Certified Translation and Apostille: Which Comes First?
Half the documents that get rejected abroad were translated in the wrong order or by the wrong kind of translator. The apostille goes on first. The translation covers the whole package, apostille included, and the foreign office decides who may sign it. Here is how to sequence a file for Spain, Portugal, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, France, Germany and the rest.
- Apostille and translation in one order
- Sworn translators for Spain, Italy, Brazil
- Sequence checked against the receiving office
- Trusted since 2010
Apostille first, translation last, and the translation covers the apostille
A foreign registrar reads your file from the bottom up. The document, then the notary or clerk who certified it, then the apostille that vouches for that official, then the translation that lets the registrar read all of the above. If the translation was made before the apostille, the apostille is untranslated and the registrar sends the file back. If the apostille was placed on the translation instead of the document, the Commonwealth has certified the translator’s notary, not the document, and the registrar sends the file back.
So the order is fixed. Get the document. Get it notarized or certified if the state requires that. Get the apostille. Then translate the document, the notarial certificate and the apostille as one package. The translator signs a statement that the translation is complete and accurate.
There is one exception worth knowing. A few countries, Colombia and Brazil among them in certain cases, require the translation itself to be certified and then apostilled as a separate document. In that scenario there are two apostilles: one on the original, one on the notarized translation. We explain that case below.
Translate the apostille. A translation that stops at the document leaves the most important page unreadable.
Certified, notarized, sworn: they are not the same thing
The word “certified” means something different in the United States than in most of Europe and Latin America. Using the wrong kind is the second most common reason a translated file is refused.
Certified translation
A translator or agency signs a statement that the translation is complete and accurate. No license or registry is involved. This is what USCIS and American courts want, and what most Commonwealth countries, the UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland accept from abroad.
Notarized translation
The same certification, signed in front of a notary. The notary attests to the translator’s signature, not to the accuracy. Some countries, and many consulates, accept a notarized translation in place of a sworn one. Others do not.
Sworn translation
A translator appointed by a government body: traductor jurado in Spain, tradutor juramentado in Brazil, traduttore giurato in Italy, traducteur assermenté in France, perito traductor in Mexico. Their stamp is what the registrar accepts. In most cases the translation must be produced by a translator on that country’s register.
What each destination wants and when
Spain
Spain wants a translation by a traductor jurado appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or a translation validated by a Spanish consulate. The sworn translation is done after the apostille and includes the apostille. Civil registries, universities and the immigration office all apply this rule. Our Spain guide lists the documents most often requested.
Portugal
Portugal has no sworn translator register. A translation is certified by a Portuguese notary, lawyer, solicitador, chamber of commerce or consulate, who attests to the translator’s declaration. Translations certified abroad by a notary and then apostilled are accepted, which is why Portugal files sometimes carry two apostilles. See the Portugal guide.
Italy
Italian comuni want a traduzione giurata or asseverata, sworn before an Italian court or a consulate. Consulates in the United States certify translations of American documents for citizenship files. The apostille must be on the original before the translation is sworn. The Italy guide covers the citizenship packet.
Brazil
Brazil requires a tradutor público juramentado registered with a state Junta Comercial. Translations made in the United States are not accepted for civil registry and court purposes unless a sworn translator in Brazil produces them. We apostille here. The translation is done there or by a Brazilian sworn translator who works remotely. Names with accents follow the passport exactly. The Brazil guide explains the cartório step.
Mexico
Mexican authorities want a translation by a perito traductor authorized by a state judicial council or the federal judiciary. Some registries accept a translation by any translator with a notarized statement, but the perito route is the safe one. Apostille first.
France, Germany, the Netherlands
France wants a traducteur assermenté listed with a court of appeal. Germany wants a beeidigter Übersetzer. The Netherlands accepts translators on the Wbtv register. All three place the translation after the apostille and expect the apostille translated.
