Spanish Criminal Record Translation
Spanish criminal record translation to English for a consular visa interview, USCIS, an adoption or an employer, and into Spanish for residency abroad. We translate the carta de no antecedentes penales, the certificado de antecedentes judiciales and the constancias that go with them, from every Spanish-speaking country.
- Up to 250 words per page
- $25 per page
- Standard turnaround
- From 24 hours
- Certificate of accuracy
- Signed & stamped
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Written for Spanish criminal record records
The police certificate is a different paper in every country
Spanish-speaking countries issue a clean-record letter under a dozen names, and a consulate's checklist names a specific one.
Mexico: a state letter or a federal constancia
Each state's fiscalía or security secretariat issues a carta de no antecedentes penales covering crimes under that state's law. The federal record is separate: the OADPRS issues a constancia de antecedentes no penales and the FGR a constancia de datos registrales, and it is usually a federal one that a visa process or a foreign residency office names. The translation states which authority signed and the jurisdiction it covers, because a state letter does not vouch for the whole country.
Colombia, Guatemala and Spain
Colombia's Policía Nacional certificate is a printout that reads no tiene asuntos pendientes con las autoridades judiciales, a phrase with legal weight that we translate exactly rather than as "no record". Guatemala issues two documents, antecedentes penales from the Organismo Judicial and antecedentes policiales from the PNC, and consulates ask for both. Spain's certificado de antecedentes penales comes from the Ministerio de Justicia's Registro Central de Penados.
When there is a record
A certificate that lists a conviction is short and cites the court, the delito, the date of the sentencia and the pena. The consulate or USCIS then wants the court record itself: the judgment with its resolutive points and proof the sentence was served or extinguished. We translate the certificate and the judgment together so the dates and case numbers agree, and we do not soften the terms. Hurto is theft and lesiones is bodily injury, and that is how they appear.
Who is asking for your Spanish criminal record translation?
The translation is the same. What changes is whether the recipient wants anything added to it.
USCIS and the National Visa Center
Consular processing asks for police certificates with a complete English translation and a signed certification. No notarization is needed.
IRCC
IRCC accepts a certified translation with the translator's affidavit. Order the certified translation and add notarization if your application guide asks for it.
Residency applications abroad
A US background check going to another country usually needs an apostille and a translation into that country's language, sometimes notarized.
Before you upload
Three things that save a day of back and forth on a Spanish criminal record.
Get the certificate first, then the translation
Most police certificates are valid for a few months. Have the certificate issued, then upload it, so the translation and the original are current together.
Check which authority the checklist names
A state letter, a federal letter and a court record are different documents. Read the consulate or USCIS checklist and send the one it asks for, or all of them.
Keep the QR code and verification number in the scan
Online certificates carry a QR code or a verification code. They are translated with the rest and are how a consulate confirms the document is genuine.
Details and pricing
What is included in a Spanish criminal record translation
One price per page covers the translation and its certification. A page is up to 250 words, and the quote tells you the page count before you pay.
Everything on the criminal record is translated, including stamps, seals and handwritten notes. Tell us the English spelling you use for each name when you order.
Certified Translation
Word-for-word translation with a certificate of accuracy for official use.
$25
USD / page
up to 250 words per page
Included
- Signed & stamped certification of translation accuracy
- Certified by a professional translator
- Digital delivery via PDF
- Review and approve final translation
- 100% Guaranteed Acceptance
- Standard turnaround starting at 24 hours
Optional services
- Expedited turnaround
- Priority handling when your deadline is shorter than the standard turnaround.
- By deadline
- Notarization
- A notary public signs and stamps the certification statement.
- $20 per order
- Physical copy
- A wet-ink original of your translation, mailed by express courier.
- $35 per order
- Apostille
- Authenticates the notary’s signature and seal for use in Hague Convention countries.
- $180 per document
What the certificate of accuracy states
Your translation arrives with a Certification of Translation Accuracy issued by ImmiTranslate. It is the page the receiving organization checks first.
- The translation is complete and accurate.
- The document title and the language pair.
- The translator is competent in both languages.
- A signature and the ImmiTranslate certification stamp.
- Our American Translators Association corporate membership.
Our translation process
Our goal is to make the translation process as simple as possible for you. Our service is streamlined specifically for documents of this nature.
Spanish Criminal Record FAQ
Most questions about pricing and turnaround can be answered faster by requesting a quote.
- How long is a police certificate valid, and does the translation have to carry the same date?
- Most are valid for a short window that is printed on the letter: Guatemala's antecedentes penales carry six months, and many Mexican state letters say 90 days or less. The translation is dated the day it is certified, and any date inside the window is fine, but order it soon after the certificate issues so the file goes in while the original is still current.
- Does USCIS need a police certificate for my green card?
- Adjustment of status inside the US usually does not ask for one. Consular processing through the National Visa Center does, for your country of nationality and for anywhere else you lived long enough after age 16, and the certificate must be translated if it is not in English. Court records for any arrest are needed on both paths. If your checklist names the document, that is the one to send, and we translate it in full.
- I live in the US and need an FBI or state background check translated into Spanish. Can you do that?
- Yes. Residency applications in Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina ask for a US police check translated into Spanish, usually with an apostille: the FBI Identity History Summary is apostilled by the US Department of State, a state police check by that state. Spain in particular may require a traductor jurado from its own list, so ask the consulate first. We translate into Spanish and can notarize the translation.
- How much does a certified translation cost?
- Certified translation is $25 per page, with a page counted as up to 250 words. Notarization, a mailed physical copy and an apostille are optional and priced separately.
- How long does a certified translation take?
- Standard turnaround starts at 24 hours and depends on the length and language of your documents. If you have a deadline, include it in your quote request.
Other Spanish documents we translate
Criminal record translation in other languages
Each of these pages is written for that language's criminal record records.
Sending it with an application? Read the USCIS translation requirements, IRCC translation requirements before you order.