Do you need documents translated for legal use in the Dominican Republic?

As mentioned in a previous article, if you’re a foreigner going through a legal process in the Dominican Republic like residency or marriage, you are going to have to legalize documents for submission to the government.

The process of legalizing a document involves:
1.) notarization (if necessary), 2.) apostille, 3.) translation—in that order. Notarization of a document, if it is needed, is done before apostilling. Translation is the last thing that you do when legalizing a document.

Who or where do you go to get documents translated?

Many people think that you can just hire an online translation service to translate their documents. However, the only translated documents accepted for official legal processes in the DR are translations from the Dominican consulate or a certified judicial translator from the Dominican Republic.

Please note that the judicial translator must be registered with the DR’s Office of the Attorney General of the Dominican Republic or Procuraduría General de la República.

There is a big difference in cost between the two. The cost to translate a document at the Dominican consulate could be up to $100 per page compared to $25 to $35 per page with a certified judicial translator.

That said, depending on your situation or time constraints it may make sense to go ahead and get your document translated at the Dominican consulate.

If you use a judicial translator, once the document is translated and sealed with the signature of the judicial translator, it must be taken to the Procuraduría General de la República for authentication. This agency will legalize the seal and signature of the judicial translator. At this point, the document can be used for Dominican legal processes.

For documents that are translated and sealed through the Dominican consulate, they must be taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalization with a Dominican apostille. At that point, the document is ready for use.

As mentioned in a previous article, if you’re a foreigner undergoing a legal process in the Dominican Republic, such as residency or marriage, you will need to legalize documents for submission to the government.

The process of legalizing a document involves: 1) notarization (if necessary), 2) apostille, and then 3) translation—in that order. Notarization of a document, if required, is done before apostilling. Translation is the final step in the document legalization process.

Where can you get documents translated?

Many people believe they can simply hire an online translation service for their documents. However, for official legal processes in the DR, only translations from the Dominican consulate or a certified judicial translator from the Dominican Republic are accepted.

Please note that the judicial translator must be registered with the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic of the Dominican Republic (Procuraduría General de la República).

There is a significant cost difference between the two options. The cost to translate a document at the Dominican consulate could be up to $100 per page, compared to $25 to $35 per page with a certified judicial translator.

Depending on your situation or time constraints, it may make sense to proceed with translating your document at the Dominican consulate.

If you use a judicial translator, once the document is translated and sealed with the judicial translator’s signature, it must be taken to the Procuraduría General de la República for authentication. This agency will legalize the seal and signature of the judicial translator, making the document usable for Dominican legal processes.

For documents translated and sealed by the Dominican consulate, they must be taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalization with a Dominican apostille. At this point, the document is ready for use.

To understand the difference between notarization or apostille, check out our previous article here:
The difference between Notarization and Apostille

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Maria Abreu is the CEO and Managing Attorney of Abreu & Associates, a law firm practicing exclusively in Dominican Republic Immigration and Nationality law. She is also the founder of Retire and Invest DR. This organization hosts conference events for foreigners interested in living, retiring, and investing in the DR. You can contact Maria at: mabreu@abreuimmigration.com.