Criminal Record Certificates for Portugal: What Needs Translating

September 10, 2026 · The Editor, O Gravata Translations

Criminal record certificates are the document I see redone more than any other. Not because people get them wrong the first time — usually they get them exactly right — but because this particular document has a shelf life, and the rest of the file doesn't. Someone gathers birth certificates, marriage certificates, proof of address, and a criminal record certificate all in the same month, sends everything for apostille, has it translated, and then the process stalls for reasons that have nothing to do with them. By the time the file is submitted, the criminal record certificate is the one page the receiving office won't take. So it gets ordered again, apostilled again, and translated again.

The second most common reason for a redo is subtler: the certificate came from the wrong country. Not the wrong office — the wrong country entirely, because the applicant assumed nationality determines who issues it, when in most Portuguese processes it's residence history that matters.

Who is asked for one

Criminal record certificates come up across most of the routes into Portugal: residence permits, nationality applications, and various professional and administrative registrations. They also come up in the other direction, when someone with a Portuguese registo criminal needs it accepted by an authority in the United States.

What varies — and it varies a lot — is the scope of what's required. Some processes ask for a certificate from your country of nationality. Some ask for one from every country you have lived in over a certain period. Some ask for both, plus a Portuguese one if you have been resident here. Some don't ask for one at all, depending on your age or the specific route. I can't tell you which applies to your case, and neither can a general article, because the answer sits with the office reviewing your file. Ask them directly, in writing if you can, exactly which countries they expect certificates from and for what period of residence.

Which country issues it

The certificate has to come from the national authority responsible for criminal records in the country concerned. That sounds obvious until you have lived in three countries. A person with a Brazilian passport who spent eight years in the UK and now lives in Portugal may need certificates from more than one of those places, and each one has its own issuing body, its own application route, and its own turnaround.

Two practical points. First, some countries issue more than one kind of certificate — a basic one and a fuller one, or a domestic version and one intended for use abroad. The version meant for use abroad is usually the one that can be apostilled, and the domestic version often can't be. Second, certificates issued in digital form are increasingly common, and whether a Portuguese authority accepts a digital certificate, a printed copy of one, or only a physical original with a wet signature depends on the authority. Confirm before you pay for anything.

Apostille first, then translation

If the issuing country is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, the certificate normally needs an apostille from the designated authority in that country — in the United States, typically the Secretary of State's office in the relevant state; in India, the Ministry of External Affairs after the state-level attestation chain.

The apostille goes on first, and the translation covers the document with its apostille. If you translate first and apostille afterwards, you end up with a translated document plus an untranslated apostille certificate stapled to it, and some offices will send it back. This ordering costs nothing to get right and a full redo to get wrong.

The translation itself, for a Portuguese authority, has to go through one of the four channels Portuguese law recognises under Article 38 of Lei 76-A/2006: a Portuguese lawyer, a Portuguese notary, a Portuguese consulate, or the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce. A translator certified in your home country, however qualified, generally isn't sufficient on its own for use in Portugal.

Why it gets redone

Three reasons, in the order I see them.

Timing. Criminal record certificates are treated as a snapshot, and most authorities want a recent one. How recent, and whether the clock runs from the issue date or the apostille date, is not something I can state generally — it differs between processes and sometimes between offices handling the same process. Assume there is a window, ask what it is, and order the certificate late in your document-gathering rather than first.

Name mismatches. If your criminal record certificate shows a married name and your birth certificate shows a maiden name, or a transliteration differs by one letter from your passport, expect questions. This is worth spotting before translation, not after.

Scope. A certificate that covers the wrong period, or only one jurisdiction within a federal country, or only a limited category of records, will be rejected on content grounds no matter how well it is apostilled and translated.

What to do before you order

Write to the office that will receive the file and ask four things: which countries they need certificates from, which type of certificate from each, whether they need the physical original, and what recency they require. Then order, apostille, and translate — in that sequence, and close together in time.

Bottom line

The criminal record certificate is rarely wrong when it is issued; it goes stale, or it comes from the wrong jurisdiction, or it gets translated before it is apostilled. Order it late, apostille it before translation, and have the receiving office confirm scope and recency in writing rather than guessing from a webpage.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by institution and by case — confirm with the office that will receive your documents.

← All articles