Which documents need an apostille and translation for Uruguay?
INGAR · · Guides
Getting a document apostilled and getting it translated are two separate procedures. To submit a foreign public document in Uruguay, the usual order is to obtain the apostilla (apostille) first, or to complete consular legalization depending on the country, and then arrange the traducción pública (sworn public translation) when required.
The apostille certifies the signature, the capacity of the signatory and, where applicable, the seal on the document. It does not certify its content. The translation is what allows the information contained in the original to be presented in Spanish.
Not every agency applies the same rules. Dirección Nacional de Migración, the MEC, the banks and escribanos (Uruguayan notaries) may require different documents and allow for different exceptions. Below are the requirements published by the competent agencies and the applicable professional references.
Apostille, legalization and traducción pública: three separate circuits
| Apostille | Consular legalization | Traducción pública | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When it applies | The issuing country is a party to the Hague Convention and the Convention is applicable between that country and Uruguay | The issuing country is not a party, or the Convention is not applicable between the two | The document is not in Spanish, subject to the exceptions set by each agency |
| What it certifies | The signature, the capacity of the signatory and, where applicable, the seal on the document | The same, through consular channels | That the Spanish text corresponds to the original |
| Who takes part | The competent authority of the country that issued the document | The Uruguayan Consulate in the country of origin and, afterwards, the MRREE in Uruguay | A Uruguayan traductor público (a sworn public translator), or the Uruguayan Consulate in the country of origin |
| Where it is completed | In the issuing country | It starts abroad and ends in Uruguay | In Uruguay, or at the consulate |
| Rule | 1961 Hague Convention | Decreto-Ley 15.441 | Decreto-Ley 15.441, arts. 6 and 7 |
The practical difference lies in the route. The apostille is resolved entirely in the issuing country. Legalization is not: the MRREE defines it this way.
the authentication of the signature of the Consular Officer of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay who legalized the document in the country of origin, so that the document is valid in Uruguay
There are two interventions, one abroad and one here.
Which of the two routes applies is not always obvious: it is not enough for the country to have signed, it has to be a party and the Convention has to be applicable between that country and Uruguay.
The up-to-date list of member countries is published by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Check it before paying for anything.
Since when it has been in force and who issues the apostille
The Hague Convention has been in force for Uruguay since 14 October 2012. It was approved by Ley N° 18.836 of 15 November 2011, and Decreto N° 322/012 designated the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores as the competent authority:
The Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores is hereby designated as the competent authority to issue the Apostille, in accordance with article 6 of the Convention.
Which rule requires translation
The substantive rule is Decreto-Ley 15.441, article 6:
Judgments and confirmed arbitral awards handed down in civil, commercial, labor, criminal and administrative matters, public deeds and other documents issued by the competent public authorities of foreign states or originating from International Organizations, letters rogatory and private documents not drafted in Spanish that are to take effect in the Republic must be translated by a national traductor público.
Article 7 adds the consular alternative: "translations performed by the consular officer of the Republic in the place from which the document originates shall also be considered valid."
Vocabulary note. In Uruguay, the professional figure is the traductor público and the documents this professional issues are traducciones públicas (sworn public translations) and certificados de concordancia (certificates of conformity between a document and its translation). Uruguayan consulates may use the term "traducción oficial consular" (consular official translation) for the translations they carry out.
Checklist: which formality each document needs
Not every document in a procedure carries the same formality. The form published by the Dirección Nacional de Migración (DNM) asks for a "valid" identity document and does not require an apostille; the apostilla (apostille) is required for police-record certificates, civil-registry certificates and powers of attorney added to the file. It is worth going through this document by document.