Consulate stamps on translations
Several consulates in Boston and New York will review and stamp a translation of an American document for use in their country. Italy’s consulates do this for citizenship files, Spain’s for some civil registry documents, and Argentina’s and Chile’s for most personal records. The stamp replaces the sworn translator in those cases. It is applied after the apostille, on a translation you supply, and the consulate charges a per page fee and takes anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Ask before assuming the consulate route is faster than a sworn translator abroad. For most Spanish files, the traductor jurado is quicker.
English speaking destinations
The United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand need no translation of an English document. Documents in another language going to those countries need a certified translation into English, which we prepare after the apostille.
Translation checklist
- The apostille is already attached to the document.
- The translation covers the document, the notarial certificate and the apostille.
- The translator is the kind the destination accepts: sworn, notarized or certified.
- Names, accents and dates match the passport and the original exactly.
- The translator’s statement includes contact details and a date.
When the translation itself gets an apostille
A handful of destinations want the translation authenticated as its own document. Colombia’s civil registries and universities often ask for the translation, signed before a notary, to carry an apostille. Portugal accepts a translation certified by a foreign notary if that notarization is apostilled. Some Turkish and Gulf offices want the same.
In that case the file is built in this order. Apostille the original. Translate the original and its apostille. The translator signs the certification before a Massachusetts notary. The Commonwealth apostilles the notary’s signature on the translation. The registrar receives two apostilled documents, one in English and one in the target language, and the second apostille is itself in English, which the registrar accepts because the Hague certificate is a standard form.
What can go wrong
Ordering a second apostille when the destination does not want one wastes a week and a fee. Skipping it when the destination does want one sends the file back across the ocean. We ask the receiving office before quoting. A short email to the registry or university, with the question “Do you require the translation to be apostilled separately?”, settles it in most cases, and we keep a list of answers from previous clients for the common destinations.
The verification guide explains how a registrar checks each apostille against the state’s register, which is why the sequence matters.
The detail that sends files back most often
American records drop diacritics. A Massachusetts birth certificate reads Jose Munoz where the passport reads José Muñoz. Registrars in Spain and Latin America compare the translation to the passport and treat a missing tilde as a different name. A good sworn translator restores the accents in the translation and adds a translator’s note explaining that the source document omits them. We supply the passport spelling with every order so the translator has it.
Dates are the other trap. American documents write month first. The translation writes the date in the target country’s format and, where there is any ambiguity, spells the month. A translation that leaves 03/04/2019 unchanged will be read as 3 April in Madrid and 4 March in Boston.
Documents that almost always need translation
- Birth, marriage, death certificates
- Civil registries, citizenship, inheritance
- FBI background checks
- Residency visas
- Diplomas and transcripts
- University admission, credential recognition
- Powers of attorney
- Property and banking abroad
- Corporate documents
- Subsidiaries, tenders, bank accounts
- Medical certificates
- Visas, employment
What an apostille with translation costs
The Massachusetts apostille fee is $6 per document. Our state apostille service starts at $149.95 per document and covers review, the trip to One Ashburton Place, courier handling and tracking. Certified and notarized translations are quoted per page. Sworn translations for Spain, Italy, France and Germany are quoted by the sworn translator and passed through at cost plus coordination. Every quote is itemized before you pay. Fingerprints for the FBI check are taken at our sister office, Fingerprint Boston, in the same building. Documents issued outside New England are routed through our sister service, Apostille Depot, which covers all fifty states.
See the full pricing page and the cost guide.
Get an itemized quoteFour translation files and where each one went wrong
Names changed. The sequencing errors are the ones that arrive in our inbox after a rejection abroad.
The translation was made before the apostille
A client in Chelsea had a Massachusetts birth certificate translated by a traductor jurado in Valencia, then apostilled here. The civil registry rejected it because the apostille was untranslated and dated after the translation. The fix was a second sworn translation covering the apostille. Two translator fees for one document. Apostille first would have cost one.
The right translator, the wrong certification
A student in Cambridge used a certified translation from an American agency for a Portuguese university. Portugal wants the translator’s declaration certified by a notary, lawyer, solicitador or consulate. The agency’s translation was fine. The translator signed the declaration before a Massachusetts notary, the Commonwealth apostilled that notarization and the university accepted the file with two apostilles, one on the diploma and one on the translation.
