As a rule, to be presented in Portugal, documents written in a foreign language must be accompanied by a certified translation into Portuguese. A certified translation is therefore a translation whose content is confirmed as corresponding to an original document written in a foreign language, the translator declaring, to the person or entity certifying it, that the text has been translated accurately.

A translation is not required for public documents issued by the authorities of a Member State of the EU which, under the terms of domestic law, are intended to prove civil records, domicile, nationality or the absence of a criminal record, if they have been issued in, or are accompanied by, a multilingual standard form. If this is not the case, translations made by sworn translators in each Member State may also be accepted but will usually require legalisation.

In some situations, if the documents are written in English, French or Spanish, are duly legalised and the official to whom they are presented to is fluent in the language, the translation is not necessary as well.

In Portugal, translations can be made by notaries, registrars or registry officers, lawyers or solicitors, chambers of commerce and industry, or by the Portuguese consulate in the country where the document was issued or by the consulate of that country in Portugal. If the translation was made in Portugal by a translator, it will require certification by one of the entities mentioned previously.

If the translation is made abroad, it will only be accepted in Portugal if it has been legalised with an apostille seal or, alternatively, by the Portuguese consulate with jurisdiction, in cases where the issuing country is not a member of the Hague Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.

If you require certified translations into Portuguese of certificates and other legal documents from English, French, Spanish or Italian, please contact us at sbpslegal.com.