Parole in Spain: Requirements and Modalities (2026 Guide)

Parole (libertad condicional) allows a prisoner in Spain to serve the last part of the sentence outside prison, subject to rules of conduct. The ordinary form requires third grade, three quarters of the sentence served and good conduct, plus payment of the civil liability (Art. 90.1 of the Criminal Code, CP). It can be brought forward to two thirds or, for a first prison sentence of up to three years, to the halfway point; prisoners aged seventy or over and the very seriously ill have a regime of their own (Art. 91 CP).

What Parole Is: What It Means and What Happens Next with the Sentence

Since 1 July 2015, under Organic Law 1/2015, parole in Spain has been a suspension of the enforcement of the remainder of the prison sentence (Arts. 90 to 92 of the Criminal Code). There is no parole board: a judge decides. The General Penitentiary Act (LOGP) still calls parole the last grade of the prison system (Art. 72.1 LOGP), but the Code regulates it as a suspension, with three consequences:

• It has its own period. It lasts two to five years, never less than the part of the sentence still to be served, counted from the day of release (Art. 90.5 CP).
• It follows the rules on suspended sentences. Arts. 83, 86 and 87 CP apply: prohibitions and obligations, revocation and remission of the sentence.
• If it is revoked, the time spent on parole does not count (Art. 90.6 CP). Until 2015 it was the other way round: the former Art. 93.1 CP counted the time spent on parole. For offences committed before 1 July 2015, Organic Law 1/2015 applies only if, taken as a whole, it is more favourable (Art. 2.2 CP and First Transitional Provision of Organic Law 1/2015), and the Public Prosecutor's Office (Circular 3/2015) asks for the loss of parole time to be weighed in that comparison.

If you or a family member is in third grade and the dates are approaching, the prison must prepare the parole file and send it to the Prison Supervision Judge (juez de vigilancia penitenciaria), who oversees the enforcement of prison sentences and, since Organic Law 1/2025, sits in the Prison Supervision Section of the Court of Instance. Release is not automatic: the judge weighs the prisoner's personality, the offence, their conduct in prison and their family and social situation (Art. 90.1 CP, second paragraph).

Types of Parole: Modalities, Time Limits and Requirements

The Criminal Code provides for seven situations:

For people convicted of offences committed within criminal organisations, or of the offences in Chapter VII of Title XXII of Book II of the Code, Art. 90.8 CP lays down a specific regime, to which the modalities in sections 2 and 3 do not apply.

Requirements for Ordinary Parole (Art. 90.1 CP)

The Prison Supervision Judge «acordará» («shall order») the suspension when the prisoner meets these requirements:

1. Third grade (tercer grado), the open regime, which is granted in a separate procedure; see our guide on how to apply for third-grade classification.
2. Three quarters of the sentence imposed, already served.
3. Good conduct. The file records any disciplinary sanctions and their cancellation (Art. 195 of the Prison Regulations, RP).
4. Civil liability paid, meaning the compensation awarded to the victim, in the cases and according to the criteria of Art. 72.5 and 72.6 LOGP. Art. 72.5 LOGP looks beyond the amount paid: it considers the prisoner's efforts to make reparation, their real capacity to pay, present and future, and the security offered for future payment.

The law says «acordará» («shall order»), not «podrá acordar» («may order»), but it also obliges the judge to make the prognosis described above. So disputes usually turn on the prognosis and on civil liability.

When Parole Can Be Refused Even If the Time Limits Are Met (Art. 90.4 CP)

Art. 90.4 CP also allows the judge to refuse parole if the prisoner has given inaccurate or insufficient information about the whereabouts of assets whose confiscation was ordered, fails to honour, in line with their means, the undertaking to pay the civil liability, or gives inaccurate or insufficient information about their assets, in breach of Art. 589 of the Civil Procedure Act. For offences against the public administration (Title XIX of Book II), parole may also be refused if the prisoner evaded the monetary liabilities or the repair of the economic damage caused to the administration.

These grounds are discretionary («podrá denegar», «may refuse»): the defence can contest them by proving the prisoner's real financial capacity and what has been paid. They also apply to prisoners aged seventy or over and the very seriously ill (Art. 91.4 CP).

Early Parole: at Two Thirds and from the Halfway Point

Early parole is the usual name for the modalities that allow release before three quarters:

• At two thirds (Art. 90.2 CP, first paragraph). The requirements of ordinary parole, except the time limit, plus work, cultural or occupational activities carried out either continuously or with a benefit that has brought a relevant, favourable change in the circumstances linked to the prisoner's previous offending.
• The qualified advance (Art. 90.2 CP, second paragraph). On a proposal from the prison administration (Instituciones Penitenciarias) and after a report from the Public Prosecutor's Office, the judge may bring parole forward, once half the sentence has been served, «en relación con el plazo previsto en el apartado anterior» («in relation to the time limit laid down in the previous section»; unofficial translation), by up to ninety days for each year actually served. It also requires continuous activities and effective, favourable participation in programmes of reparation to victims, treatment or detoxification, where appropriate.
• Halfway through a first sentence (Art. 90.3 CP). Exceptionally, a prisoner serving a first prison sentence of no more than three years may obtain parole at half, with the same requirements as at two thirds. It is not available for offences against sexual freedom and integrity.

