Sworn translation of commercial documents
A sworn translation of commercial documents is the official translation of your company’s corporate paperwork — articles of incorporation, bylaws, Commercial Registry certificates, annual accounts, contracts, minutes and powers of attorney — signed and stamped by a translator appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAEC). It is what foreign commercial registries, banks, authorities and courts require before they will accept your documentation. We translate into 39 languages, with precise terminology, confidentiality and deadlines in writing.
Fixed quote, no obligation · Last updated: August 2026
A quote for your file
Attach the documentation and tell us the target language and, if there is one, the deadline. We reply with a fixed price and a written turnaround.
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- Translators appointed by the MAEC
- Deadlines in writing
- Confidentiality guaranteed
- Legal and commercial terminology
Which commercial documents we translate
Anything that comes out of a company’s corporate records — Spanish or foreign — passes through our hands. The main groups:
The founding deed, the company bylaws and their amendments: the base document for any subsidiary or branch abroad.
Company search reports, certificates of good standing and of directorship, and full registry extracts proving the existence and representation of the company.
Balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes and audit report, using the accounting terminology each jurisdiction expects.
Sale and purchase, distribution, agency, licensing, joint venture or confidentiality agreements between operators in different countries.
Resolutions of general meetings and boards, and the powers of attorney authorising someone to sign on the company’s behalf.
Import and export licences, certificates of origin and customs paperwork for operating outside the EU.
How much does it cost to translate a corporate file?
We do not publish fixed rates, because a corporate file is not a single document. The real price depends on three things:
A registry search report is one page; a set of annual accounts with notes and an audit report can run past fifty. We charge for the text a document contains, not for the number of documents.
English and French have many appointed sworn translators in Spain. For Chinese, Arabic or the Nordic languages there are very few, and that affects both price and turnaround.
A closing date or a tender deadline changes how the job is organised. The urgent service carries its own surcharge, always agreed before we start.
A fixed quote for the whole file, not document by document. Send us the complete set and we will give you a single price with a delivery schedule, so you can keep moving while the rest is translated. That price does not change afterwards. If your legal department needs a formal quotation for internal approval, we will issue it with whatever breakdown they require.
When your company will need it
Sworn commercial translation does not appear out of nowhere: it appears when there is a registry, a financial institution or a court on the other side. The four usual scenarios:
Opening a subsidiary or branch abroad
The commercial registry in the destination country will require the articles of incorporation, the bylaws and the certificate of good standing translated and, almost always, apostilled. It is the most common scenario and the one with the tightest deadlines.
Financing, tenders and international bids
Banks, funds and procurement boards ask for annual accounts, audit reports and registry certificates in their own language. Tender documents come with a hard deadline: the sworn translation belongs in the schedule from day one.
Due diligence, mergers and acquisitions
In a corporate transaction with a foreign party, the entire company documentation goes into the data room translated. Terminological precision here is not a matter of style: it defines obligations and liabilities.
Commercial litigation and arbitration
If the contract ends up before a court or an arbitration panel, Article 144 of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act requires a translation of every document in a foreign language. We cover this in detail under court documents.
Five reasons a foreign registry sends a file back
Rejections in the commercial field are expensive: they do not delay a personal errand, they delay a transaction with a calendar. Nearly all of them come down to the same handful of causes.
What gets a file rejected
- Apostilling after translating. The apostille is part of the document: added afterwards, it is left untranslated.
- Translating the plain copy instead of the certified one. A plain copy cannot be apostilled and registries do not accept it.
- Inconsistent wording. If a job title or the company name is translated two different ways, the registry notices.
- Expired certificates. Many jurisdictions require the registry report to be less than three months old.
- Translating only part of the document. A sworn translation is complete: the annexes you file are translated too.
How we prevent it
- We review the file before quoting and tell you what is missing or what should be apostilled first.
- We ask for the country and the receiving body, because every registry has its own requirements.
- We set a client glossary: company name, job titles and standard clauses are translated identically throughout.
- We flag expiry dates on certificates before the delay becomes a problem.
- If the registry raises a formal objection to our translation, we revise it at no cost.
Terminological consistency matters as much as the translation itself. Across a corporate file, the company name, the job titles — sole director, managing director, attorney-in-fact — the share capital and the standard clauses must appear translated identically in every document. A foreign registry that finds two different renderings of the same office sends the file back. That is why we work with a client glossary: what is fixed on the first job carries over to the next. Registry data on Spanish companies can be consulted at the Association of Registrars; making it understood abroad is our part.
How we handle your corporate documentation
The whole process is remote, coordinated with your advisers, your law firm or your in-house legal team. We work from the digitised copy and you keep the originals.
On large files we propose a schedule of partial deliveries: you receive first whatever you need first, while the rest is still in progress.
