If you have a poder (power of attorney), a death certificate, a marriage certificate or an account statement in another language and must use it at a notaría (notary office), a Registro Público (public registry) or a court in Venezuela, the translation you need depends on the office. This is what the texts we reviewed in October 2026 say.
What an intérprete público is and who can be one
The Ley de Intérpretes Públicos (Public Interpreters Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.703 Extraordinario, May 25, 2022) repealed the 1956 law and regulates the profession.
Is there a public register to check? The law says the information in the Registro Nacional will be "a disposición de los órganos y entes" (available to public bodies and entities) (article 11), not to the public. But the ministry's public interpreters page offers the law, the form and the requirements to apply for the title, and a single downloadable list sorted by language (German, French, English, Italian, Portuguese and others), with name, cédula (ID number) and phone number. The text of the list carries no date (the file's internal title says "actualizado al 27agosto2024" (updated as of August 27, 2024)): ask the interpreter for the details of their title. The law sets no fees.
What each office requires, according to the texts
| Where you will use the document | What the text says | Which translation to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Court (lawsuit) | The judge orders the translation "por un intérprete público" (by a public interpreter) and, failing one, appoints a sworn translator (CPC, article 185) | Intérprete público |
| Poder granted abroad, for a lawsuit | "Se lo traducirá al castellano por Intérprete Público en Venezuela" (it shall be translated into Spanish by a public interpreter in Venezuela) (CPC, article 157) | Intérprete público in Venezuela |
| Registro Público or notaría | We found no rule requiring an official translation | Whichever that office accepts |
| SENIAT (the national tax authority), estate tax return | The inheritance tax law does not mention translations | Whichever that office accepts |
Courts
The Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure, or CPC; Gaceta Oficial No. 4.209 Extraordinario, September 18, 1990) says that only Spanish is used in procedural acts (article 183). For documents in another language, article 185 has the judge order their translation by an intérprete público or, "en defecto de éste" (if there is none), by a translator the judge appoints and who swears to translate faithfully. The Ley de Intérpretes Públicos provides for something similar: exceptionally, if there is no interpreter with a title in the locality, judges and officials may appoint and swear in, by a reasoned act, someone with sufficient knowledge of the language (article 13).
Article 157 is in the chapter "De los apoderados" (on attorneys), which regulates powers of attorney to act in court. For a poder granted in a foreign country, it requires complying with the formalities of the inter-American treaties on powers of attorney, if the country signed them, or those of its local law, and legalizing it before an official of the place and the Venezuelan consul; if it is in another language, it requires it to be translated "por Intérprete Público en Venezuela" (by a public interpreter in Venezuela). It also allows granting it before an agent of the Venezuelan foreign service. We found no text extending that rule to a poder presented at a Registro or a notaría. Two decisions by lower courts show how it is applied:
These are lower court decisions, not general rules, but they show that the translation is checked in court.
Registros Públicos and notarías
We reviewed the Ley de Registros y Notarías (Registries and Notaries Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 6.668 Extraordinario, December 16, 2021) and the fee providencias (administrative rulings) of SAREN (the national registries and notaries service) (Gaceta Oficial No. 42.301). We found no rule on the language of documents or on translations. The law only mentions interpreters to prohibit the notary from attesting to acts in which interpreters have an interest (article 74, numeral 3). In administrative and judicial procedures where an intérprete público is needed, the interpreter must have a title (article 13 of the Ley de Intérpretes Públicos). Ask at the Registro or the notaría which translation it accepts.
SENIAT and the estate tax return
The Ley de Impuesto sobre Sucesiones, Donaciones y Demás Ramos Conexos (Inheritance, Gift and Related Taxes Law; Gaceta Oficial No. 5.391 Extraordinario, 1999) does not mention translations. It refers the formalities of the return to the regulations and to ministry resolutions (article 30) and requires attaching the annexes that the law and its regulations demand (article 31). We could not review the SENIAT portal, which does not load from outside Venezuela. If you inherited from abroad, see inheriting from abroad.
First the apostille, then the translation
The apostille is issued by the competent authority of the State the document comes from (Convenio de La Haya (Hague Convention), article 3). If the translation is done in Venezuela, as article 157 of the code requires for powers of attorney that will be used in court, the document arrives apostilled and is translated here. No Venezuelan rule we found sets that order for registries or notarías.
Does the apostille have to be translated? It may be in the official language of the authority that issues it, with the title in French (article 4). According to the HCCH's Manual sobre la Apostilla (Apostille Handbook; second edition, 2023), an apostille cannot be rejected for being in another language and its translation cannot be required (paragraph 304), but the destination country can reject the document if it does not come translated (paragraph 305). If the office asks for the notary's certification to be translated too, ask the interpreter to include it in the same translation.
For a Venezuelan document going abroad, the destination country sets the order. The consular section in Paris, for example, says to print the SAREN apostilled document and have it translated by a sworn translator. See the apostille guide.
Sworn translations made in another country
According to the HCCH Handbook, the law of the country of origin decides who is an official translator and whether their translation is a public document (paragraph 186). If it is not, the certificate of the notary before whom the translator swore the translation, or the certification of an authority, can be apostilled (paragraph 187).
Being able to apostille it does not oblige a Venezuelan office to accept it:
How to avoid paying for two translations
To draft a poder or to act in court you will need a Venezuelan lawyer.