| Procedure (agency) | Document | Apostille or legalization? | Traducción pública (sworn public translation)? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent legal residency Ministerio del Interior – DNM | Identity document | No. The form asks for the "original valid identity document" | The form does not expressly require a translation of the identity document |
| Police-record certificate covering the whole country | Yes | Yes, "except for Brazil, which does not require translation" | |
| Marriage certificate, issued less than a year ago | Yes | Yes, where applicable | |
| Birth certificate of minors | Yes, "or registered with the Registro de Estado Civil Uruguayo" | "translated, if required" | |
| Parental authorization granted abroad | Yes. If it is granted through a foreign power of attorney, that power of attorney must go through protocolización (formal incorporation into the notarial register) before a Uruguayan escribano (notary) | Yes, where applicable | |
| Carné de salud (the local health certificate) and vaccination record | Not applicable: they are issued in Uruguay | No | |
| Mercosur residency and residency through a Uruguayan family link Ministerio del Interior – DNM | Police-record certificate: "At national level, from the country where the applicant lived over the past 5 years (for more than 6 months)." | Yes | Yes, "with the exception of those issued by Brazil (Ley Nº 18.134)" |
| Residency through a Uruguayan family link Ministerio del Interior – DNM | Certified copy of the civil-registry certificate proving the family link | Yes | Yes, where applicable. The form states that "it may not have been issued more than one year ago" |
| Recognition or reválida (revalidation) of a tertiary degree MEC – Dirección Nacional de Educación | Degree certificate, front and back | Yes, "apostilled or with consular legalization in the country of origin, as applicable" | Only if it is not in Spanish, English or Portuguese |
| Academic transcript | Yes | Only if it is not in Spanish, English or Portuguese | |
| Application letter signed by hand | No | No | |
| Valid identity document | No | No | |
| School enrolment (secondary) ANEP / MEC | Certificate of completed studies | Yes: "duly apostilled or legalized, as applicable" | Yes if it comes from a non-Spanish-speaking country, "except Brazil, as a Mercosur member State" |
| Identity document of the student and of the responsible adult | The guide does not require it | No | |
| Carné de salud | Not applicable: it is done in Uruguay | No | |
| Registration of a foreign civil-registry certificate MEC – Registro de Estado Civil | Original certificate from the country where the event took place | Yes: "the documents to be registered must arrive legalized or apostilled from the country of origin" | Yes if it is in another language: "it must be translated by a Uruguayan traductor público or by the Uruguayan Consulate in the country where the document was issued" |
| Deed of sale Escribano público (no official government form) | Passport or identity document | No rule requires it | Normally not. The escribano confirms this according to the document, the language and the case |
| Power of attorney granted before a foreign authority | Yes, plus protocolización before a Uruguayan escribano | Yes if it is drafted in a foreign language | |
| Foreign corporate documents, if you buy through a company | Depends on the type of document and on the checks the escribano requires | Yes, when the document is not in Spanish and is submitted to take effect in Uruguay, unless an applicable exception exists | |
| Rental contract and guarantee (Fondo de Garantía de Alquiler, FGA) ANV, under an agreement with MVOT and CGN | "Documento Nacional de Identidad" of every member of the household | The form does not contemplate foreign documents | The form does not mention translation |
| BPS employment history, payslips, utility bills | Not applicable: they are issued in Uruguay | No | |
| Opening a bank account Each bank, under BCU regulations | Identity, address, occupation and income, source of funds | There is no single official published list. Each bank defines it | Same |
| Power of attorney granted before a foreign authority (criterion published by BROU) | "legalized" and "protocolized by a Uruguayan Escribano" | "translated into Spanish by a national traductor público" |
If you are putting together the full set of paperwork for the move:
- Moving to Uruguay from abroad — the general order of the steps.
- Legal residency, tax residency and citizenship — the difference between three things that also get mixed up with one another.
- How much income you have to prove for legal residency.
- Mercosur residency in Uruguay — the specific route for Brazilians.
One clarification about the row on the deed: the escribano looks not only at the form of the document, but also at the origin of the funds used to pay for it. If that capital comes from crypto assets, the file is a different one and is covered in Buying a property in Uruguay with funds of crypto origin.
Three rules that change depending on the agency
Documents from Brazil
They are exempt from translation in two published contexts: the immigration procedure, under Ley N° 18.134 (which enacts the Mercosur agreement exempting administrative documents from translation for immigration purposes), and enrolment in secondary school, where the MEC guide states "(except Brazil, as a Mercosur State Party, documents do not have to be translated)".
In the sources reviewed for this guide, the exemption appears expressly in immigration procedures and in secondary school enrolment. It should not be extended to other procedures without checking the corresponding official page.
Languages accepted without translation
The MEC accepts documentation in Spanish, English or Portuguese for the reválida (official recognition) of tertiary degrees. Immigration applies its own rules: the specific pages reviewed require translation into Spanish and exempt documents issued by Brazil.
These are rules of different agencies and they do not carry over from one to the other.
Electronic documents
The Migración page states: "Documents issued electronically that allow their verification will not require an apostilla or legalisation."
The legal basis is article 112 of Ley N° 19.670, which is discretionary and limited to immigration matters:
National agencies that have to decide on immigration procedures may treat as valid and effective for the purposes of those immigration procedures, without any need for legalisation or apostilla, those foreign electronic public documents bearing an electronic signature
It is not a universal exception, it is not an obligation for the agency, and it does not waive the translation requirement.
