Documents from Mali for a Spanish nationality file: criminal record, birth certificate, legalisation and validity

Where each document comes from, who issues the legalisation, how long each one stays valid and what Spain's own texts say about legalisation and translation, with a source under every line. Free.

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Last checked: 20 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.

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• Criminal record
• Birth and marriage
• Legalisation
• Translation
• Consulates
• Order
• Validity clock

1. Criminal record certificate

The Malian administration's procedures site says that, to obtain the casier judiciaire (criminal record certificate), the person follows an administrative route at the Tribunal Civil of their place of birth.^[1] It says the person goes to the office of the casier judiciaire and of the certificate of nationality,^[2] and that the Procureur or the Juge de Paix à Compétence Étendue signs the casier on the basis of the attestation supplied by the clerk (greffier).^[3]

Criminal record certificate from Mali: who issues it and how long it stays valid

2. Birth certificate, and marriage certificate if you are married

On its page for the birth certificate extract, the Malian administration's procedures site says that the hospital, clinic or maternity ward records the birth in a civil-status register and sends part II, the birth declaration, to the town hall or the Centre d'état civil it depends on.^[1] It says the extract of the birth certificate, called volet III, is submitted for the mayor's signature before it is given to the person, who can then make copies.^[2] It lists the extract (volet III) as free and a copy at 100 CFA francs across the territory,^[3] says a copy can be made at any civil-status centre,^[4] and says the extract is generally delivered within 24 hours of the civil-status office receiving the file.^[5] It names the Centre d'état civil of the place of residence as the service to contact.^[6]

Mali's Foreign Ministry directory of its missions says consular posts abroad assist Malians established outside Mali and issue administrative documents,^[7] and lists the establishing of civil-status records among their tasks.^[8] The embassy in Madrid lists among its consular services "Fotocopia de certificados de nacimiento y matrimonio" (photocopy of birth and marriage certificates).^[9] The site of the Sevilla honorary consulate, whose web address the embassy's page gives,^[10] says its birth certificate transcription procedure covers the registration in Spain of births to a Malian parent and requests for full copies or extracts of Malian records,^[11] and shows one estimated time of 3 to 6 weeks and one indicative fee of 15 € for the procedure.^[12] The documents it asks for are a full Spanish birth certificate and the parents' passports and NIE,^[13] so we cannot tell whether that time and fee apply to a request for a Malian extract.

3. Legalisation

The status table of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) for the 1961 Apostille Convention (last update 30-VI-2026) counts 130 Contracting Parties; we did not find Mali among those listed.^[1] The HCCH page of authorities lists Mali's authorities under the Adoption Convention only; we found no apostille entry for Mali there.^[2]

We found no Malian apostille authority, so the route described by the Spanish pages is legalisation. Spain's Foreign Ministry says foreign public documents that need diplomatic legalisation must be legalised first by the Foreign Ministry of the country that issues them and then by the Spanish diplomatic representation of the consular district.^[3] Spain's Ministry of Justice warning says that "en el resto de los casos" there is an obligation to legalise public documents through the diplomatic route,^[4] and describes the two steps, adding that the Spanish consular step carries a fee.^[5] It also names the Foreign Ministry's Servicio de Legalizaciones in Spain, where it says legalisation is always free.^[6] The warning calls legalisation of foreign documents an essential requirement.^[7]

The Spanish Embassy in Mali and Burkina Faso says, in a notice of 25 August 2025 on changes to its legalisation system, that an appointment, requested by e-mail, is needed to legalise documents issued by Malian authorities at its Consular Section,^[8][9] and that the documents must first have been legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali or of Burkina Faso.^[10] It says translations and photocopies will not be legalised,^[11] and that the legalisation by its Consular Section concludes the procedure.^[12] It gives an average processing time of one week, except for diplomas and academic titles, for which it gives about 3 months.^[13] Its general page on legalisation and the Hague apostille (we found no apostille route for Mali) adds that only legalised or apostilled originals (or authentic copies issued by the body that issued the original) are admitted.^[14]

The embassy of Mali in Madrid, on the page for its translation service, says that the documents to translate or legalise must first be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali or by the Spanish Embassy in Bamako, depending on the document.^[15] The page does not say which document goes to which body.

