Who in Spain receives your Florida documents and what they ask for
Let's be straight with you: Spain has accepted apostilles since September 25, 1978 (HCCH status table), so the Florida apostille is the only authentication you need. What trips people up is everything around it: which registry, which translation, which parent's document. Here's who actually receives Florida paperwork for Spain.
- Registro Civil, for a marriage celebrated in Florida. Spain's Ministry of Justice guidance says a Spaniard's foreign marriage is registered at the Registro Civil of the spouses' domicile in Spain, or the process can start at the Registro Civil Central. It asks for the local marriage certificate, legalized or apostilled and translated by a sworn interpreter when it isn't in an official language of Spain. It also asks for the foreign spouse's birth certificate, translated by a sworn interpreter where needed. If either spouse was married before, Spain wants proof the earlier marriage was dissolved, and the registrar may interview each spouse separately.
- The Spanish consulate, for a child born in Florida. The Spanish Consulate General in Miami's birth registration checklist asks for the child's local birth certificate and the parents' marriage certificate or Libro de Familia. If one parent is not Spanish, that parent's birth certificate must be legalized or apostilled. If you're that parent and you were born in Florida, that's the document we apostille.
- Nationality by residence. The Ministry of Justice's notice on legalizations for nationality files requires foreign documents to be legalized or apostilled, with translations done or checked at Spanish consular offices abroad or by a sworn translator-interpreter.
- Universities and degree recognition (homologación). Expect to need apostilled academic documents and an official Spanish translation. Spain's rules have long required the apostille to be on the original before any certified copy is made, so apostille first, copy second.
Translation rules for Spain: the traductor jurado
When a Spanish office asks for an official translation, it means a translation by a traductor/a jurado/a (sworn translator). According to Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry grants that title. The sworn translator certifies the accuracy of each translation with a signature and seal, and these translations have official character before Spanish courts and administrative bodies. The Ministry publishes a searchable list of every sworn translator it has appointed, with the languages each one is authorized for.
What that means for you:
- A translation certified by a Florida translator is not a traducción jurada unless that person also holds the Spanish title. Check the Ministry's list before paying anyone.
- For nationality files, the Ministry of Justice also accepts translations done or checked at Spanish consular offices abroad, and sworn translations authorized under the law of another EU member state.
- Translate after the apostille, and ask the translator to include the apostille page. The Registro Civil sees the whole packet, and a translation of the document alone can leave a gap the registrar asks about.
The Florida documents Spain asks for most, and the traps on our side
- Birth certificates (the foreign parent's, the foreign spouse's, or your own for residence and nationality files): must come from the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, signed by the State Registrar. We don't accept vital records certified before 2014, because the signature on file must be the current State Registrar's. Order a fresh copy through VitalChek. See birth certificate for Spain.
- Marriage certificates for the Registro Civil: signed by the State Registrar or a Clerk of the County Court. See marriage certificate for Spain.
- Divorce judgments proving a prior marriage ended: certified by the Clerk of Court, with an original wet-ink certification or the clerk's official e-certification. See court records.
- Diplomas and transcripts for homologación or enrollment: a public school or university registrar must sign before a notary when the document is issued. A copy you notarize yourself won't work. See diploma for Spain.
- Powers of attorney for a Spanish notario, a property purchase or an inheritance: the Florida notarial certificate must be complete, with venue, date, signer's name, ID method, notary signature and seal. If you're already in Spain, our online notarization lets you sign by secure video. It costs $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one, and you never ship a paper original.
Pricing is all-inclusive: $220 for one document, $380 for two, $160 each for three or more. We ship finished documents to Spain for a flat $100 per order.
Before you order a Florida apostille for Spain
Run through this before you place the order:
- Know the receiving office: Registro Civil, the Spanish consulate, the Ministry of Justice (nationality), a university or a notario.
- Registering a child at the consulate? Only the non-Spanish parent's birth certificate needs the apostille.
- Vital records certified in 2014 or later, signed by the State Registrar (or Clerk for marriage and divorce).
- Prior marriages: certified divorce judgment from the Clerk of Court.
- Diplomas notarized by the school at issuance.
- A traductor jurado from the Ministry's list, booked for after the apostille.
- Names and dates identical across Florida and Spanish documents.
- Shipping to Spain? Add $100 per order.