Our clients frequently ask us about apostilles, so we’ve decided to write this article to clarify some key details.

An apostille is a legal certification for authenticating the seals and (especially) the signatures of government officials (civil servants) and/or official sworn translators.

Apostilles are used when a document issued in the first country is subsequently submitted in a second country. The apostille serves as a confirmation made by the country of origin that the stamp and/or signature on the document pertains to a particular individual and confirms the capacity in which he/she acted when the document was executed. In our case, we sign and stamp our translations as official sworn translators at a national level.

Apostilles that can be requested in the courts (Rechtbanken) of the Netherlands to authenticate our sworn translations are called “Apostilles of The Hague Convention.” In 1961 many nations joined together to create a simplified method to authenticate documents for universal recognition. This apostille allows our sworn translations to be officially recognised in the country of intended use as long as that country is member of the Convention.

If you are submitting our English <> Spanish sworn translations in the Netherlands or in Spain, no apostilles or further authentications will be required; our sworn translation should be sufficient.

However, please note that your source document may need to be apostilled in the country of origin. In order to confirm this, you will need to ask the body, agency, or entity where you intend to submit your sworn translation.