Do I get the apostilla first or the translation first?
Foreign document you are going to submit in Uruguay:
- You obtain the document in the country that issued it.
- You have it apostilled by the competent authority of that country, or you start the consular legalisation process if the Convention does not apply between that country and Uruguay.
- Only then is it translated by a Uruguayan traductor público (a sworn public translator), or by the Uruguayan Consulate in the country of origin.
The Colegio de Traductores Públicos del Uruguay, which is a professional association and not a state agency, recommends that the document already carry the apostilla or the legalisation before you order the translation, so that the professional works on the complete document.
Answering the question "Does a foreign public document need to be apostilled or legalised before being translated?", it states that the document to be translated "must carry an apostilla issued by the authorised institution of that foreign country", or be legalised in the country of origin if that country is not a signatory.
This does not necessarily mean that the text of the apostilla has to be translated, since it does not require translation according to the consular information from the MRREE. In a chain of legalisations or other interventions, the translator will have to determine whether there is additional text that should be translated.
A public translation done in Uruguay to be submitted abroad: first the translator's signature is legalised before the Suprema Corte de Justicia and then the apostilla or legalisation is issued by the MRREE. The MRREE page says so: "In the case of documents granted by escribanos (Uruguayan notaries), by offices of the Judiciary and (translations) by traductores públicos, they must be legalised beforehand." The receiving country determines whether a translation is needed, in what language, and where it has to be done.
What happens if you translate before getting the apostilla
If the translation is done before the apostilla is attached, part of the document may end up untranslated. When the agency requires the full translation, it will have to be extended or done again.
"I already had it translated in my country": does that work?
A translation done by a foreign translator is not equivalent to a Uruguayan public translation, even if the original document is correctly apostilled.
The MEC page says so: "If the document arrives already translated from the country of origin, a Certificado de Concordancia must be issued by a Uruguayan traductor público".
The Colegio de Traductores Públicos describes what it involves: the Uruguayan traductor público "will review and compare the translation against the original document and will draw up a certificado de concordancia based on the results of that comparison", signed and stamped by them.
The foreign translation is not discarded: it is reviewed. If the traductor público confirms that it matches, the certificado de concordancia (a certificate of conformity between the translation and the original) allows you to use the translation done abroad without translating the whole document again.
There is no published official fee scale for the certificado de concordancia or for the public translation. Fees are unregulated and depend on the language, the length and how urgent the job is.
There is an alternative that sometimes avoids the double round. Decreto-Ley 15.441, art. 7, and the MEC page both allow the translation to be done by the Uruguayan Consulate in the country where the document was issued. If you are still abroad, ask whether that consulate provides the service before hiring a local translator.
What if the document is in a language with no traductores públicos in Uruguay?
The Licenciatura en Traducción Pública (the public translation degree) at Universidad de la República covers five language areas: German, French, English, Italian and Portuguese. For every other language there is a mechanism in place.
The Colegio de Traductores Públicos explains it this way: "In that case, a traductor público will sign the translation together with an idóneo in the language concerned. It is the professional who is responsible for finding the appropriate idóneo and coordinating the translation."
The translation is signed jointly by the traductor público and the idóneo (a person recognised as proficient in that language), and it is the traductor público who locates them and coordinates the work. Finding one is not your job.
Validity periods and scope of the documents
Beyond the formalities, there are conditions attached to the document itself.
Criminal record certificate: national scope
The Dirección Nacional de Migración information sheet is explicit: "The Criminal Record Certificate valid for this procedure must have national scope." State, departmental or provincial certificates do not meet the requirement.
People born in the United States
The information sheet provides a local route: "If you were born in the United States, you may go to Interpol in Montevideo to have your fingerprints taken, so that that office requests the Certificate from the F.B.I". It is an option, not an obligation.
If you are coming from the United States with children, in Uruguay for families leaving the U.S. we cover the rest of the document package.
Marriage certificate: no more than one year old
"Its date of issue cannot be more than one year old". What counts is when the copy you submit was issued, not when you got married.
The same period appears in the information sheet for residency through a Uruguayan family tie, for the certificate proving that tie, and for the birth certificate of minors. The general permanent residency sheet does not set that period for the birth certificate.