Spain's Foreign Ministry says its own diplomatic legalisation has no expiry date but that, if the document has a validity period, legalisation does not extend it.^[30] The Spanish Embassy in Mali says legalisation and apostille do not expire but that, if the validity of the original is limited in time, the expiry date also applies to the legalisation or apostille.^[31] As said above, we found no apostille route for Mali.

4. Translation into Spanish

We found no official page saying in which language a Malian certificate is issued, or whether it needs a Spanish translation. Spain's order says "traducido en su caso" for the birth certificate and "traducido" for the criminal record.^[1][2]

The Spanish Ministry of Justice warning says translation is done or checked at Spanish consulates abroad or at the consular offices in Spain of the document's country of origin, and that the documents must then be legalised. It adds that a sworn translator-interpreter named by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can do the translation or check.^[3][4]

The Malian embassy's list of consular services includes "Traduction d'A.N; de C.J.; d'A.M et d'Autorisation parentale en espagnol".^[5] The page does not spell out the abbreviations. Its page for that service lists 15 € per document to translate and a delay of 2 weeks,^[6] and says the documents to translate or legalise must first be legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mali or by the Spanish Embassy in Bamako, depending on the document.^[7] We found no page saying whether Spain's authorities accept that translation for a nationality file. The Sevilla honorary consulate's site lists a translation and legalisation service for Malian birth, marriage and criminal record certificates for use in Spain.^[8]

5. Consulates in Spain

Spain's Foreign Ministry diplomatic list, updated to 30 September 2026,^[1] names the Embassy of the Republic of Mali^[2] and gives its Consular Section at C/ Rodríguez Marín 15, C.P. 28015, with the entrance by Avda. Dr. Arce 18.^[3] The embassy's own page says its Consular Section is in Madrid, at Avenida Doctor Arce nº 18, Local Bajo, 28002;^[4] we found no page explaining the difference between the two addresses. The embassy's page also says that to carry out any procedure at the embassy's services an appointment is compulsory.^[5]

The same page says honorary consulates are also open in Barcelona, Tenerife, Sevilla, Valencia and Almería.^[6] Another page of the embassy also lists an honorary consul in Palma de Mallorca.^[7] We found a website for only one of them, Sevilla, which the embassy's page lists,^[8] and found no page saying which honorary consulate can handle which of the documents above. The services each page lists for these documents are described in the sections above.

6. Order of requests and validity

Spain's order says that all documents must be in force when you apply.^[1] For certificates, the validity stated on the certificate itself counts,^[2] and a criminal record certificate with no stated validity counts for six months from the day it was issued.^[3]

Legalisation does not make a document last longer. Spain's Foreign Ministry says legalisation has no expiry date but that, if the document has a validity period, legalisation does not extend it.^[4]

When you create the online application you have two months to complete and file it, or it is deleted.^[5]

1. Find out what validity, if any, each issuer prints on its certificate (the sections above say what we found).
2. Request first the documents that need a legalisation and a sworn translation, since those steps come after issue.
3. Request the criminal record certificate when you can still finish its legalisation and translation inside its validity.
4. Type its issue date in the clock below and file before the "valid until" date it shows.
5. Create the online application only when you are close to filing: from creation you have two months.

Next steps

The nationality file, step by step

Your file silent after a year

Years to Spanish nationality by country

Criminal record certificate from Mali: who issues it and how long it stays valid

Where is my Spanish nationality file? The official ways to check it

The Spanish nationality oath (jura): what to bring and where to do it

Years, exams and fee for Spanish nationality by country of origin: open data

Explanation written with AI from the official source cited on this page.

CiviqPass is an independent service. Built from the texts linked beside each line; procedures change, so confirm on the official pages.