Apostille or Legalisation for Spain From Australia

An Australian document for Spain takes a DFAT apostille, not embassy legalisation: as of our last check, the Convention has been in force for Spain since 25 September 1978. Check the HCCH status table on the day. The decisions that matter come after it: who makes the sworn translation, and where you sign a power of attorney.

Key takeaways

• Spain is an Apostille Convention country, so a DFAT apostille replaces consular legalisation for documents within the Convention's scope.
• Spain has a formal system of sworn translators (traductores jurados) appointed by its foreign ministry. A translation made in Australia may itself need authenticating.
• Translate after DFAT, so that the translation covers the apostille as well as the document.
• A power of attorney can be signed before the Spanish consul, which makes it a Spanish public document, or before an Australian notary, with an apostille and a sworn translation.
• Spanish inheritance usually starts with a certificate from the General Registry of Acts of Last Will.

Spain and the Apostille Convention

The HCCH status table records Spain's signature in 1976, ratification on 27 July 1978 and entry into force on 25 September 1978, with a declaration lodged. Between Spain and Australia, a document within the Convention's scope needs one certificate from Australia and nothing from the Spanish consulate. Confirm the position on the table the day you start.

An apostille is a certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming the signature and seal on an Australian public document, such as a registry certificate or a notary's certificate. It says nothing about whether the contents are true. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; a notary cannot. See how the Hague Apostille Convention works.

This page covers property, inheritance, companies and translation. Spanish visas have their own document lists, covered in Spain visa documents from Australia.

The usual chain

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is a private one, such as a power of attorney or a declaration.
2. DFAT apostille on the notary's certificate, or on the public document itself.
3. Spanish sworn translation, covering the apostille as well as the document.
4. Send the original to the Spanish notary, lawyer, gestor or office.

Australian public documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates, court orders and national police checks, usually skip step 1 and go to DFAT directly. DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists what it accepts as originals. It refuses laminated documents and ceremonial or commemorative marriage certificates.

Translation: the traducción jurada

Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs appoints sworn translators. When we last checked, it stated 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. It has also recently regulated an 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, said 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. A translation by a NAATI-credentialled translator is recognised in Australia, but it is not a Spanish sworn translation. Using a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry avoids the extra step, so compare the two before you commit.

The same authority noted that sworn translations do not expire. The underlying document may, so check any recency window separately. Before commissioning anything, ask the receiving body three questions: 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; and must the translation cover the apostille. The answer to the last is usually yes, which is why the translation comes 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, a poder notarial. There are two ways to do it from Australia.

Route 1: at the Spanish consulate. When we last checked, the Consulate General of Spain in Sydney said powers of attorney can be granted by Spanish citizens or foreign nationals, for any act valid in Spain. Its page listed the usual types: general powers, powers for litigation, and special powers for a particular sale, an inheritance, a company or obtaining an NIE. Its document list included 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 was 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. The Australian notary checks your identity, satisfies themselves that you understand the document and are signing freely, and attaches a notarial certificate. They do not advise on Spanish law.

Either way, take advice in Spain on validity. If you are signing Spanish text you do not read, tell the Australian notary in advance and ask the Spanish side for a bilingual version. Our power of attorney and declarations page explains the witnessing side.

Inheritance: the will registry comes first

Spanish inheritance steps generally start with a certificate from Spain's General Registry of Acts of Last Will, the Certificado de Actos de Última Voluntad, which shows whether the deceased made a Spanish will and before which notary. The Ministry of Justice sets a waiting period after the death before it can be applied for; check the current rule on its page.

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 it usually goes to DFAT directly, without a notary; confirm with DFAT. If the deceased also left an Australian will, the Spanish lawyer will say what they need from the Australian probate, and in what form. A sealed grant of probate is a court document, and an Australian solicitor should advise on the Australian estate.

Documents commonly needed for Spain

Document	Typical use in Spain	Australian route
Power of attorney	Property, inheritance, NIE, company	Spanish consulate, or notary then DFAT apostille and sworn translation
Death certificate	Inheritance	Registry original to DFAT, then sworn translation
Birth or marriage certificate	Civil registry, residence, nationality	Registry original to DFAT; standard certificate, not ceremonial
Degree or transcript	Recognition of qualifications	University verification, then DFAT, then an accepted translation
National police check	Residence and visa applications	Original to DFAT directly
ASIC certificate, board resolution	Forming or running a Spanish company	ASIC original to DFAT; resolution notarised, then apostilled

Common mistakes with Spanish paperwork

• Translating before DFAT. The apostille is then left untranslated, and the translation may need redoing.
• Assuming a NAATI translation is a sworn translation. It is not, and it may need further authentication.
• Booking the consulate without an NIE when the consulate's list asks for one. Ask first.
• Signing a power of attorney before the Spanish notary has checked the text.
• A name that differs from your Spanish records, common with Spanish double surnames. See name mismatches and apostilles.

Coming the other way

A Spanish document for use in Australia is apostilled in Spain, not by DFAT, and an Australian notary cannot vouch for what a Spanish authority issued. For an Australian visa, Home Affairs usually wants a certified copy rather than an apostille, with a translation of Spanish documents: made in Australia by a NAATI-credentialled translator, or made overseas with the translator's full name, address, telephone number and qualifications. See documents from overseas for use in Australia.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A couple in Adelaide are selling a holiday flat in Alicante. Both already hold NIEs. The Spanish notary handling the sale asks for a special power of attorney in favour of their gestor. They compare the routes: the consulate in Sydney means a trip, while signing in Adelaide means an apostille and a sworn translation. The Spanish notary says either works, so they sign a bilingual text before a notary in Adelaide, DFAT apostilles it, and a sworn translator on the Spanish Ministry's list translates the whole package.

In short

Spain takes an apostille, on our last check, so consular legalisation is not needed for documents within the Convention's scope. Plan the sworn translation to come after DFAT, and choose between the consulate and an Australian notary by asking the Spanish notary who will use the power. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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Sending documents to Spain? Send us what the Spanish notary or lawyer asked for, and we will explain each step before you book.