How to Offer Official and Technical Translation in Colombia: Suitability Exam and What the Foreign Ministry Does Not Register

Quick answer: you can sell technical or free translation today, without an exam. What you cannot do is advertise yourself as an official translator without the university certificate (or a license issued before the law), and there is also no "registration with the Cancillería" that qualifies you. If you first want to understand the commercial difference between free and official translation, it is in our guide to offering professional translation. Here we go straight to the exam and the advertisement.

Which license is valid (and what the Cancillería does not register)

The legal route is article 33 of Law 962 of 2005: whoever aims to become an official translator and interpreter passes the exam of a university with an accredited language faculty. The document the university issues is the license. Licenses issued before that law remain valid.

Here is the most common mistake, which the original title of this topic repeated: the Cancillería does not register official translators' signatures, does not publish a directory, does not certify suitability, and sets neither the procedure nor the rate for the service. Circular 112 of 2021 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs says so, and Resolution 1959 of 2020 adds that the Ministry is not competent to regulate, verify, certify, designate or register the profession.

Watch out for old pages, including an English one from the Cancillería about registering translators' signatures: that is no longer the current procedure. And to put it bluntly: writing "translator registered or endorsed by the Cancillería" in your ad is false under current regulations.

A foreign degree, a private certification or a "sworn translator" from another country do not serve as a Colombian license either.

Universidad Nacional exam: regular call at the end of 2026

According to the EXTIO page of the Universidad Nacional (extio.unal.edu.co, read on October 25, 2026), the last regular application of 2026 works as follows:

• Price: COP 2.172.300 for the general public and COP 1.955.000 with the published discount (UNAL community, Sisbén 1 and 2, disability or displacement). Figures from the page updated at 5:30 p.m. on October 16, 2026.
• Section A: in-person English, November 21, 2026, 13 spots; registration closes November 6 at 3:00 p.m.
• Section B: hybrid, November 28, 23 spots (16 remote and 7 in-person); closes November 13 at 3:00 p.m.
• Section C: remote English, December 5, 21 spots; closes November 20 at 3:00 p.m.
• Results: February 14, 2027, after 8:00 p.m.

The in-person sessions for A and B are held on the campus of the Bogotá headquarters, CR 30 45 03; the remote ones are on Zoom. These spots are those of the update at 5:30 p.m. on October 16, 2026, and they change: reread the page before paying.

The exam has four tests: two one-hour written tests and two oral tests of about twenty minutes. The minimum passing score is 45 out of 50, with accuracy weighted at 80% and naturalness at 20%. Physical dictionaries are allowed, and a foreign degree or certificate does not replace the exam. The university does not offer a preparatory course; practice exams are requested at comextio_fchbog@unal.edu.co.

Who can register and how to pay

You must be of legal age and hold a valid Cédula de Ciudadanía or Cédula de Extranjería as a resident or migrant. Passport or PPT are not accepted in this call. Cash payment is a deposit into savings account 01272006-6 at Banco Popular, collection code 20142023, in the name of the Fondo Especial de la Facultad de Ciencias Humanas; electronic transfer is not accepted for this payment. Verify that the details remain the same in the call.

If you miss the deadline, there is the late application: the 2026 call published COP 2.989.400 (general) and COP 2.690.500 (with discount). The permanent rule for the terms is 1.4 SMMLV for the regular call and 2 SMMLV for the late one, with a 10% discount that cannot be combined. The exam review costs 0.65 SMMLV in force at the time you register.

Passing gives you a certificate of suitability at no additional cost. The seal, however, is your expense, and these pages do not list an official price for it. My opinion: request a quote for the seal before drawing up your budget, because it is the expense almost nobody mentions.

Universidad de Antioquia exam: a different format

Don't mix up the rules. The Universidad de Antioquia assesses a single pair: English, French or Portuguese with Spanish. There is an oral test and a written test of 1,200 words in total, the passing grade is 4.5, and you must pass both. It is not remote.

The 2026-1 call published a fee of COP 2.094.538, 30 spots and an in-person exam on Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Medellín Campus, Ciudad Universitaria, Block 11-205. That date has already passed: registration is not open. Check the university's languages page for the next call and don't assume a date.

What to tell the client after the license

Money and time are lost here due to lack of clarity. Two scenarios:

1. Use abroad: each official translation carries notarial recognition of the translator's signature (art. 6 of Resolution 1959 of 2020). The Cancillería apostilles or legalizes the notary's signature, not yours or the content, and it is done document by document, one PDF for each. The cost of the recognition has no single rate in official sources: ask the notary's office for the quote.
2. Use within Colombia: since December 1, 2020, an official translation done here is not apostilled or legalized. However, the original foreign document must arrive apostilled or legalized from its country when the entity requests it.

Do not promise that an embassy, a foreign university or a visa will accept the document: the receiving entity decides that. And there is no official rate per word, page or document; each translator quotes. So the sensible approach is a written quote based on language pair, specialty, volume and urgency. To see how the client thinks, look at the verification guide for official translations.

How to publish the service without posing as official

An ad does not prove your suitability, and clients know it. Trust comes from being precise. These are the fields I would fill in:

• Language pair and specialty (manuals, websites, contracts for review, etc.).
• Scope: write "official" only if you have a university certificate, and state the university and year. If not, write "technical translation, not official" or "free translation".
• Deadline and format of delivery.
• Remote or city: depending on how the services work, a remote service is published once and covers the country; an in-person one declares a city and radius.
• "From" price as a starting point for a quote, not as an official rate.
• Confidentiality: explain how you handle other people's documents.

Do not post your full cédula in the ad or show clients' documents. And reject in writing any assignments with legal effects if you have no license. It is the simplest way to avoid a serious problem.

Offer context: according to the public page of the Translation category on Colombia Move (October 25, 2026), it had 0 ads, with direct contact and no commission or intermediaries. You can see other options in the services section.

Frequently asked questions

❓ Does the Cancillería register me as an official translator?

No. Circular 112 of 2021 says the Cancillería does not register translators' signatures, does not publish lists and does not certify suitability. The qualification is the university exam certificate under article 33 of Law 962 of 2005, or a license issued before that law (verify with the official source).

❓ How much does the Universidad Nacional exam cost in the end-of-2026 call?

COP 2.172.300 for the general public and COP 1.955.000 with the published discount, according to the page of October 16, 2026. Confirm spots and closing dates before paying. The Antioquia call of July 11, 2026 has already passed (verify with the official source).

❓ Can I offer technical translation without that exam?

Yes, as long as you don't promise legal effects or present yourself as an official translator. Manuals, websites or marketing content do not require a license. State in the ad that it is technical or free translation, not official (verify with the official source).

❓ Is there an official rate per word?

No. No entity publishes a tariff per word, page or document, and the Cancillería does not set the price of the service. Quote in writing based on language pair, specialty, volume and urgency, without copying figures from blogs (verify with the official source).

❓ Where do I publish the translation service?

In the Translation category, within Services, as a service you offer. If it is done online, you mark it as remote and a single listing covers the country; if it is in person, you indicate the city and service radius.

❓ How do I sell safely and avoid scams without posing as official?

Without a certificate or a license issued before the law, advertise only technical or free translation and reject assignments with legal effects. Do not publish your full cédula or clients' documents. An ad does not prove suitability: trust comes from being clear about the scope (verify with the official source).

❓ Is the apostille stamped over my signature?

No. For use abroad, your signature is recognized before a notary and the Cancillería apostilles the notary's signature. Within Colombia, an official translation done here has not been apostilled since December 1, 2020 (verify with the official source).