide uses them interchangeably.

You'll need a sworn translation of your birth certificate whenever you must submit it to a Spanish body (Civil Registry, immigration office, an educational institution, etc.) and the original document isn't written in Spanish — or, conversely, when you must submit a Spanish birth certificate to a foreign authority that requires a certified translation into its own language.

The receiving body determines the exact requirement: the same procedure may require a sworn translation in one case and not in another, depending on the document's country of origin and the language it's written in.

If the birth certificate was issued in a country that signed the 1961 Hague Convention and is going to be used in Spain (or the other way around), it normally needs the Hague Apostille for the receiving authority to recognize its authenticity. If the country of origin isn't a signatory, diplomatic or consular legalization is usually required instead. If it comes from another EU country, check first whether Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 exempts your case from needing the Apostille at all — see the Apostille guide for that exception and for the procedure and competent authorities in Spain.

A birth certificate issued in Spanish — for example, in most Spanish-speaking countries — doesn't need a sworn translation to be submitted in Spain, though it may still need an Apostille or legalization depending on the country of origin. The sworn-translation requirement responds to the document's language, not the applicant's nationality.