Sworn translations (also known as official or certified translations in other countries) are documents of an official nature that need to be submitted to a public body. To be considered valid, the translations must bear the stamp of the sworn translator who has carried out the work, together with the corresponding certification.
In Spain, the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y de Cooperación (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation) is authorised to grant the title of sworn translator for all autonomous regions that do not have co-official languages. In Catalonia, the Direcció de Política Lingüística de la Generalitat (Directorate General of Language Policy of the Government of Catalonia) is responsible for certifying sworn translators for the Catalan language; for Galician, it is the Secretaría Xeral de Política Lingüística of the Government of Galicia and, for Euskera, the Hizkuntza Politikarako Sailburuordetza (Deputy Ministry for Language Policy) of the Basque Government.
Which type of documents require a sworn translation?
A sworn translation is usually required for legal documents (contracts, judgments, notarial deeds, birth and marriage certificates, etc.), but sometimes also for financial documents (annual accounts) and scientific documents (clinical trials, protocols). It is also common to request sworn translations of documents in the field of education (degrees, certificates of studies, academic records).
There are countless situations in which sworn translations are required. For example, your company is bidding for an international tender; you’re going to work with a foreign company; you’re getting married and your partner is a foreign national; your son or daughter wants to do a degree abroad, etc.
We recommend that you contact the body or administration requesting the documentation to find out which sworn translations they require.
Traductam has been providing sworn translations for over 20 years. Montse is a sworn translator and interpreter who works from French to Spanish and Martine is a French to Catalan and Spanish to Catalan sworn translator. To cover other languages, we work with a team of collaborators formed of highly reliable sworn translators. Like us, they have broad experience in their areas of specialisation.
