Spanish NIF: no sworn translation for English, French or Italian documents — what the AEAT reply says

2026-10-31 · IberTrust Global

From our case files · written AEAT information reply obtained by IberTrust (ref. 2026CTE81350003S, 28 Oct 2026)

The company documents were ready: a fresh registry certificate, in English, from a non-EU home country. Then came the next quote on the client's desk — a sworn translator in Spain, per page, with a waiting list. “Do we really need this,” the client asked, “if the document is already in English?”

It is a fair question. Spanish authorities usually ask for an official translation of foreign documents. But when we asked the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) in writing about NIF applications from online sellers, its reply contained a sentence that changes the answer for three languages.

What the AEAT reply says, word for word

Citing Article 15 of Law 39/2015 (common administrative procedure), the reply says the AEAT may require a sworn translation when the documents are not in Spanish, and then:

“En el caso de que dichos documentos estén emitidos en francés, inglés, o italiano, se admitirá una traducción no oficial al castellano, si bien dicha traducción deberá ir acompañada de una declaración responsable de la persona que actúe como representante de la entidad para el trámite censal en la que manifieste que la traducción que se aporta responde al contenido íntegro del documento aportado.”

Broken down:

• Which documents: “the documentation provided for the assignment of the NIF” that is issued in French, English or Italian.
• What is accepted: an unofficial Spanish translation — no sworn translator needed.
• The condition: a declaración responsable (responsible declaration).
• Who signs it: the person acting as the company's representative for the census (NIF) procedure.
• What it must state: that the translation corresponds to the full content of the original document.

Is it only for online sellers? Be careful here

The sentence itself is worded generally (“the documentation provided for the assignment of the NIF”). But in the reply it sits inside the special section for sellers through platforms or websites, and the conclusion links it to the company's NIF N in that case: online sellers must complete both procedures, “pero en el caso del NIF N con las especialidades que hemos mencionado anteriormente en cuanto a la Apostilla de la Haya y la necesidad de traducción jurada.”

Our reading: we rely on it for the company's NIF N under the online-seller special case (seller with a VIES-valid VAT number from another EU state, plus a platform certificate). We do not assume it applies to the representative's NIF M or to the general route; there, we plan for official translation unless the AEAT confirms otherwise. The reply is information under Article 87 of the General Tax Law, not a binding ruling.

Why it matters

• Time: no waiting for a sworn translator's slot. Your team, or your Spanish agent, can prepare the translation the same day.
• Cost: sworn translation is charged per page; registry extracts and articles of association can be long.
• Fewer moving parts: combined with the apostille exemption for company identification documents in the online-seller case (see our NIF-without-apostille guide), the whole company file can be put together without notaries or translators abroad — except the power of attorney, which we still notarise and apostille.

Which documents still need an official translation

Anything in another language: Chinese, German, Hebrew, Turkish, Japanese and so on. An unofficial translation of a Chinese business licence, for example, does not fall within the rule as worded. The general part of the reply says official translation can be done by a sworn translator registered in Spain or through consular or diplomatic representations.

Practical tips from our files

1. Ask for the certificate in English at source. Where your home registry or tax authority can issue the certificate of existence in English, request it that way. One choice at the counter can remove the sworn-translation step.
2. Translate everything on the page. Stamps, footnotes, annexes. The declaration says “contenido íntegro” — the full content.
3. Keep layout parallel. Same headings and order as the original makes the reviewer's job easy.
4. Right signer. The declaration is signed by the person acting as the company's representative for the NIF procedure, not by the translator.
5. Mention it in the cover note. We cite Article 15 of Law 39/2015 and the language of each document.

Sample declaration (example only)

Example wording for illustration. It is not an official AEAT form; adapt it to your case.

DECLARACIÓN RESPONSABLE
D./Dña. [nombre], con NIF [número], en calidad de representante de la entidad [denominación] para el trámite censal de solicitud de NIF, DECLARA bajo su responsabilidad que la traducción al castellano que se aporta del documento [título del documento, fecha de expedición], emitido en [inglés/francés/italiano], responde al contenido íntegro del documento aportado.
En [lugar], a [fecha].
Firma:

Common mistakes

• Using a machine translation that skips stamps or annexes.
• Sending an unofficial translation of a German or Chinese document.
• Forgetting the declaration, or having the translator sign it instead of the representative.
• Assuming the rule also removes the apostille for every document — those are separate questions.
• Applying it outside the online-seller NIF N case without checking first.

FAQ

Do I need a sworn translator for an English company certificate?

Under the AEAT reply, an unofficial Spanish translation plus a responsible declaration is accepted for documents in English, French or Italian. We apply this to the company's NIF N in the online-seller case.

Who signs the declaration?

The person acting as the company's representative for the NIF census procedure.

What must the declaration say?

That the translation provided corresponds to the full content of the original document.

Does it work for Chinese or German documents?

No. Only French, English and Italian are named; other languages need an official translation.

Does it apply to the NIF M of the representative?

The reply does not say so clearly. We plan for the general translation rules there.

Want us to check your documents?

IberTrust Global S.L. prepares NIF M and NIF N applications for non-EU online sellers, including translations, declarations and the cover note. Send us your documents and we will tell you which ones need an official translation.

Request a Spanish NIF quote →
Or email contact@ibertrust.info.

Source: written AEAT information reply obtained by IberTrust (ref. 2026CTE81350003S, 28 Oct 2026); Law 39/2015, Art. 15; Law 58/2003, Art. 87. General information, not legal advice.