How do you translate a Venezuelan police certificate for a US immigrant visa?
For an immigrant visa, NVC asks for a police certificate from your country of nationality if you are 16 or older and have lived there for more than six months at any time. A Venezuelan police certificate is the certificación de antecedentes penales from the Ministry of Interior and Justice, requested online. We translate it in full: the heading, the result, the 14-digit number, the signature and the coat-of-arms stamp, and the apostille if there is one. A certificate is usually one page: $25, ready within 24 hours after payment.
What the Department of State says about the Venezuelan certificate
The Department of State’s page for Venezuela describes the police certificate in detail (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)):
- Name: Certificación de Antecedentes Penales.
- Issuer: the criminal records division (División de Antecedentes Penales) of the Interior and Justice Ministry in Caracas.
- Who can get it: Venezuelans and non-Venezuelan residents of Venezuela aged 18 or older who hold a national identity card. Non-Venezuelans who don’t live in Venezuela and have no cédula can’t request one at this time and should be ready to show their current visa or explain their non-resident status at the visa interview.
- How: free of charge, online at mpprij.gob.ve under Certificaciones para Trámites Internacionales. The same site verifies a certificate.
- What it proves: that the person has no convictions or pending court cases. It doesn’t certify that the person has never been arrested. Arrest records are not available to individuals, and prison records are available only to state institutions.
What the certificate looks like
The current certificate has a QR code in the top right corner and two more QR codes in the bottom corners; older versions had two barcodes at the bottom. Between them is a unique 14-digit number. The certificate has a pre-scanned signature of the signing authority, the Viceministra de Política Interior y Seguridad Jurídica, and a scanned stamp of the coat of arms with the words “Certificación de Antecedentes Penales”. A clean record reads No Registra Antecedentes Penales (“no criminal record”).
What the translation includes
We translate the certificate in full, as USCIS requires (8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) (opens in a new tab)): the heading, your details as printed, the result, the 14-digit number, the signature block and the stamp. The QR codes and barcodes are marked in the translation where they appear. If the certificate has an apostille, we translate it too. Your name is spelled as in your passport.
Who needs one
NVC asks applicants aged 16 or older for a police certificate from their country of nationality if they lived there for more than six months at any time in their life, from their country of current residence after six months there, and from any other country where they lived for 12 months or more at age 16 or older. Police certificates expire after two years, with one exception for a country of previous residence you haven’t returned to (civil documents (opens in a new tab)). More on the general rules: police certificate.
Where the translation goes
- NVC and US consulates: 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 (civil documents (opens in a new tab)). Since November 1, 2025, immigrant visas for Venezuelans are processed at the US Embassy in Bogotá (U.S. Department of State (opens in a new tab)). What NVC accepts
- USCIS: for a green card, the Form I-485 instructions ask for certified police and court records of any criminal charges, arrests or convictions, including outside the United States (Form I-485 instructions (opens in a new tab)). What USCIS accepts
- Immigration court: a typed certification with the translator’s address and phone. What the court accepts
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
Who can request a Venezuelan police certificate?
According to the Department of State, Venezuelans and residents of Venezuela aged 18 or older who have a national identity card (cédula). Non-Venezuelans without a cédula can’t request one at this time.
How much does it cost?
A certificate is usually one page: $25. Each additional page in the same order is $20, so a certificate with an apostille on a separate sheet is $45.
Do I need a notary or an apostille?
Not for the translation: USCIS and NVC 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.