German to Spanish Translation

This direction is used when a German document has to be presented in a Spanish-speaking country. The common case is a diploma, a professional document or company paperwork obtained in Germany or Austria being submitted in Spanish to a procedure in Spain; Latin American destinations also fall into this direction. Two different legal cultures, and German’s own distinctive institutional terms, form the centre of gravity of the translation.

The typical users are people with an educational or working history in Germany or Austria who are moving to a Spanish-speaking country, and companies operating between the two markets: the specialist seeking professional recognition in Spain with a German diploma, the registry documents a German company will submit to its Latin American subsidiary, the family using the record of a child born in Germany in Spain. With these profiles, which Spanish is being targeted (Spain or Latin America) is clarified at the outset.

The particular difficulties of this pair

German’s long compound nouns open out into prepositional phrases in Spanish; educational and professional titles such as Meister or Diplom-Ingenieur are not forced into a Spanish degree but explained. German company forms (GmbH) are carried over with an explanation rather than word for word. Since both languages use the Latin alphabet, transliteration of names is not a problem; German umlauts and ß, however, are aligned with the spelling in the person’s passport.

The second difficulty is the breadth of the target geography. Spain and the Latin American countries may use different administrative terms for the same concept; if the target country is not known from the start, the text has to be reworked. Number formats are adapted to the target usage; the German grading system (1–6) is not converted but explained, and the recognition decision is left to the relevant body. German legal concepts are carried into Spanish and Latin American civil law by their function, not word for word.

Third, the abbreviations and official formulas in German documents are not carried into Spanish as they stand; they are unpacked and, where necessary, given in their original form. Registry, registration and file numbers are not translated, but the record they belong to is stated. The positions of seals and signatures in the source document are preserved in the translation with a note. In multi-document professional recognition and immigration files, the person’s name, the renderings of institution names and the date format are kept consistent throughout; since a jurado is expected in Spain and local certification in Latin America, the set is prepared for a single target.

The distinctive structure of the German education and vocational system calls for a separate effort in this direction. Under Germany’s dual vocational training model a document covers both the school and the workplace component; since this model has no direct counterpart in Spanish-speaking countries, what the document actually records is clarified with a short explanation, though no equivalent qualification is forced on it. The concept of the certified copy drawn up by a German notary (beglaubigte Abschrift) likewise does not map exactly onto Spanish forms of certification, so the presentation is planned according to the target. In Spain the jurado binds the translation to the original document and seals it, so all pages are submitted in full. The position of official seals and dates of entry in the German document is preserved in the translation; while their content is carried into Spanish, the numerical and legal substance of the document is not altered. For documents going to Spain, certification by a MAEC-appointed jurado is often expected locally, so even where the translation is prepared in Türkiye this requirement is confirmed with the target institution; for Latin American destinations a notarial or local sworn translator regime applies instead. The apostille for the document issued in Germany is obtained at the outset. When these steps are planned together, a multi-document professional recognition or immigration file is prepared end to end and consistently, in line with the expectations of the target country.

Which documents call for this direction

Diplomas, transcripts and professional documents lead the way; they are followed by civil registry, residence and criminal record documents and then by trade registry extracts, contracts and company documents. In professional recognition applications the curriculum and practical hours are transferred in full.

• German or Austrian diplomas, transcripts and professional documents
• Civil registry, residence and criminal record documents
• Trade registry extracts, contracts and company documents

The chain of approval

Spain asks for a translation by a traductor jurado appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC); translations from outside the list are invalid. Latin American countries apply different regimes, such as notarisation or a local sworn translator. The document issued in Germany is also expected to carry an apostille. Check the approval regime of the country you will be applying to and the document requirements from the outset.

Upload your document to see the page count and the current fee on the card above, and compare unit prices.

This page is for general information; the exact fee and delivery date become clear once the document has been uploaded. Ask the competent authority for confirmation before you apply.