Provisional reválida in secondary school
If the student arrived without apostilled documents, the MEC guide provides a way out:
Where apostilled or legalized documentation is not available, a Provisional Reválida will be carried out in order to guarantee the educational continuity of students living in our territory (Ley N.º 18.437). After one year without the apostilled or legalized documentation being submitted, the Oficina de Inspección Técnica will refer the matter to the Ministerio de Educación y Cultura
It is different from the three-year provisional certificate, intended for entry into the first year of high school or UTU when legalized or apostilled documentation proving completion of primary school is not submitted.
Published official costs
Only what is published in official information sheets, with the date it was consulted. Fees are updated over time.
| Item | Published cost | Body | Sheet updated on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apostilling a Uruguayan document in Uruguay | $777 | MRREE | 26/01/2026 |
| Legalization before the MRREE in Uruguay | $379 | MRREE | 26/01/2026 |
| Registration of a foreign civil status certificate | $1.436 | Dirección Nacional del Registro de Estado Civil | 19/05/2026 |
| Permanent legal residency | 557,30 UI, plus 55,70 UI for the migration certificate needed to obtain the cédula (the Uruguayan ID card). "Brazilian and Paraguayan nationals applying for permanent residency are exempt from the cost of the procedure." | Dirección Nacional de Migración | 19/02/2026 |
| Permanent Mercosur residency | 557,30 UI, plus "55,70 UI payable to the DNIC to obtain the Identity Document". "Permanent residencies for Paraguay and Brazil are exempt from cost." Re-entry permit, if you leave the country before it is granted: 225,60 UI | Dirección Nacional de Migración | 12/03/2026 |
| Recognition or reválida of a higher education degree | $160 (initial procedure); $1.926 (additional reválida) | MEC | 08/04/2026 |
| Fondo de Garantía de Alquiler (the state-backed rental guarantee fund) | The application has no cost. The guarantee does: "Both the tenant and the owner must pay the CGN a monthly commission of 3% of the rent." | ANV | 25/02/2026 |
Two clarifications about these amounts. The $777 is what the MRREE charges to apostille a Uruguayan document: the apostille of a document issued in another country is processed before the competent authority of that country, and its cost, if any, is whatever that country sets. And the $379 corresponds to the legalization procedure before the MRREE in Uruguay, which is the last link in the consular chain: the earlier steps abroad may carry additional costs.
What is not officially published: the fees charged by a traductor público (a sworn public translator), the cost of the certificado de concordancia (a certificate confirming that a foreign translation matches the original), the cost of a protocolización (the notarial act of filing a document into a Uruguayan notary's protocol) and the resolution times for most of these procedures. We do not estimate them.
Points worth checking before submitting your documents
The information sheets for migration and for the recognition or reválida of higher education degrees do not set a guaranteed resolution time. The secondary school guide does state a period of 15 business days to issue the Constancia Habilitante.
On reválidas there is one reference figure: in September 2023 the MEC reported that, under the procedure in force at the time, the period "has been reduced to an average of two to eight months", with two or three months for Medicine, Nutrition and Dentistry and four to eight for Law and Psychology.
That is a figure reported at the time, not a commitment in force nor a deadline you can demand.
What you can check in advance are these five points, which come straight from the requirements cited above:
- That the criminal record certificate has national scope and is not a state, departmental or provincial one.
- That the marriage certificate was issued no more than one year before you submit it.
- That the apostille is attached to the document before you order the translation.
- That a translation done abroad comes with the certificado de concordancia.
- That the apostille was issued by the country that issued the document, and not by the country where you live now.
It is worth putting together the full list of documents for each procedure before requesting the first one, and requesting them within the same time window, because the validity periods are already running.
Where INGAR comes in and where it does not
We are a real estate agency. We handle the property side of your arrival: the search, the negotiation, the rental contract, the property documentation and the coordination with the escribano (a Uruguayan notary public) for the purchase deed.
We do not do translations, we do not process apostilles and we do not handle residency applications. When a client needs that, we refer them to the right professionals: traductor público (a sworn public translator), escribano, lawyer. If you want us to put you in touch with someone from the network we work with, write to us and tell us which procedure you are dealing with.
We point this out because the order matters:
- The purchase deed does not depend on you having residency.
- Some rental guarantees, such as the Fondo de Garantía de Alquiler (the state rental guarantee fund), require a Documento Nacional de Identidad (national identity document); others have their own requirements.
- The cédula (the Uruguayan ID card) depends on the immigration process.
Which guarantee works for you while you have no local track record is covered in How to rent in Uruguay as a foreigner with no local history.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need residency to buy a property in Uruguay?
