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

Provided for in Law 26/2015 and regulated by Royal Decree 1110/2015 (amended by Royal Decree 407/2024), its purpose is the protection of minors: it centralises final convictions for offences against sexual freedom and for human trafficking, whatever the victim's age, in order to prevent those listed in it from accessing professions involving regular contact with minors. Entry is automatic after a final 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 cancellation periods depend not on the seriousness of the offence but on the victim's age (Art. 10.1 of Royal Decree 1110/2015): if the victim was an adult, or the offender committed the acts as a minor, the general periods of Art. 136 CP apply (from six months for minor penalties to ten years for serious ones); if the victim was a minor and the offender an adult, 30 years without committing another offence against sexual freedom or of trafficking. The decisive nuance is the moment from which they are counted: not from the judgment, nor from release from prison, but from the day after the sentence is extinguished (with the rule in Art. 136.2 CP if the sentence was suspended). This means the clock only starts once the sentence has been served or otherwise extinguished. 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 the sentence 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: where the victim was a minor and the offender an adult, clearing the record in the Central Register of Convictions does not cancel the sexual offenders entry. 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, or by the company or organisation with their express consent; a negative certificate shows there is no entry and a positive one sets out the recorded data. 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: the courts and authorised authorities have access to it in the exercise of their functions, and the certificate is issued only to the person concerned or, with their consent, to whoever needs it for an activity involving regular contact with minors. 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.