Get your Brazilian Polícia Federal certificate (free online, 90-day issuer-set validity) apostilled at a CNJ-authorised cartório and translated into Spanish for Spain visa and residency applications. Federal and state records handled. Free consultation.
Step 1 of 4
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Certificate requirements for Spain depend on the visa category and consular post — the current checklist defines which countries need documentation. For Brazilians, the Spanish-side document is the Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais — primarily at the federal level from the Polícia Federal do Brasil.
Brazil acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention on August 14, 2016. Brazilian apostilles are issued by cartórios authorised under Conselho Nacional de Justiça (CNJ) supervision, with charges depending on the state. Spanish authorities accept these apostilles directly — no consular legalization is required.
Brazil's criminal records system has both federal and state components. The Polícia Federal certificate covers federal-level records. Some Spanish consulates also require certificates from the state police (Secretaria de Segurança Pública) of the states where you lived. We verify your specific consulate's requirements before starting your case to avoid unnecessary document requests — or missing required ones.
Applying for a non-lucrative visa, work permit, or residency in Spain? Spanish authorities require your Brazilian criminal record certificate apostilled; whether a certified Spanish translation is also needed depends on the receiving office's checklist — we confirm it for your case. Brazil's federal-level certificate is typically the primary document — we determine whether state records are also needed.
The application period for Spain's 2026 extraordinary regularization closed on 30 June 2026, so this applies only to pending cases or later document requests. The programme required a criminal record certificate with apostille for the countries of residence required by the current rules of the program. For Brazilians, this means the Polícia Federal certificate — and potentially state certificates too. We handle the full package.
Living outside Brazil and need your criminal record? The Brazilian gov.br portal allows Polícia Federal certificate requests online from abroad. We guide you through the process or manage it entirely on your behalf.
Example only — applies only if the consular post or office handling your case sets a 90-day certificate-age limit. It does not guarantee acceptance.
There is no universal three-to-six-month window: verified Spanish consular checklists include limits of three, five and six months, generally counted from the issuance date of the certificate. Check the current official checklist of the consular post processing your application. Where a limit applies, it counts from the issuance date — not the apostille date, not the translation date.
⚡ Pro tip: Submit as soon as the full document package is ready — do not wait until near the end of your procedure's limit.
⚠️ Warning: Some applicants lose months of work because the certificate is no longer accepted by the time the apostille or translation is ready. Start early.
| Document | Issuing authority | Estimated time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais da Polícia Federal | Polícia Federal do Brasil (federal level) | Online, where automatic validation is possible (free of charge) | The federal Polícia Federal certificate covers federal-level records and is requested free online via the Polícia Federal portal. The issuer sets its document validity at 90 days — that validity is NOT a universal 90-day rule for every Spanish procedure, so confirm the recency your specific procedure demands. Some Spanish consulates may also require state certificates — verify before proceeding. |
| State police certificate (Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais Estadual) — if required | Secretaria de Segurança Pública of the relevant Brazilian state(s) | Varies by the issuing state authority — check its current published time | Not always required, but some Spanish consulates request both federal and state-level certificates. We advise on whether this applies to your specific case. If required, we coordinate the state-level request for each state where you resided. |
| Apostille at a CNJ-authorised cartório | Cartório authorised under CNJ supervision | Depends on the cartório and its jurisdiction | Brazilian apostilles are issued by authorised cartórios under CNJ supervision, with state-specific notarial charges. Each document needs its own apostille. |
| Certified Spanish translation (where required) | Official translation admitted in Spain (e.g. sworn translator; RD 724/2020, art. 17) | 1–2 business days per document | Where the Spanish receiving office requires a translation, it must cover the content that office demands — typically the full apostilled document. Confirm the order and scope before ordering the translation. |
| Valid Brazilian passport or CPF | Applicant | Must be current | Name must match exactly what appears on all certificates. Brazilian compound names and name variations must be consistent across all documents. |
Request the Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais online from Polícia Federal — free of charge, with a 90-day document validity set by the issuer.
