If you have been told to get a sworn translation for Portugal, you have probably spent a frustrating hour looking for a sworn translator in Portugal and finding none. There is nothing wrong with your search. Portugal simply does not have them. This guide explains what the words mean in different countries, what Portuguese authorities actually accept, and what to do when the document is going the other way, from Portugal to a country that does have sworn translators.
Is there a sworn translator in Portugal?
No. Portugal has no sworn translators. What AIMA (the immigration agency), IRN (civil registry and nationality), courts, universities, notaries and employers accept is a certified translation: a professional translation that the translator declares faithful, on their honour and in person, before a lawyer, a solicitador (a regulated Portuguese legal professional) or a notary, who certifies that declaration. Portuguese law gives that certificate the same evidential force as a notarial act (Decree-Law 237/2001, article 6). If someone asked you for a ‘sworn translation for Portugal’, what you need is a certified translation done in Portugal.
Sworn translation and certified translation: what is the difference?
A sworn translation is made by a translator appointed by the state or a court who has taken an oath; their signature and stamp alone make it official. A Portuguese certified translation is made by any professional translator and gains official value when a lawyer, solicitador or notary certifies the declaration of accuracy. The two documents are not interchangeable. The same two words describe very different things depending on the country:
- Sworn translation (Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Poland, the Netherlands and many others): the state, or a court, appoints translators who take an oath. As a rule, their signature and stamp alone make the translation official. No notary, no lawyer, nothing else.
- Certified translation (United Kingdom, Ireland, United States): usually a signed statement by the translator or the agency saying the translation is accurate. No official appointment and, in most cases, no notary.
- Notarised translation (United States, United Kingdom): a notary confirms the translator’s signature. This is the closest thing to what Portugal requires.
- Certified translation, Portuguese style: the translator appears before a lawyer, solicitador or notary and declares, under a formal commitment of honour, that the translation is faithful to the original. The certifier records the translator’s identity and the declaration in a certificate that is stapled to the translation and to the original or its copy. That stapled set is the document Portuguese entities want.
So a Spanish ‘traducción jurada’, a Brazilian ‘tradução juramentada’ and a British ‘certified translation’ are three different products, and none of them is what a Portuguese registry office expects. The Portuguese certified translation is a fourth thing, and it is the only one that always works here.
What a Portuguese certified translation contains
Three pieces, all mandatory. If one is missing, the document is refused:
- The translation, done by a professional translator (at SMARTIDIOM, always into their native language);
- The original, or a copy of it, so the certifier and the receiving entity can see what was translated;
- The certificate, in which the lawyer, solicitador or notary states that the translator appeared, identified themselves and declared on their honour that the translation is faithful. It carries the certifier’s signature and stamp and, for lawyers and solicitadores, their online registration number.
You never need to be present: the translator is the one who appears before the certifier. The certificate can also be issued digitally, signed with a qualified electronic signature that is valid across the EU, when the receiving entity accepts PDF.
And what about documents coming into Portugal: sworn translation there or certified translation here?
This is the question we get most often at SMARTIDIOM from people relocating, and the answer is almost always the same: certify the translation in Portugal. Three reasons.
- A foreign sworn translator is not on the list of certifiers that Portuguese law recognises. In practice, some entities accept it if the translator’s signature is itself apostilled; many do not.
- As a rule, a UK or US ‘certified translation’, that is, a translator’s statement with no notary, is not accepted.
- The foreign options that Portuguese law itself recognises are a translation certified by the Portuguese consulate in your country or by your country’s consulate in Portugal (article 44(3) of the Portuguese Notarial Code). Both are usually slower and more expensive than doing it here.
What you do need from your country is the apostille on the original, or consular legalisation if your country is not in the Hague Convention. The apostille is always issued by the country that issued the document: a US birth certificate is apostilled in the US, a UK police certificate in the UK. The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR), the Portuguese authority that issues apostilles, only apostilles Portuguese documents. Get the apostille first, then send the scan for translation and certification. Our guide to the Hague Apostille in Portugal covers the details, including the EU rules that exempt many civil-status certificates from the apostille altogether.
One more thing before you pay for a translation: as of September 2026, documents in English, French or Spanish are often accepted by AIMA without translation. Ask the entity in writing. If they insist, a certified translation takes days, not weeks.
Already have a translation? Here is what we can do with it
At SMARTIDIOM we do not offer certification on its own. When we certify, we are guaranteeing that the translation is faithful, and we can only do that if it has been through our process: one translator, one independent reviser. If you already have a translation, a translator of ours checks it against the original and corrects what needs correcting, a reviser reviews it, and only then do we certify it. You pay for two revisions instead of a translation and a revision, with the same guarantees, and it usually works out cheaper.
And what about documents leaving Portugal: when the other country wants a sworn translator?
You have a Portuguese certificate, diploma, criminal record or notarial deed, and it is going to Spain, France, Germany or Brazil, countries that do have sworn translators. What do they accept?
- For many acts, a Portuguese certified translation with a Hague Apostille from the PGR is accepted. The apostille authenticates the certifier’s signature, capacity and stamp; it does not certify the content, but it is what the destination entity needs to recognise the set.
- For some acts and some entities, only a translation by a sworn translator of that country will do. In those cases we can arrange it through a sworn translator of the destination country, whose signature and stamp give the translation official value without any further certification. And we handle it for you.
- Within the EU, many civil-status certificates travel without an apostille (Regulation (EU) 2016/1191), and IRN can issue multilingual certificates that need no translation at all. It is worth checking before paying for anything.
The United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States are the easy cases: they accept lighter formats, such as a translator’s certificate of accuracy or a notarised translation, so a Portuguese certified translation, with the translator’s certificate of accuracy in English, is normally enough.
Which countries have sworn translators
Countries that appoint sworn translators by law (among others):
- Europe: Spain, France, Germany, Italy (where the sworn translation is done in court, the asseverazione), Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Turkey, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia;
- Americas: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic;
- Africa and the Middle East: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon;
- Asia: Indonesia.
Countries that do not, and accept certified or notarised translations much like Portugal: the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States, New Zealand, Denmark, Switzerland (in most cantons), Chile, India, Japan, Angola, Mozambique and Cape Verde. Canada, Australia and China accept it with conditions (a locally certified translator, a translator’s affidavit or, in China, a translation by a licensed translation company with its own stamp). In every case, the entity that will receive the document has the final word, so confirm with it before you order your service.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a sworn translation cost in Portugal?
Since the service in Portugal is the certified translation, you pay in parts: translation per word, independent revision per word, certification per document and, if the document is going abroad, the Portuguese apostille per document. VAT depends on where you are and whether you are a business; your quote states the exact treatment before you commit. The calculator on our certified translation page tells you, case by case, which parts you need and what you pay.
I am looking for a sworn translator in Lisbon or Porto. Where do I find one?
You will not find one, because the figure does not exist in Portugal. What you need is a certified translation, and it is done entirely remotely: you send a scan and receive the certified document as a signed PDF or on paper, anywhere in the country or abroad. SMARTIDIOM has offices in Leiria and Porto and serves clients in Lisbon and across the country this way.
Can it all be done remotely?
Yes, entirely. You email a legible scan; we translate, certify and deliver either as a signed PDF or on paper, by hand or by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, to any country. We only ask for the original if the receiving entity requires it.
Have a document for Portugal, or a Portuguese document for abroad? Send us the scan and tell us which entity will receive it. You will have a quote today, with no obligation.
