Legal Assistance

Notary Services

A U.S. consular officer may perform notary services similar to those performed by a notary public in the United States.  Such services include, but are not limited to, acknowledging signatures on documents for use in the U.S., authenticating documents and copies thereof, and taking depositions. Fees (PDF - 205K) are charged in accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations and vary by the type of notary act to be performed.

A consular officer cannot draft legal documents for private persons nor act as an attorney or paralegal.  He/she can, however, refer you to publications where standard legal forms and documents can be found and can provide a list of attorneys practicing law within the consular district.

More information on authentication of documents for use abroad can be found at the State Department’s website.

• List of English speaking attorneys
• List of official translators
  • Translators in the district of Madrid (PDF - 70K)

Mutual Recognition of Documents between the U.S. and Spain

Both Spain and the U.S. are signatory to The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The purpose of the Convention was to abolish the requirement of diplomatic/consular legalization for public documents originating in one country for use in another. The Convention calls for the use of a single signature by a designated certifying official. Under the Convention, the standard certification is called the Apostille.

Obtaining the Apostille for U.S. documents to be used in Spain, you should send the document to the Secretary of State of the U.S. State where the document was issued. Consular officers in Convention countries are prohibited from placing a certification over the Convention Apostille. Below please find the series of steps to take in order to meet the Spanish requirements:

1. Obtain the original and official documents from the County Clerk’s office where the document was issued (you may also request government issued documents online via VitalCheck.com but please note this is a privately owned company that is not part of the Government ).

2. Contact the corresponding authentication unit in each state and arrange for the documents to be authenticated with the Hague Apostille either in person or by mail. You may find contact information by state from HccH.

3. Once you obtain the duly authenticated documents (with the Hague Apostille) from the Secretary of State, you must have these documents translated in Spain by a sworn translator (“traductor jurado”). An updated list of sworn translators may be obtained from the ministry of Foreign Affairs at www.mae.es

Obtaining the Apostille for Spanish documents to be used in the U.S. requires the document be sent to one of a number of agencies, depending on the document type. Additional information can be found by contacting the: Spanish Ministry of Justice  or telephone: 902 007 214.

*None of these requirements can be fulfilled at the Embassy
*You cannot obtain US stamps or Postal Money orders at the Embassy

Spanish Law

American citizens in Spain, whether they be tourists, students, businessmen or residents, are subject to Spanish laws and to the Spanish judicial/penal system in the event they are accused of violating Spanish law.

The following rights are guaranteed by the Spanish constitution:

• Right to due process of law.

• Right to an impartial judge.

• Right to defense.

• Right to counsel by an attorney.

• Right to be informed of charges.

• Right to a public and speedy trial.

• Right to use all available means of evidence in one's defense.

• Right not to testify against one's interest.

• Right not to self-incrimination.

• Right to be presumed innocent.