If you're moving to Germany to work, heading there to study, or your company is closing a contract with a German firm, sooner or later you'll need to send documents to Germany from Spain. The good news is twofold: because both countries are inside the European Union, your envelope doesn't pass through any customs and pays no duties; and Germany is rigorous with paperwork, so if you send it right, it goes through right. The shipment itself is a clean formality: what really matters is arriving with a properly legalised document so the German authority accepts it first time. This guide explains, without jargon, what you need to know before sending your papers to Germany.
Sending documents to Germany: inside the EU there's no customs
Let's start with the most reassuring part. When you send documents —not goods, but papers: contracts, degrees, certificates, powers of attorney, case files— from Spain to Germany, you're moving something with no commercial value between two European Union countries. That means three concrete things:
- There's no customs border. There is no German customs office to inspect, hold or classify your envelope the way it would if you sent it outside the EU.
- No duties or import taxes are paid. Personal documents aren't goods, so they don't incur customs charges. There are no last-minute surprises and no fees to pay to get the envelope released.
- The shipment travels like an extended domestic delivery. In practical terms, sending papers to Munich is more like sending them to Seville than sending them to the Philippines.
Note: this applies only to documents. A parcel with objects —gifts, clothes, electronics, samples— or a suitcase is goods with commercial value and enters different territory, even though the movement of goods within the EU is free. Here we're talking about documents, which is the clean case.
So, if there's no customs, where's the real work? In two words: apostille and, depending on the case, translation.
The apostille: Germany is part of the Hague Convention
Both Spain and Germany are party to the Hague Convention of 1961, the one that created the Apostille. The apostille is a stamp certifying that a public document is authentic, so that another signatory country recognises it without further consular formalities. In other words, instead of going through embassies and a chain of legalisations, a single stamp settles it.
Here's the important part that many people aren't clear on: not every document needs an apostille, but when a German authority asks for it, you absolutely need it. It depends on two factors:
1. That it's a Spanish public document (one issued by an administration, a notary, a registry or an official body: university degrees, birth or marriage certificates, criminal records, powers of attorney, etc.).
2. That the German authority receiving it requires its legalisation. A university, a residents' registration office, an employer or a German court may require the Spanish document to come apostilled to treat it as valid.
The practical rule is simple: before sending, ask whoever the document is addressed to whether they want it apostilled. It saves you having to repeat the shipment. And if you need to get the apostille in Spain before sending your papers, you'll find the complete step-by-step in our guide on how to apostille documents in Spain.
What about the German translation?
The apostille certifies that the document is authentic, but it doesn't translate it. Many German authorities accept documents in Spanish if they come apostilled; others, especially universities and official bodies, also ask for a translation —sometimes a sworn translation into German— to process it.
Again, the key is to ask the German recipient what they require: whether the apostilled original is enough, whether they want a translation, and whether that translation has to be sworn. Don't do unnecessary work ahead of time, but don't fall short either: arriving without the translation they asked for is the most common reason a procedure gets stuck.
Typical cases of sending documents to Germany
These are the reasons our clients usually send documents to Germany from Spain. If you recognise yourself in any of them, you already know where things are heading:
- Degree recognition. A Spanish university or vocational training qualification you need to have recognised in Germany in order to practise or to enrol. It almost always requires an apostille and, frequently, translation.
- Residents' registration (Anmeldung). When you settle in a German city you have to register, and it may ask you for supporting Spanish documentation (certificates, records). Depending on the office, it may require legalisation.
- Employment contracts. Sending your future German employer signed contracts, company documentation or certificates backing up your hiring.
- Criminal record. The Spanish criminal record certificate is one of the documents most often requested to work in certain sectors, and it's a classic case of a document that goes apostilled.
- Company documentation. Deeds, powers of attorney, commercial certificates or contracts between a Spanish company and a German one. Here an apostilled power of attorney is common.
In all these cases the shipment is the least of it: what makes the difference is that the document leaves Spain already properly legalised for the specific authority that's going to receive it.
Timelines: a few days within the EU, delivery with signature
Being an intra-EU corridor with no customs border, sending papers to Germany is about as fast and predictable as it gets. We won't invent an exact figure for you, because the timeline depends on the destination city and the courier, but in practice we're talking about a few business days within Europe, without the waits caused by customs outside the EU.
We work with top-tier couriers —UPS, DHL, SEUR and CTT Express— and we choose the most suitable one according to the destination and the urgency. For important documents, something we always recommend is delivery with signature: the recipient signs on receipt, so you have proof that your degree, your contract or your power of attorney reached the right hands and didn't end up in a letterbox.
If it's your first time sending papers abroad and you'd like to see the whole thing from start to finish, our guide to your first document shipment, step by step may help.
How we do it at Acacia Cargo
We're a local operator in Barcelona, not an anonymous app. Sending documents to Germany with us works like this:
1. You bring us, or tell us about, the document and which German authority it's addressed to. With that, we guide you on whether it's worth apostilling and/or translating before sending it.
2. We prepare the shipment correctly as documentation with no commercial value and choose the right courier.
3. We send it with tracking and, when it's sensitive documentation, with signed delivery.
4. We give you a fixed price, with no last-minute surprises.
You can drop the documents off in person at our office at Carrer de Pelai 9, 08001 Barcelona, or start the whole thing from home. And if you also need an apostille or translation, we chain it together so it goes out in a single shipment.
An honest note about us: we have 5.0 stars on Google with a good couple of dozen real reviews. It's not inflated marketing; it reflects treating every shipment as if it were important, because for the person sending it, it is.
Frequently asked questions
Do documents sent to Germany pay customs?
No. Spain and Germany are in the European Union, so there's no customs border between them, and documents —not being goods with commercial value— don't incur duties or import taxes. The shipment travels with no customs formalities.
Does my document need an apostille for Germany?
It depends. If it's a Spanish public document (a degree, certificate, criminal record, power of attorney…) and the German authority receiving it requires its legalisation, then yes, it needs the Hague Apostille, because both countries are party to the Convention. Always ask the recipient whether they require it before sending.
Do I have to translate the document into German?
Not always. Some German authorities accept the apostilled original in Spanish; others ask for a translation, sometimes sworn. Confirm it with whoever is going to receive the document so you neither fall short nor do more work than needed.
How long does a document shipment from Spain to Germany take?
Being an intra-EU corridor with no customs, it's usually a matter of a few business days. The exact timeline depends on the destination city and the courier; we confirm it when we give you the quote.
How much does it cost to send documents to Germany?
The price is fixed and depends on the weight and destination. We give it to you over WhatsApp within a couple of hours or with the online quote, at no cost for asking.
Send your documents to Germany without the hassle
Sending documents to Germany from Spain is, deep down, simple: no customs, no duties, and with fast transport within the EU. The only thing you really have to nail is the apostille when they ask for it and, if needed, the translation. We guide you on that for free so your document arrives valid first time.
At Acacia Cargo we check that your paperwork is in order, we send it with tracking and signed delivery, and we give you a fixed price over WhatsApp within a couple of hours. Drop by Carrer de Pelai 9, 08001 Barcelona or message us on WhatsApp +34 626 78 54 28 — we assist you in Spanish, English and Filipino, Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 20:00.
Ready to send? Calculate your shipment here and you'll have it quoted in no time.
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