Apostilles are issued by notaries (Cartórios) authorised under CNJ supervision; charges vary by the cartório's state. Where a translation is required, include the content the receiving office demands (often the apostille text too).
Where the receiving office requires Spanish, use an official translation admitted in Spain — for example by a sworn translator appointed by MAEUEC (RD 724/2020, art. 17 admits also other channels) — and cover the content that office demands.
The Polícia Federal certificate itself is valid 90 days (issuer-set document validity); this is not automatically the recency window of your Spanish procedure — verify that procedure's requirements.
⚠️ Remember: where a 90-day limit applies, it counts from the Step 1 issuance date — not from when you submit. Check your procedure's checklist.
Contact us with your Spain visa or residency application details and the specific Spanish consulate you will be submitting to. We determine whether you need only the federal Polícia Federal certificate or also state-level certificates, provide an accurate timeline, and give you a firm quote.
We guide you through the gov.br portal for the federal Polícia Federal certificate, available online from anywhere in the world. For state certificates, we coordinate requests to the relevant Secretaria de Segurança Pública. For clients who prefer full management, we handle all submissions on your behalf.
Apostilles for Brazilian documents are issued by authorised cartórios under CNJ supervision, with state-specific notarial charges. We manage the submission for each document to minimise total turnaround time.
Where the receiving office requires one, the apostilled certificates are translated into Spanish by an official translation admitted in Spain (RD 724/2020, art. 17). The complete package — original apostilled documents + certified translations — is delivered by tracked international courier, ready to submit to Spanish immigration or consular offices.
We review your documents before submission to catch every one of these errors before they cause a rejection.
Illustrative examples based on common situations; names and details are changed.
Brazilian applying for Non-Lucrative Visa to retire in Spain.
Has a fresh Polícia Federal certificate but needs the apostille and, where required, the official translation.
Brazilian living in Spain who needs her Brazilian criminal record for residency renewal.
Illustrative examples based on common situations; names and details are changed.
Information on this page is based on procedures from recognized government and intergovernmental bodies — not third-party estimates.
Reviewed by
Laura ChenLegal Document Expert
Specialist in documents for the English-speaking market with a focus on fast and secure processing.
Spain primarily requires the federal Certidão de Antecedentes Criminais issued by the Polícia Federal do Brasil. However, some Spanish consulates additionally require state-level police certificates (Certidão Estadual) from the states where you resided. We verify this for your specific consulate before starting your case.
Yes. Brazil acceded to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention on August 14, 2016. Documents apostilled by an authorised cartório under CNJ supervision are directly recognized in Spain. No consular legalization is required.
Brazilian apostilles are issued by cartórios authorised under CNJ (Conselho Nacional de Justiça) supervision. The CNJ supervises the scheme and maintains the list of authorised offices, but it is not an ordinary issuing desk; each document requires its own apostille.
Yes. The Polícia Federal certificate can be requested online through the gov.br portal from anywhere in the world. We guide you through the process or manage the submission on your behalf. For state certificates, the process varies by state.
Portuguese is not Spanish, so check whether your Spanish procedure requires an official translation. Where it does, the translation must be admitted in Spain (RD 724/2020, art. 17 — for example, a sworn translation) and, if the receiving office demands it, cover the apostille text as well. We include translations in our package when required.
Polícia Federal's certificate is free online when electronically issuable; apostille timing depends on the authorised cartório and state tariff — no single nationwide end-to-end timeline applies. Where your Spanish procedure requires official translation (RD 724/2020, art. 17), the translation is an additional step.
If your consulate requires state police certificates, you may need certificates from each state where you lived. We coordinate all requests simultaneously. During your free consultation, we determine exactly which states are required based on your residential history and the requirements of your specific Spanish consulate.
Brazil's Polícia Federal gives its certificate a 90-day validity (document validity set by the issuer). This Brazilian validity is not automatically the recency window of your Spanish procedure — the receiving office's required recency must be checked separately for that procedure. We time the request so the certificate is fresh when you submit your Spain application.
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