Apostille and legalisation
For a public document to have legal effect in another country, the signature of the issuing official often has to be authenticated. That is what an apostille does or, for countries outside the Hague Convention, legalisation.
Hague apostille
An apostille is a certificate attached to a public document that makes it valid in every country party to the 1961 Hague Convention, with no further formalities. In Spain it is issued, depending on the document, by the High Courts of Justice, the Notarial Associations or the Ministry of Justice.
Consular legalisation
If the destination country is not party to the Convention, the document has to be legalised in a chain: by the relevant ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the consulate of the destination country.
Apostille first or translation first?
Usually the original document is apostilled first in the issuing country, and then everything —including the apostille— is translated. That way the sworn translation covers the full document. If in doubt, tell us in the quote form: your project manager will review your case before work starts.