Removing Records from the Sex Offender Registry: Deadlines

The Central Registry of Sexual Offenders and Human Trafficking prevents a person from working with minors. As criminal lawyers, we explain how entry works, what the retention periods are and how to have a record cancelled.

Concept

Created by Organic Law 8/2015, its purpose is the protection of minors: it centralises convictions for offences of a sexual nature in order to prevent those listed in it from accessing professions involving regular contact with minors. Entry is automatic after conviction: it is made ex officio, with no additional decision and no procedural step on the part of the convicted person. The negative certificate is mandatory for: teachers, youth workers, coaches, healthcare staff, carers and, in general, any position — paid or voluntary — that involves regular contact with minors.

Periods

The retention periods depend on the seriousness of the offence: minor offences, 10 years; less serious offences, 15-20 years; serious offences, 25-30 years. The decisive nuance is the moment from which they are counted: not from the judgment, nor from release from prison, but from the full extinction of criminal liability. This means the clock only starts once the sentence has been served in full, including any measures enforced after the prison term. In practice, the real time spent on the registry can be far longer than the bare figure suggests, so it is worth calculating the extinction date precisely in each case. Someone who finishes serving their sentence in full today does not start using up the retention period until that precise moment, even if the judgment dates from much earlier.

How to Have the Record Cancelled

Once the relevant period has elapsed, cancellation can be carried out ex officio or requested by the person concerned, attaching the documents proving the extinction of criminal liability and the passing of the period. In practice, it is advisable not to wait for the authorities to act of their own motion: expressly request the cancellation, verify that the period has been computed correctly and check that no erroneous entries remain. This cancellation should not be confused with the cancellation of ordinary criminal records, which is a separate procedure with its own deadlines: it is possible to have your criminal record cleared and still appear on the sexual offenders registry, and vice versa. Reviewing computation errors is one of the most frequent reasons for a lawyer's involvement in this area. If the request is refused or left unanswered, the decision can be challenged, so it is advisable to keep a stamped copy of the application and of all the documents submitted.

Effects

The main effects are three. First, the inability to work with minors: the employer must require the certificate, and a live entry closes off access to those positions. Second, the certificate before employers: it is requested by the person concerned and merely reflects whether or not an entry exists. Third, a possible impact on custody proceedings, where the entry may be taken into account. Outside those areas, the registry is not public: it cannot be consulted by just anyone, and only the authorities in the exercise of their functions and the person concerned have access to it. For those working in education, sport or healthcare, a live entry can in practice mean the end of their professional activity, so the correct calculation of the periods and a timely cancellation have a direct impact on employment.