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Certified Colombian Articles of Incorporation Translation
Certified translation of the documents that constitute and evidence a Colombian company, with the corporate form, the registry references and the powers of the representatives reproduced exactly rather than mapped onto US equivalents that carry different law.
$24.95/page
Flat rate per page, up to 250 words. No hidden fees.
100% USCIS acceptance
Every certified translation is guaranteed to be accepted by USCIS.
24-hour delivery
Most 1-3 page documents are delivered within 24 hours. Same-day available.
The certificate, not the deed
The document a Colombian company is asked for abroad is almost never its constitutive instrument. It is the certificado de existencia y representación legal issued by the Cámara de Comercio — a certificate that the company exists, who represents it and with what limits, valid for a short period and refused when stale.
Ordering a translation of the escritura when the office wanted the certificado is the commonest mistake in Colombian corporate filings, and the translation cannot repair it. Ask first, then order.
The SAS changed how companies are formed
The sociedad por acciones simplificada is constituted by private document rather than public deed, which surprises readers expecting a notarial instrument and is entirely regular. It has become the dominant form for new Colombian companies.
Older companies remain as SA or Ltda and were constituted by escritura pública before a notary. Which form you hold tells you which instrument exists, and a foreign office expecting a notarised deed from an SAS is expecting something that was never created.
Limits on the legal representative
The certificado states the representante legal and any limitación a la representación — commonly a monetary ceiling above which the representative needs board or shareholder authorisation. A counterparty relying on a signature above that ceiling is relying on nothing.
That limit is translated as an amount in its own currency, never converted, and never paraphrased as "subject to approval". The figure and the threshold are the substance.
NIT, matrícula and two surnames
The NIT is the tax identification and the matrícula mercantil the commercial registration number; both appear on the certificado and both are reproduced exactly, because they are how the company is verified independently.
Both surnames of any named individual are carried across in the order given — dropping the second is how a legal representative stops matching their own cédula. See our Spanish page.
Ordering, and what the certification covers
Upload the document, choose certified translation at $24.95 per page of up to 250 words, and it comes back typically within 24 hours as a PDF formatted to mirror the original, with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on letterhead. Every seal, stamp, notarial recital and registry annotation is translated — a corporate document with its endorsements missing is not a complete document. See how we translate and certified versus standard.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need the escritura or the certificado?
Almost always the certificado de existencia y representación legal, and a recent one. It is what offices abroad ask for.
Why is there no notarial deed?
An SAS is constituted by private document. That is regular and it is now the dominant Colombian form.
What is a limitación a la representación?
A monetary ceiling on the legal representative. A signature above it binds nothing, so the figure is translated exactly and never converted.
Are both surnames kept?
Both, in the order the document gives them.
Ready to get started?
Upload the deed or the registry extract and receive the certified translation, typically within 24 hours.