Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Spain Requires

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Country requirements change. This page is re-checked periodically, and nothing on it replaces confirming the position with the Spanish body that will receive your document.

For Spain the authentication answer is an apostille. The decisions that matter come after it. Spain has a formal system of sworn translators, and a translation made in Australia may need authenticating itself. For property, inheritance and company matters there are two ways to sign a power of attorney from Australia: before an Australian notary with an apostille and a sworn translation, or before the Spanish consul, which Spain treats as a Spanish notarial act.

This page covers property, inheritance and translation. For Spanish visas, see our separate page on Spain visa applications.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Convention membership is a live fact. Confirm Spain's status against the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention on the day you start. At the time of writing Spain is listed as a party, so an apostille is the expected route for documents within the Convention's scope.

The usual chain

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is a private one
2. DFAT apostille
3. Spanish sworn translation, covering the apostille as well as the document

Australian public documents such as registry-issued certificates may be able to go to DFAT directly without a notary. Confirm with DFAT.

Translation: traducción jurada

Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs appoints sworn translators (traductores jurados). It states that their translations, certified with their signature and seal in the form the Ministry prescribes, have official character and can be presented to courts and administrative bodies. The Ministry publishes a searchable list of appointed translators. Since 2025 there is also a regulated form of electronic signature for sworn translations, so ask whether the receiving body will take a digitally signed one.

A translation made in Australia is a different matter. Spain's university recognition authority, for example, says that translations by an official translator in a non-EU country are accepted only if the translator's signature is properly legalised, and that the official translation must include the legalisations. For an Australian translation, that points to a further authentication step for the translator's signature. Using a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry avoids that step, so compare the two before you commit.

The same authority notes that sworn translations do not expire. The underlying document may, so check any recency window separately.

Ask the receiving body:

• Must the translation be by a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry?
• If you translate in Australia, what authentication does the translator's signature need?
• Does the translation need to cover the apostille? (Usually yes, so translate after DFAT.)

Powers of attorney: two routes

If you are buying or selling Spanish property, dealing with an inheritance, forming a company or obtaining an NIE (the foreigner's identification number) without travelling, you will usually sign a power of attorney (poder notarial).

Route 1: at the Spanish consulate. The Consulate General of Spain in Sydney states that powers of attorney can be granted by Spanish citizens or foreign nationals, for any act valid in Spain. Its page lists the usual types, including general powers, powers for litigation and special powers for a particular sale, an inheritance, a company or obtaining an NIE. Its document list includes the grantor's passport and, for a foreign national, their NIE, a description of the powers, and a draft if you have one. Personal attendance on the day of signing is always required. Because the consul acts as a Spanish notary, the document is a Spanish public document and does not go to DFAT.

The NIE requirement is the catch: if the purpose of the power is to obtain an NIE, ask the consulate how it handles a grantor who does not yet have one.

Route 2: before an Australian notary. The power of attorney is signed before an Australian notary, apostilled by DFAT and translated by a sworn translator. Spanish notaries routinely receive foreign powers of attorney, but they examine whether the foreign document is sufficient and equivalent for the act in Spain. Get the text from the Spanish notary, lawyer or gestor who will use it, ideally bilingual, and ask them to confirm it before you sign.

Either way, take advice in Spain on validity, and if you are signing Spanish text you do not read, tell the Australian notary in advance.

Inheritance: the will registry comes first

Spanish inheritance steps generally start with a certificate from Spain's General Registry of Acts of Last Will (Certificado de Actos de Última Voluntad), which shows whether the deceased made a Spanish will and before which notary. The Ministry of Justice states that it cannot be applied for until 15 working days after the death.

Where the death happened in Australia and is not registered in Spain, expect the Spanish side to ask for the Australian death certificate with an apostille and a sworn translation. An Australian death certificate is a registry document, so ask DFAT whether it can be apostilled without a notary. If the deceased also left an Australian will, the Spanish lawyer will tell you what they need from the Australian probate, and in what form.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Spanish consulate need to legalise my Australian document? Not for a Convention-covered document. The consulate's notarial role is to make Spanish documents, such as powers of attorney, not to legalise Australian ones.

Can I use a NAATI translation in Spain? It is not a Spanish sworn translation. Some bodies may accept it with further authentication; ask before you commission one.

Is a power of attorney from the consulate better? Neither is better in general. Ask the Spanish notary who will use it which they prefer for your transaction.

How long does it take? It depends on DFAT, the translator, consular appointment availability and the Spanish office. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.