No, and it does not work the other way around either: buying does not grant residency, as we explain in Does buying a property grant residency in Uruguay?. They are independent procedures: residency is processed before Migración, the purchase before an escribano.
If you are not coming to sign in person, you can buy through a power of attorney; one granted before a foreign authority is apostilled or legalized, translated if applicable, and protocolized here (protocolización, filing it into a Uruguayan notarial record). One granted before a Uruguayan consulate follows a different route.
Does the apostille expire?
The apostilla (apostille) has no expiry date of its own. What expires is the underlying document: Migración sets a maximum age of one year for a marriage certificate.
My document is already in Uruguay and I did not have it apostilled. Can I do it here?
No. Uruguay cannot apostille a foreign document. The apostille must be obtained from the competent authority of the country that issued the document, through whichever channels that country offers: in person, through a representative, by mail or online.
My document is in English. Does it still have to be translated?
It depends on the agency, and the rules do not carry over from one to another. The details are in "Three rules that change depending on the agency", above.
What exactly is a certificado de concordancia?
It is the document issued by a Uruguayan traductor público after comparing a translation made abroad with the original. If it confirms that the two match (concordancia), it allows that translation to be used without translating the whole document again.
To open a bank account, do I need everything apostilled and translated?
There is no single official published list: each bank sets its own document policy within the regulatory framework of the Banco Central. The BROU criterion for foreign powers of attorney, which is published, appears in the table above. We cover the rest in Opening a bank account in Uruguay as a foreigner.
My degree is from a country that is not part of the Hague Convention. What do I do?
It goes through consular legalization instead of an apostille, under Decreto-Ley 15.441; the MEC information sheet covers both routes. On the full reválida (degree recognition) process, particularly in the health field, see Recognition of foreign degrees in Uruguay.
If you are organizing your arrival
We take care of the property side, which is usually the one that shapes everything else: where you are going to live while you sort out the rest.
Tell us what you need and where you are in the process: write to us on WhatsApp. If you prefer to look around on your own first, you can see available rentals, compare the guarantees you could apply for based on your profile, or see properties for sale.
And if the next step is buying, the purchase costs calculator gives you the real figure on top of the price, and How to buy an apartment in Uruguay gives you the full walkthrough.
Sources
All consulted on 7 September 2026.
Competent authorities
- Dirección Nacional de Migración (the national immigration authority), Legal Residence – Permanent — page updated 19/02/2026
- Dirección Nacional de Migración, Legal Residence – Permanent Mercosur — page updated 12/03/2026
- Dirección Nacional de Migración, Legal Residence – Permanent through a Uruguayan family link — page updated 12/03/2026
- MEC, Application for recognition and reválida (official validation) of tertiary degrees — page updated 08/04/2026
- MEC, Registration of foreign civil status certificates – procedure for holders and/or representatives — page updated 19/05/2026
- MEC, Registration of foreign civil status certificates — page updated 24/07/2026
- MEC, Guide to enrolling migrants in the Uruguayan education system – Secondary Education
- MRREE, Apostille and/or legalisation of Uruguayan or foreign public documents — page updated 26/01/2026
- MRREE, Apostilla (apostille)
- MRREE, Apostille and/or legalisation procedure
- ANV, Application to the Fondo de Garantía de Alquiler (the state rental guarantee fund) — page updated 25/02/2026
- BROU, Foreign power of attorney
Legislation
- IMPO, Decreto-Ley N° 15.441 of 1983 — legalisation and translation of foreign documents
- IMPO, Decreto N° 322/012 — authority competent to issue the apostilla
- IMPO, Ley N° 19.670, article 112 — foreign electronic public documents in immigration procedures
- IMPO, Ley N° 18.134 — Agreement on the Exemption from Translation of Administrative Documents for Immigration Purposes between the Mercosur Member States
Professional and academic references
- Colegio de Traductores Públicos del Uruguay, Frequently asked questions — professional association
- Udelar – Facultad de Derecho (School of Law), Licenciatura en Traducción Pública (sworn public translation)
- MEC, MEC has granted almost 1,500 recognitions and reválidas of foreign degrees — 29/09/2023; average processing times reported
This article is informational and describes the requirements published on official pages as of the date of consultation. It does not replace advice from a traductor público (a sworn public translator), an escribano (a Uruguayan notary) or a lawyer on your specific case. Public bodies update their pages: check the current requirement before paying for an apostilla, a translation or a procedure.
Editorial authorship and responsibility
INGAR Negocios Inmobiliarios produced this guide and keeps it up to date based on Uruguayan legislation and official sources.