Trade Registry Translation for Spain

Matching the fields to their Registro Mercantil counterparts

The Spanish side will look in your document for the very fields it reads in the Registro Mercantil. Submitted together, the certificate of activity and the TTSG notice cover what a registry extract conveys: whether the company is active, where its domicilio social is, who manages it, what its objeto social is. Rendering these fields in the terms of Spanish commercial law reduces objections, and a short covering note explaining that they are the Türkiye equivalent also helps, because a reader expecting a single registry extract needs to see that two documents together perform that one function.

The false-equivalent trap: an A.Ş. is not an “S.A.”

A frequent mistake is to convert the abbreviation of the company type into a Spanish one. Writing “S.A.” for an A.Ş., or “S.L.” for a Limited Şirketi, equates it with a different legal form, and these types do not overlap point for point. In translation the type abbreviation is left as it stands, with an explanatory note in brackets where that is needed. Translating the type creates a false legal expectation in the reader; treating an S.L. as the same thing as a Turkish limited company can mislead on the rules governing capital and liability.

The objeto social (line of business) field calls for particular care in translation. In the Spanish registry the objeto social is a legal text that draws the boundary of the company’s activity; for that reason the line of business given in the Turkish document must be carried across without being widened or narrowed. Sector terms are rendered with their established equivalents in Spanish commercial usage, but never at the cost of the meaning; if the document carries an activity code of the NACE/CNAE type, that code is an identifier and is left exactly as it is, with no attempt to convert it into another coding system. Interpreting an item of activity freely can make the company’s authorised field look other than it is; the line of business is therefore translated so as to mirror the scope of the source document precisely, neither broadened nor reduced.

Capital, MERSIS and the traductor jurado

The capital figure and its currency (TL) remain exactly as they are in the translation; they are not converted into euros. The objeto social (line of business) is carried across without being widened or narrowed. The QR code on the certificate of activity is indicated with a [QR code] and [electronic verification] note; the MERSIS number and the trade registry number are transferred exactly. A translation submitted for official use in Spain must be produced by a sworn translator (traductor jurado) appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC); a translation from outside the MAEC list is invalid. Where the translation is produced in Türkiye, a sworn translator signs it, a notary notarises it, and an apostille is attached.

Telling the current position from past changes

The certificate of activity shows the company as it stands today, whereas the TTSG notices are a chronological record. When a Spanish buyer or authority asks for an up-to-date record, submitting the most recent registration notice together with a currently dated certificate of activity is more complete than sending one old copy, and it makes a request for further documents less likely. Which notices, by date, are to be translated should be settled at the outset: skipping a notice of change that is needed leaves the file incomplete, while having an unnecessary number of old notices translated drives up the cost. By preserving the date and issue number of every notice, the translation makes visible which change was registered when.

The signature circular is a separate document

The signature circular, which evidences the signing authority of the person empowered to represent the company, is a document separate from the certificate of activity and the gazette notice; a Spanish counterparty may also ask for it to confirm a contract or an authority. The principles on this page concern trade registry documents; where a signature circular is needed it forms a translation scope of its own, and follows the same route, a traductor jurado on the MAEC list or the Türkiye chain. Translating the names and titles of individuals consistently across the two documents allows the reader to match the authority without effort. Before delivery:

• Check that the type abbreviation has not been converted into an “S.A./S.L.” equivalent.
• Confirm that the translation has been prepared by a traductor jurado on the MAEC list or through the Türkiye chain.
• Confirm that the capital has been left in TL; obtain the apostille before the translation.

Spain is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; confirm the current position on the official HCCH list. You can see the level of certification other documents require on our document types page, review the cost on our pricing page, and upload your document to request a quote. Translations are handled from our single office (Ankara Kızılay). Institutional practice can change, so verify from an official source before you apply.