Spanish to English
Certified Police Clearance Translation, Spanish to English
A certified Spanish to English translation of a police clearance certificate costs $24.95 per page, where one page is up to 250 words of the source document. A typical police clearance certificate runs 1 to 2 pages, so most orders come to $24.95 to $49.90. Certified orders are delivered in 2 to 3 business days as a PDF containing the complete translation and a signed Certificate of Translation Accuracy from the qualified professional translator who completed or reviewed the work, prepared for official use including USCIS filings.
Pricing
Exact prices, shown before you pay
Almost always a single certificate page of up to 250 words; occasionally 2 when an apostille or an annex with record details is attached. Certified translation is $24.95 per page, so a typical order of 1 to 2 pages comes to $24.95 to $49.90. The exact total is measured from your real document and shown before payment.
Standard
$19.95 per page
3 to 5 business days
A professional translation with digital delivery.
Certified
$24.95 per page
2 to 3 business days
A certified translation accepted for official use.
Premium
$39.95 per page
1 to 2 business days
A certified translation, translated first.
One page is up to 250 words.
Requirements
What reviewers require for a certified police clearance certificate translation
- For consular processing, documents not written in English or in the official language of the country where the applicant is applying must be accompanied by certified translations that include a signed statement from the translator attesting that the translation is accurate and the translator is competent to translate.
- Any foreign-language police certificate filed with USCIS must carry a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a translator who certifies competence in the language pair (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3)).
- The full certificate is translated word for word, including the issuing authority header, the no-record or record-found wording, reference and file numbers, the validity statement if present, and the date and place of issue.
- All seals, stamps, and official signatures on the certificate, including any apostille attached to it, are translated or described in square brackets so the English version accounts for everything visible on the source.
- The applicant's name, date of birth, and any identity numbers must be reproduced exactly as they appear, with transliteration kept consistent with the passport spelling wherever the source allows, because consular officers match the certificate against the passport.
- Illegible portions, such as a smudged registry stamp, are marked [illegible] in the translation rather than omitted or reconstructed.
- The State Department's country reciprocity schedule specifies for each country which authority issues an acceptable police certificate and how to request it, so the certificate must come from the authority listed there.
Common reasons translations get rejected
- The certificate is expired. Police certificates are considered valid for two years, unless the certificate was issued by a country of previous residence and the applicant has not returned there since it was issued.
- Missing certificates for a country that meets the residence thresholds, such as a country of nationality or current residence with 6 or more months of residence, or another country with 12 or more months, which stalls the case at NVC or the interview.
- Submitting US police records unnecessarily. The State Department instructs present and former US residents not to obtain police certificates covering their residence in the United States.
- The certificate comes from the wrong issuing authority for that country. Consulates check it against the authority named in the reciprocity schedule, and a local station letter where a national-level certificate is required does not qualify.
- The translation omits reference numbers, seals, the apostille, or the exact no-record wording, leaving a completeness gap between the source and the English version.
Good to know
About Spanish-language police clearance certificates
Spain's police clearance is the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales, issued from the Registro Central de Penados under the Ministry of Justice.
Mexico issues a state-level Carta de No Antecedentes Penales and a separate federal Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales; which one a US process needs depends on the requesting agency. Colombia's check is the online certificate of antecedentes judiciales from the Policia Nacional. Argentina's Certificado de Antecedentes Penales comes from the Registro Nacional de Reincidencia, and Chile's certificado de antecedentes from the Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificacion.
Guatemala uses two distinct documents, the carencia de antecedentes penales from the Organismo Judicial and the carencia de antecedentes policiacos from the Policia Nacional Civil. El Salvador issues the solvencia policial from the Policia Nacional Civil. Costa Rica's certificate is commonly called the hoja de delincuencia, issued by the Registro Judicial. Panama issues the record policivo. Peru issues certificado de antecedentes penales (judiciary) and antecedentes policiales (national police) as separate documents. Cuba issues a certificacion de antecedentes penales through the Ministerio de Justicia, and the Dominican Republic a certificacion de no antecedentes penales from the Procuraduria General de la Republica.
Under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), any foreign-language document submitted to USCIS must be accompanied by a full English translation that the translator has certified as complete and accurate, together with the translator's certification that they are competent to translate from the foreign language into English.
All major Spanish-speaking countries except Cuba are contracting parties to the Hague Apostille Convention: Spain (1978), Argentina (1987), Panama (1990), Mexico (1994), El Salvador (1995), Venezuela (1998), Colombia (2000), Ecuador (2004), Honduras (2004), Dominican Republic (2008), Peru (2010), Costa Rica (2011), Uruguay (2012), Nicaragua (2012), Paraguay (2013), Chile (2015), Guatemala (2017), and Bolivia (2017).
How it works
From upload to certified delivery
Step 1
Upload and get an instant quote
Send us your document, choose your languages, and see your price right away.
Step 2
A professional translator translates it
A qualified professional translator translates your document.
Step 3
Reviewed for accuracy and certified
Your translation is reviewed for accuracy and certified with a signed certificate of accuracy.
Step 4
Receive your certified translation
You receive your certified translation, ready for official use.
Questions
Common questions
- My police certificate is in Spanish and my interview is in Mexico. Do I need a translation at all?
- For the consular stage, the State Department requires certified translations only for documents not written in English or in the official language of the country where you are applying, so a Spanish certificate used at a consulate in Mexico may not need one. Any filing with USCIS inside the United States always requires a full certified English translation, and many applicants translate the certificate anyway so one set of documents works everywhere.
- How long is my police certificate valid?
- Police certificates are treated as valid for two years. The exception is a certificate from a country of previous residence, which stays acceptable if you have not returned to that country since it was issued. Check the date before ordering the translation so you do not translate a certificate that will be expired at your interview.
- Which countries do I need police certificates from?
- If you are 16 or older, you need one from your country of nationality if you lived there at least 6 months, from your current country of residence if you lived there at least 6 months, and from any other country where you lived 12 months or more. Consular officers also require one from any country where you were arrested, regardless of how long you lived there. You should not obtain US police records for time lived in the United States.
- My certificate has an apostille attached. Does that get translated too?
- Yes. A certified translation accounts for everything on the document, so the apostille's fields, stamps, and signatures are translated or described in brackets along with the certificate itself. The apostille authenticates the document; it does not replace the translation.
- My police clearance certificate was issued in Mexico. What should I know before ordering?
- Spain's police clearance is the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales, issued from the Registro Central de Penados under the Ministry of Justice.
A translation error is ours to fix
If your certified translation is rejected because of a translation error we made, we correct it at no charge, and if the corrected translation is rejected again for that same error we refund what you paid for it. Our Refund Policy sets out the conditions and what it does not cover. Your documents are encrypted and kept confidential from start to finish.
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