Short answer: the original contract remains valid, but a translation made with DeepL has no official validity on its own and may contain errors that change what you sign. If you are going to use it before a court, a notary or a public authority, you will usually need a reviewed, sworn translation.
Translating a contract with DeepL does not invalidate it: a contract's validity depends on the parties' consent, its subject matter and its cause (Article 1261 of the Spanish Civil Code), not on the tool used to translate it. What you need to distinguish is the role the translation plays. If you only use it to understand or negotiate the contract, it may be useful, but DeepL can change the scope of an obligation, translate a legal term literally or alter a deadline or a figure, and nobody is accountable for those errors. If you sign a bilingual version, the translated text also becomes part of what you sign. And if you need to submit the contract to a court, notary, registry or public authority, you will usually be asked for a sworn translation, signed and stamped by a sworn translator-interpreter appointed by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In all these cases, our AI translation quality control service lets you start from your DeepL translation and end up with a reviewed contract that is sworn if needed.
The contract signed in its original language is the one that binds the parties. Translating it with DeepL does not change that.
What the translation says also counts. A DeepL error can create a discrepancy between the two versions.
Documents in another language must be accompanied by a translation, and if the other party challenges it, an official translation may be ordered.
A sworn translation is usually required. We confirm what the specific body requires before we start.
A legal and sworn translation team that knows the language of contracts and where machine translation tends to fail: obligations, deadlines, guarantees, liabilities and governing law clauses. We review your DeepL translation against the original, correct whatever is necessary and, if it has so many errors that it is better to redo it, we tell you before we start. Personalised service from start to finish.
Select the language of your contract and tell us what you need it for. We review contracts translated with DeepL or other tools in the same language combinations we translate; if you don't see yours, ask us.
DeepL produces fluent text, but a contract leaves no room for approximations. These are the points we check most closely when we receive a contract translated with AI.
Concepts with no literal equivalent between legal systems, which AI translates word for word.
The difference between what a party must do and what it may do, which changes the scope of a clause.
Provisos, conditions and negations that get lost or reversed in translation.
Notice periods, due dates, durations and date formats that vary from country to country.
Prices, penalties, percentages and decimal separators checked one by one against the original.
Names of the parties, company names, positions and bodies that must be kept or adapted correctly.
If you prefer to have the contract translated from scratch, without starting from DeepL.
The complete review service for machine translations, for any document.
The same DeepL translation may need different treatment depending on where it is going. Tell us what you will use the contract for and we will tell you which option applies.
To negotiate, understand what you are going to sign or prepare a bilingual version. We deliver the corrected translation so that it says exactly the same as the original.
To submit the contract to a court, notary, registry or public authority. After a full review against the original, the translation is delivered signed and stamped by a sworn translator.
A simple process: you send us the original contract and the DeepL translation, we review it clause by clause and return it corrected, as a standard or sworn version depending on how you will use it.
The original contract and your DeepL translation, preferably in an editable format (Word).
NowWe assess the initial translation, the language and whether you need a reviewed or sworn version.
15 minWe compare it with the original, correct legal terms, obligations, deadlines and figures, and carry out a final check.
Depending on volumeIn the format you need, with the MAEC signature and stamp if sworn.
GuaranteedThere is no single rate: reviewing a short contract well translated by DeepL is not the same as reviewing a long one that needs to be largely redone. The price is calculated based on these four factors, which is why we need to see the original contract and your translation before giving you a fixed figure.
Send us these four details and we'll reply with the price, a feasible deadline and the recommended delivery.
A contract's validity depends on the parties' consent, a definite subject matter and a cause (Article 1261 of the Spanish Civil Code), not on the language or the tool used to translate it. The translation is another matter: when a document written in another language is submitted in court proceedings, the Spanish Civil Procedure Act (Article 144) requires it to be accompanied by its translation; this can be done privately, but if the other party challenges it, an official translation will be ordered. And notaries, registries and public authorities usually require a sworn translation, depending on each procedure.
A sworn translation is signed and stamped by a sworn translator-interpreter authorised by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a role regulated, among other rules, by Royal Decree 724/2020 (BOE). You can check authorisation by language in the Ministry's official search tool. If your procedure is international, an apostille or legalisation may also be required depending on the country.
This information is for guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. At Trayma we check the destination country and body with you before issuing the final version, so we can recommend the safest delivery option and avoid requests for further documentation.
These are the contracts we most often receive translated with DeepL or other tools. Some only need a professional review; others, if they are going to an official body, are delivered as a sworn translation. If yours is not on the list, ask us.
We are right in the centre of Alicante, next to the train station, with easy access by public transport. In-person service by appointment and online processing for the whole of Spain.
Attach the original contract and the DeepL translation and tell us what you need it for. We'll tell you whether a review is enough or you need a sworn translation, along with the fixed price and turnaround, in complete confidentiality.
Adjunta la documentación y te devolvemos presupuesto cerrado en 15 minutos, bajo confidencialidad. Sin compromiso.
