Criminal Record Certificate Translation for Spain

The Turkish document in an antecedentes penales context

Spain’s own document is the certificado de antecedentes penales; what is submitted to show a person’s past in Türkiye, however, is the Turkish criminal record certificate. Equating the Turkish document with a Spanish antecedentes certificate would be wrong: it is a Turkish criminal record certificate, with a bracketed explanation added where one is needed. Since it is read together with the application file and the passport, the spelling of the name has to be consistent; the translation carries identity details across as they are written in the official documents, without interpretation. Turkish special characters are transliterated following the spelling in the passport.

Criminal record and archive record: the difference

In Türkiye the document can be obtained as a criminal record or as a criminal record archive extract; the two cover different ground, and some Spanish authorities ask for the archive version, which shows the past in full. The translation names the type of document correctly; rendering an archive record simply as “criminal record” misstates its scope. Confirming in advance which of the two is wanted avoids having a document of the wrong scope translated.

“No record” is the substance of the document

Most of the time the only substantive information a criminal record certificate carries is whether the person has an entry. The statement that there is no criminal record is the substance of the document and is translated plainly and in full; in Spanish it is met by wording along the lines of “sin antecedentes penales”, but the translation says what the document says. Where there is an entry, every line – the nature of the offence, the decision, the date – is carried across exactly; no part is summarised.

The traductor jurado and the MAEC list requirement

A translation put before an official procedure in Spain must be made by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC); a translation from anyone outside the MAEC list counts for nothing. The traductor jurado adds a stamp, a signature and the official certifying wording to the translation. In Türkiye the chain runs differently: a sworn translator signs, a notary certifies and an apostille is added. Ask the authority which of the two routes it will accept. The QR code on an e-Devlet printout is noted with [QR code] and [e-signature verification]; no attempt is made to decode its content.

Where there is an entry: getting the legal terms right

Where the document does carry an entry, each item is translated so that its legal meaning survives; concepts such as a judicial fine, imprisonment, suspension of a sentence or deferment of the announcement of the verdict are not set equal to any single institution of Spanish law. Turning a Turkish penalty straight into a Spanish offence category leaves the authority with a false impression of equivalence; the sound approach is to translate the concept faithfully and add a bracketed explanation where one is needed. The nature of the offence, the article of law concerned, the decision and the date are carried across as they stand. If there is wording about the restoration of forfeited rights or the deletion of an entry, that too is translated rather than dropped, because it shows the current legal status of the entry. The Spanish authority making the assessment works out the weight of the entry from this raw information itself; the job of a traductor jurado translation is complete and accurate transfer, not interpretation. Where an entry runs to several items, each item is translated separately and in order; merging or summarising them misrepresents the scope of the record.

Currency, the apostille and the order of certification

A criminal record certificate shows a position on a particular date, and many Spanish bodies expect a recently issued copy. The translation carries the date of issue across exactly and cannot bring an old document up to date. Before delivery:

• Verify that the translation was prepared either by a traductor jurado on the MAEC list or through the Türkiye chain.
• Check that the “no record” statement has been translated plainly, and check the type of document.
• Have the document translated while it is fresh; obtain the apostille before the translation.

Spain is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the current position from the official HCCH list. You can see the level of certification other documents need on our document types page, look at the cost on our pricing page and upload your document to request a quotation. Translations are handled from our single office in Ankara Kızılay. Requirements differ from one institution to another, so we suggest confirming them before you apply.