An American translation Brazil would not read
A couple in Everett had their marriage certificate translated in Boston for registration in Recife. The cartório refused it because Brazil accepts only tradutores juramentados registered with a Junta Comercial. We apostilled the certificate here and a sworn translator in Pernambuco produced the translation from a scan, then couriered the signed original to the cartório. The Brazil guide explains why this step cannot be done in Massachusetts.
The translation needed its own apostille
A client in Lynn had an apostilled FBI background check and a certified Spanish translation. Migración Colombia wanted the translation apostilled as well. The translator signed before a Massachusetts notary, the Commonwealth apostilled the notarization in four business days and the file was accepted in Bogotá. Two apostilles, one in each language.
The rule the four cases prove
Every one of these was a sequencing or a translator type error, and none was a translation quality error. The translation was accurate in each case. Apostille first, translate the whole package, use the translator the destination recognizes and ask whether the translation itself needs an apostille. Those four questions settle nearly every file.
How we confirm the requirement
Before quoting, we check three sources: the receiving office’s published instructions, the consulate’s document list and our own record of what that office accepted for previous clients. When they disagree, we email the office with the specific question and attach the answer to your order. The country requirements guide summarizes what we know for the most common destinations, and our verification guide shows how the registrar will check each apostille when the file arrives.
Frequently asked questions
Do I translate before or after the apostille?
After. The apostille goes on the original document first. The translation then covers the document, any notarial certificate and the apostille as one package.
Does the apostille itself need to be translated?
Yes, in nearly every case. The Hague certificate has a standard layout, but the registrar still wants the stamped and handwritten fields rendered in the local language. A translation that omits the apostille is the most common reason a file is returned.
Can any translator do it?
It depends on the country. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico want a sworn or officially appointed translator. Portugal wants certification by a notary, lawyer or consulate. English speaking countries and most consular offices accept a certified translation with a signed statement.
Can I apostille the translation?
Only when the destination asks for it. In that case the translator signs before a notary and the Commonwealth apostilles the notary’s signature, giving the file two apostilles. Colombia and some Portuguese offices ask for this.
Can a friend who speaks the language translate my document?
Not for official use. Registrars want a translator with no interest in the outcome who signs a certification. Sworn translator countries will refuse a translation from anyone not on their register.
My name has an accent that the American document dropped. What happens?
The translator restores the accent to match the passport and adds a note that the source omits diacritics. Send the passport spelling with your order.
Do the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia need a translation?
Not for an English document. Documents in other languages need a certified English translation, prepared after the apostille.
Can Boston Apostille Service arrange the translation?
Yes. We coordinate certified, notarized and sworn translations and sequence them after the apostille so the package arrives in the order the registrar expects.
Related services and guides
Apostille service near you
Apostille and translation, sequenced correctly
Tell us the country and the office. We confirm the translator type, apostille the original and deliver a package the registrar accepts on the first try.
Apostille Checklist for Retirement Visas: Portugal D7, Spain Non-Lucrative, Panama Pensionado, Mexico and Costa Rica
Retirement visas · Document checklist Apostille Checklist for Retirement Visas: Portugal D7, Spain Non-Lucrative, Panama Pensionado, Mexico and Costa Rica Five countries…
Read guide →
Vietnam Joins the Apostille Convention on September 11, 2026: What Changes for Work Permits, Degrees and FBI Checks
Vietnam · Apostille Convention from September 11, 2026 Vietnam Joins the Apostille Convention on September 11, 2026: What Changes for Work Permits,…
Read guide →
Apostille for China: What Replaced Consular Legalization and How U.S. Documents Are Prepared Now
China · After the Hague accession Apostille for China: What Replaced Consular Legalization and How U.S. Documents Are Prepared Now Until November…
Read guide →Ready to get your documents apostilled?
Skip the lines at the State House. Order online and our team handles the rest, with tracking the whole way.