Criminal Record Certificate for Spain Online

The Certificado de Antecedentes Penales is Spain’s criminal record certificate. It confirms whether a person has convictions entered in the Registro Central de Penados, the central register kept by the Spanish Ministry of Justice. Immigration offices, employers, universities and adoption services ask for it at almost every stage: residence permits, work contracts, internships, court proceedings.

One thing before the details: Apostilla is a private company, not a government agency. We do not issue this certificate and do not act on behalf of the Spanish Ministry of Justice or any other state body. Our part is practical preparation around the document: apostille on foreign certificates, sworn translation into Spanish, and checking that the set you submit matches what the requesting authority expects.

Here is the full picture: which papers to prepare, how the online and in-person routes differ, what the payment for the KRK inquiry covers and how long each channel takes.

Documents You Need and How Form 790 Works

To request information from the KRK, you fill in a standard inquiry form: a “zapytanie o udzielenie informacji o osobie” (for individuals) or “o podmiocie zbiorowym” (for companies), together with proof of payment. The fee depends on how you apply: 20 zł for an online certificate through the e-krk system, or 30 zł for a paper version submitted in person or by post. If someone acts on your behalf, add a 17 zł stamp duty for the power of attorney, though close family members are exempt from it. For an online application you will also need a profil zaufany or a qualified electronic signature, plus an account in the e-krk system.

Three things form the core of any application: the request form, proof of identity and the paid Form 790.

• the standard application form for the Registro Central de Penados
• a copy of your passport, plus a NIE number if one has been assigned to you
• Form 790, code 015, filled in and paid, with the receipt attached
• a power of attorney if someone applies on your behalf

Form 790 is the payment slip that funds the whole procedure. You generate it on the Electronic Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, and the system shows the exact fee before you pay. The amount is fixed and modest; what actually trips people up is the code, because a slip with the wrong code gets rejected at the counter. Payment can be made by card during the online generation, in person at a collaborating bank in Spain, or from abroad through a Spanish consulate, which advises on the accepted methods for your country of residence.

What the Certificate Actually Proves

The document states whether the person has criminal convictions registered in Spain. It is not a character reference and says nothing about debts, administrative fines or civil disputes. If the record is clean, the certificate says so explicitly; if convictions exist and have not been cancelled, they appear with their details. The Spanish Ministry of Justice issues the paper, and the Registro Central de Penados is the database behind it. Foreign convictions are not included: the register covers only sentences handed down by Spanish courts.

Cancellation of Criminal Records

Convictions do not stay visible forever. Spanish law provides for cancellation once the sentence has been served and further statutory periods pass, and the length of those periods depends on the penalty imposed. After cancellation, the conviction disappears from the certificate, and a fresh request returns a clean document. If you believe a record should already be cancelled but still shows up, the correction goes through the Registro Central de Penados with a separate request.

Applying in Person at the Registry Office

The classic route is a personal visit. Applications are taken at the Registro Central de Penados in Madrid and, for people living outside Spain, at Spanish consulates. You book an appointment (cita previa), bring your passport and the paid Form 790, and sign the request on site. Many applicants receive the paper certificate during the same visit; when the office sends it later, it usually takes a few working days. Consulates add their own queue, so ask about current waiting times before you travel.

Online Application with a Digital Certificate

The fastest channel runs through the Electronic Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice. You identify yourself electronically, fill in the form, attach the payment receipt and download the signed PDF once it is ready. Requests submitted this way are typically processed within about 24 hours, and the electronic document carries the same legal force as the paper one.

Requirements: Digital Certificate or Electronic DNI

Electronic identification is the gatekeeper here. The portal accepts:

• the Electronic DNI (DNIe) with a reader and its PIN
• a Spanish digital certificate (certificado digital) issued by an approved provider

For foreigners the setup takes planning. A digital certificate requires a NIE and an in-person identity check at an accreditation office in Spain, so it makes sense to obtain one during an earlier stay. If you have neither an Electronic DNI nor a Spanish digital certificate, the online route stays closed, and the consulate or a postal application becomes the realistic option.

How Long a Criminal Record Lasts

Two different clocks matter. The record itself stays in the register until it is cancelled under the rules described above. The certificate as a document has no official expiry date, but it reflects the register at the moment of issue, so the requesting authority will almost always expect a recent one. The practical rule: order it close to your submission date and check with the requesting organisation how fresh the paper must be.

Certificate for Working with Minors

Jobs in schools, sports clubs, childcare and volunteering with children require a separate document: the Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual. It queries the sex offences register and answers one question, whether the person appears there for such offences. It does not replace the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales; public administrations and employers usually ask for both. The procedure mirrors the main certificate, including the Form 790 payment and the same electronic identification options.

