How do you translate a Colombian police certificate for a US immigrant visa?
For an immigrant visa, the Department of State asks Colombian applicants 18 or older for a police certificate, the certificado de antecedentes judiciales. The Policía Nacional issues it online, free of charge. We translate the Colombian police certificate in full, every line and code on the page, and the court records the embassy may ask for with it. A one-page certificate is $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the Department of State says for Colombia
The reciprocity page for Colombia sets out the rules for the police certificate (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)):
- Name and issuer: Certificado de Antecedentes Judiciales, from the Ministry of National Defense and the Policía Nacional de Colombia.
- Who needs it: every applicant 18 or older. Applicants under 18 don’t.
- How to get it: online, from the Policía Nacional website or the government portal, and printed. There is no fee.
- What it must show: your full name and your Colombian ID number. The embassy treats it as valid for two years.
- Foreign residents: third-country nationals living legally in Colombia ask the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN) for it in person, free of charge. It isn’t issued to people in Colombia unlawfully until Migración Colombia regularizes their status.
The Policía Nacional describes the same service: on its website you enter your cédula de ciudadanía or cédula de extranjería number, and the system shows the certificate, at no cost (Policía Nacional (opens in a new tab)).
When the embassy asks for court records
If your certificate says “Actualmente no es requerido por autoridad judicial alguna” (“currently not wanted by any judicial authority”), it means there is a record under your name, so bring your complete court records with an English translation to the interview. Without them, the embassy will ask you to come back for a second interview (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). We translate judgments and case files page by page, with the court’s stamps and signatures.
If you lived in the United States without permission or your asylum application failed, the same page asks for your record of entries and exits (certificado de movimientos migratorios) from Migración Colombia.
The apostille
The certificate is an electronic document with a digital signature. If you need an apostille on it, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry issues one online: you choose the Policía Nacional certificate, enter your cédula number and the destination country, and pay a fee (Cancillería guide (opens in a new tab)). If your copy has the apostille, we translate it with the certificate.
Where the translation goes
- NVC and US consulates: police certificates are among the civil documents for an immigrant visa. The Department of State doesn’t ask for a translation of a certificate in Spanish if you are applying for your visa in Colombia or another country where Spanish is an official language. The court records above are the exception: the embassy in Bogotá asks for them in English. What NVC accepts
- USCIS: a full translation and the translator’s signed certification. What USCIS accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
Which countries you need police certificates from is explained in our guide to police certificates for an immigrant visa.
Our Spanish documents are translated and certified by a native Spanish speaker. What to file in your case is for you or your attorney to decide.
Questions
I’m not a Colombian citizen, but I lived in Colombia. How do I get the certificate?
Colombian citizens get it online from the Policía Nacional website with their cédula number. For third-country nationals who lived in Colombia legally, the Department of State says the request goes to the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN) in person, free of charge, with or without a cédula de extranjería.
How much does it cost?
A one-page certificate is $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so a certificate with two pages of court records is $65.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for USCIS or NVC: they ask for the translator’s signed certification, and it’s included. If your certificate has an apostille, we translate it in the same order.
How long does it take?
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
How we do it
- Full translation
every stamp, signature and handwritten line
- Signed certificate
with the translator’s name, address and phone
- A PDF, ready to file
original, translation and certificate, translation pages numbered
- Price
$25 for the first page up to 250 words, $20 for each additional page, in the same document or another one.
- Turnaround
1–4 documents: within 24 hours after payment; faster, within 12 hours (+$15 a page) or 3 hours (+$30 a page, paid between 8 am and 6 pm Pacific time). For 5 or more, we give you the date with the quote.
This is a summary of what the agency publishes, not legal advice.