Certified Translation in Uruguay

You need one whenever you submit a foreign-language document to a Uruguayan government agency. You also need one when a foreign agency — such as USCIS or IRCC — requires a certified translation from Uruguay. The most common cases include: residency applications (birth certificates, marriage certificates, police clearance certificates); court proceedings (contracts, bylaws, minutes, wills); powers of attorney granted abroad that must take legal effect in Uruguay; and patent registration with the National Industrial Property Office. Uruguayan certified translations may also be used abroad (see the following question).

It depends on the destination country. Some Spanish-speaking countries accept translations done by Uruguayan certified translators; others — such as Argentina and Spain — require the translation to be done by a translator licensed in that country. When the destination country accepts the Uruguayan translation but requires notarization by a public notary, we prepare the translation with the translator's full credentials and certifications to facilitate that process. For English-speaking countries — the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom — we offer Spanish-to-English certified translations. The same applies to countries that accept documentation in English, including several European and some Arab nations. These do not require a language expert, since both Spanish and English have certified translators in Uruguay. This means that if you need documents in both Spanish (for Uruguay) and English (for use abroad), we can handle both needs.

Certified translators can translate any document, whether public or private. Decree-Law No. 15441 requires certified translation for: foreign court judgments and arbitral awards to be enforced in Uruguay; notarial deeds and documents issued by foreign authorities or international organizations; letters rogatory (formal requests between courts of different countries); and private documents not written in Spanish that must take legal effect in Uruguay.

A certified translator (traductor público) is a licensed professional who holds a four-year university degree in translation and is authorized to translate documents requiring professional accountability and notarial authority. Unlike an ATA-certified translator in the United States, a Uruguayan certified translator holds state-conferred notarial power — the seal and signature carry full legal force without additional authentication. The degree is offered by the Universidad de la República Law School and Universidad de Montevideo, and combines intensive language and legal coursework. I hold this degree from Universidad de la República and have over 30 years of professional practice, including service as president of the CTPU and court-appointed translator before Uruguay's Supreme Court of Justice.

There are five: English, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese — covering translations both into and from Spanish. For documents in other languages, we work with language experts (see "Languages Without a Certified Translator").

A certified translator reviews and verifies the translation together with a language expert in the relevant language, then signs and seals the document. The certified translator is responsible for contacting the language expert and managing the entire process. The resulting translation carries the same legal force as any other certified translation.