Apostille and Legalization

A Spanish certificate presented to a foreign authority normally needs a Hague Apostille, and the same applies in reverse: a foreign police clearance submitted in Spain must carry an apostille too. Ukraine has been part of the Hague Apostille Convention since 22 December 2003, having acceded on 2 April 2003, so no consular legalization is needed between the two countries. In practice, a Ukrainian police clearance certificate with an apostille is accepted by Spanish authorities, provided a sworn translation into Spanish is attached. On Ukrainian criminal record documents, the apostille is placed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which receives documents at its Kyiv office on Bohomoltsia Street, 10.

How Other EU Countries Handle It: the Polish KRK Example

If you have lived in Poland before Spain, you may need a Polish certificate as well, and the logic there is similar with a few local twists. Information from the Polish National Criminal Register (KRK) is provided by the KRK information office, and the institution responsible for the register is the Polish Ministry of Justice, according to the government portal biznes.gov.pl. The application is a standard inquiry form (zapytanie o udzielenie informacji o osobie) submitted together with proof of payment.

The online route in Poland requires a profil zaufany (trusted profile) or a qualified electronic signature plus an account in the e-KRK system, as stated on gov.pl. The electronic certificate is an XML file signed with a secure electronic signature, and a printout of it is not a document. Two more details worth knowing: the certificate is issued in Polish only, and the apostille on a KRK certificate is placed exclusively by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Volunteers applying to work as supervisors or leaders of children’s and youth holiday programmes are exempt from the fee under the rules published on gov.pl.

Using the Certificate in EU Countries

Inside the EU, justice ministries exchange conviction data through ECRIS, the European Criminal Records Information System. That exchange helps courts and prosecutors; it does not remove paperwork for individuals. A Spanish employer or migration office will still want a certificate from you, and if you have lived in several countries, they may ask for one from each. For non-EU nationals applying for long-term stay in Spain, the authorities commonly request police clearances from recent countries of residence, each apostilled and translated.

Case: Ordering the Certificate from Abroad

Situation: a Ukrainian citizen who has never lived in Spain is offered a job in Madrid, and the employer asks for a clean-record document.

1. The Spanish side needs the Certificado de Antecedentes Penales; without a Spanish digital ID, the realistic channel is the Spanish consulate covering the applicant’s place of residence.
2. The applicant books a cita previa at the consulate, brings the passport and the paid Form 790, and the consulate forwards the request to the registry.
3. In parallel, the employer also asks for a police clearance from the country of origin; the Ukrainian certificate is ordered online through the Ministry of Internal Affairs service and arrives as an electronic extract.
4. The Ukrainian document gets an apostille from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kyiv and a sworn translation into Spanish.

Result: the applicant hands over a Spanish certificate plus an apostilled, translated Ukrainian one, and the hiring file is complete. The chain is realistic within a couple of weeks if the consulate appointment comes quickly; postal channels can stretch it closer to a month.

How the Similar Documents Differ

Several documents look alike and get confused constantly, which is the most common reason a file bounces back.

Document	What it covers	Typical use
Certificado de Antecedentes Penales	Convictions in the Registro Central de Penados	Residence permits, most employment
Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual	The sex offences register	Work and volunteering with minors
Certificado de buena conducta	A foreign country’s equivalent of a clean-record certificate	When an authority asks for its own national format
ACRO police certificate (UK)	Convictions recorded in the United Kingdom	UK citizens applying for Spanish visas or residence

British applicants often meet that fourth name: the UK police certificate issued by ACRO (Criminal Records Office), which Spanish immigration accepts from UK nationals. If your case starts on the British side, our guide to the Spanish Criminal Record Check from the UK walks through that route separately.

Timings and Fees at a Glance

The fee itself is the same fixed Form 790 amount in every channel; what changes is the waiting time.

Channel	Fee	Typical time
Online with digital certificate or Electronic DNI	Form 790 fee	About 24 hours
In person at the Registro Central de Penados	Form 790 fee	Same visit to a few working days
By post or via a consulate	Form 790 fee	10 to 30 days

Where We Fit In

You can complete every step yourself through the Electronic Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice, a consulate or the registry in Madrid. Where help pays off is the cross-border part: apostille on Ukrainian documents, sworn translation, and making sure the set matches what the Spanish authority expects. The service catalogue describes each of these steps, and country-specific notes for people preparing documents between Ukraine and Spain appear regularly in our blog.

See also

• Apostille for Spain from Pakistan: MOFA Attestation and Embassy Legalization
• Spanish Criminal Record Check from the UK and Abroad
• Electronic Apostille (e-Apostille) for Spain