Send my file-
Send the complete file
In PDF through the form, by email or on WhatsApp. Tell us the target language, the country and body where it will be filed, and the deadline if there is one. Send everything even if you are not sure what will be needed: we will tell you what gets translated and what does not.
Free preliminary review -
Receive a fixed quote
A single price for the whole set and the deadline in writing. Before sending it we check whether the certificates are still valid, whether an apostille is required and whether any copy is plain rather than certified. We would rather tell you now than when the registry sends it back.
No obligation -
We set the file glossary
Before translating we agree how the company name, the job titles and the standard clauses will read. That glossary applies to every document in the order and is kept for future ones, so that two years later the terminology is still the same.
Consistency guaranteed -
Translation by a sworn translator
Signed by a MAEC-appointed sworn translator with experience in corporate documentation. If the volume calls for it, the work is split between several translators of the same language with unified revision, so neither the deadline nor the consistency suffers.
Confidentiality guaranteed -
Delivery and invoicing
As a digitally signed PDF, valid for electronic registries, and on paper if you need it: by courier or for collection in Adeje, Seville or Malaga. We invoice the company or the law firm, with whatever details your accounts department requires.
Confirmed date
Why sworn and not just a technical translation
Foreign commercial registries, banks and courts only accept translations bearing the signature, stamp and appointment number of a translator appointed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An in-house translation, or one from a supplier without that appointment, however good, has no official value: the file is returned and the transaction slips.
In a deal with a calendar, that delay is rarely measured in days. It is measured in the closing date that has to move, the tender submitted out of time or the subsidiary that cannot be incorporated when it was supposed to.
Law firms and companies already working with us
Over 400 reviews published on Google. Here are some of the most recent:
I was able to urgently get my visa documents translated, the translation was done quickly and professionally, for a price that I wouldn’t expect any other sworn translator to compete with.
I highly recommend using ElbaTrad Translations
And now, one week after, I still have nothing and they don't want to give any money back or give me the document.
The delivery company they selected is playing ping pong with that delivery, I can't even pick it up in Adeje.
So I payed for NOTHING and waited for NOTHING.
Can't recommend, if you need something important!
Frequently asked questions about sworn commercial translation
Which commercial documents need a sworn translation?
Any document that has to take effect before an authority or a third party in another language: articles of incorporation, bylaws, Commercial Registry certificates, annual accounts, contracts, minutes and powers of attorney. The practical rule is simple: if the document is going to a foreign registry, bank, administration or court, a sworn translation will be required.
How much does it cost to translate commercial documents?
It depends on the actual volume: a registry certificate is one page, while annual accounts with notes and an audit report run considerably longer. Language and technical complexity also count. Send us the documentation and you will receive a fixed, free quote with the deadline in writing before deciding.
How long does a full corporate file take?
It depends on the volume, the language and how busy we are, so we do not quote a blanket turnaround: we confirm the delivery date in writing in the quote. A corporate file usually bundles several documents. If there is a filing date, a closing or a tender deadline, tell us when requesting the quote: we confirm it in writing and, if the volume demands it, split the work between several sworn translators of the same language with unified revision.
Does the documentation need an apostille before translating?
To use it outside Spain, almost always — and the order matters: it is apostilled first and translated afterwards, so the apostille is translated too. Deeds and powers of attorney are apostilled through the Notarial College; registry certificates follow their own route. We can handle both steps in a single order.
How do you guarantee the confidentiality of my company information?
A corporate file contains figures, contracts and strategy. Your documentation is not shared with third parties and only the project manager and the assigned sworn translator have access, bound by the duty of confidentiality attached to their official appointment. If your legal department needs a specific NDA, that is no problem.
Do you keep our terminology consistent between jobs?
Yes. In corporate documentation consistency is critical: the company name, job titles, shareholdings and standard clauses must read the same in every document in the file. We work with a client glossary, so subsequent jobs keep the same equivalents.
Do you work with law firms and accountancy practices?
Frequently. A good share of our commercial work comes through law firms, accountants and corporate service providers who need a supplier with reliable deadlines and direct contact. We can invoice the firm and coordinate partial deliveries as the file progresses.
In which format will I receive the translation?
As a PDF with the sworn translator’s electronic signature, carrying the same legal weight as paper and valid for filing with electronic registries. If you need a physical copy — common with foreign registries — we send it on paper by courier or you collect it at our offices in Adeje, Seville and Malaga.
Let’s talk about your file
Tell us which documents you have, which country they are going to and what deadline you are working with. We will tell you what needs translating, what needs an apostille and what the whole set costs, with no obligation.
Get in touch
If you would rather write to us directly, or speak to someone before sending anything, these are the quickest routes. We are available Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 19:00.
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Sworn translator in your province
We work with the whole of Spain remotely, and we have a dedicated page for each province with the procedures most common in that area. Select yours on the map:
Each province links to its own page, with the local authorities and procedures you are most likely to face.