Bringing parole forward is, with the individual pardon, a prison benefit (Art. 202.2 RP). The old remission of sentences for work (redención de penas por el trabajo), by contrast, does not exist in the Criminal Code in force; see our guide on prison benefits and sentence reduction.

Prisoners Aged Seventy or Over and the Very Seriously Ill (Art. 91 CP)

A prisoner who has turned seventy, or turns seventy while serving the sentence, can obtain parole without waiting for any fraction of the sentence, provided they meet the other requirements of Art. 90: third grade, good conduct and civil liability. The same applies to the very seriously ill with incurable conditions, as established by the medical reports the judge considers necessary (Art. 91.1 CP).

The prison sends the file with the urgency the case requires, and the judge weighs the prisoner's reduced ability to offend and low dangerousness (Art. 91.2 CP). If the danger to life is patent, as certified by the forensic doctor and the prison medical services, parole can be granted without proof of any other requirement, having assessed that there is no significant dangerousness, and with only the prison's final prognosis report (Art. 91.3 CP). The prisoner must then keep the doctors informed of how the illness evolves, or parole may be revoked.

Parole in Reviewable Permanent Imprisonment (Art. 92 CP)

In reviewable permanent imprisonment (prisión permanente revisable), the Spanish life sentence subject to periodic review, the decision is taken not by the Prison Supervision Judge but by the sentencing court, after an adversarial oral hearing with the prosecutor and the prisoner, assisted by their lawyer. It requires twenty-five years served, without prejudice to Art. 78 bis where there are several offences; third grade; and a favourable prognosis of social reintegration based on the reports of the prison and of the experts the court designates.

The suspension lasts five to ten years (Art. 92.3 CP). Once the minimum term has been served, the court must review the requirements at least every two years and, after rejecting an application, may set a period of up to one year during which new ones will not be processed (Art. 92.4 CP). In STC 169/2021, of 6 October, the Constitutional Court held that the third paragraph of Art. 92.3 and Art. 92.4 are not unconstitutional if interpreted as set out in its legal ground 9 b): a change of circumstances only allows revocation if it comes with one of the breaches in Art. 86.1 CP, and after a revocation the two-yearly review and the duty to rule on the prisoner's applications remain.

How the Parole Date Is Calculated: an Example

The fractions are calculated on the sentence calculation order (liquidación de condena) approved by the court clerk or, if challenged, by the court (Art. 988 bis.4 LECrim):

• Time spent in pre-trial detention (prisión provisional) in the same case is credited in full (Art. 58 CP) and brings all the dates forward.
• Several sentences are added together and count as one (Art. 193.2 RP), subject to the cap in Art. 76 CP where the accumulation of sentences applies. If the court orders the fractions to be calculated on the total of the sentences, the dates move further away (Art. 78 CP; see full sentence serving and the security period).
• Any time pardoned is deducted from the total (Art. 193.1 RP).

If ordinary parole is granted on the six-year sentence, eighteen months remain, but the suspension period will be at least two years (Art. 90.5 CP). For exact dates, use our prison sentence milestones calculator; the other milestones are explained in our guide on what each fraction of a prison sentence unlocks.

The Procedure before the Prison Supervision Judge

The Prison Supervision Judge rules on parole proposals and orders revocations (Art. 76.2.b LOGP). The usual steps:

1. The file. The prison's Treatment Board (Junta de Tratamiento) must open it early enough for the grant not to be delayed (Art. 194 RP).
2. The documents. The judgment and sentence calculation order, certification of third grade, a social integration prognosis report, a criminal and prison summary listing the prison leave permits enjoyed, the individual programme, an undertaking from whoever will receive the prisoner, and accommodation and means of support (Art. 195 RP).
3. Submission. The file must reach the court before the qualifying date; otherwise the prison must justify the delay (Art. 198 RP).
4. The decision. The judge rules by reasoned order (auto) and, where appropriate, sets the prohibitions and obligations of Art. 83 CP. If the order arrives early, release waits until the qualifying date (Art. 199.3 RP).

Art. 90.7 CP also provides for an application by the prisoner. A foreign national without legal residence may, with their consent, serve parole in their country of residence (Art. 197 RP); and if the court ordered part of the sentence to be served before deportation instead of prison under Art. 89 CP, the remainder is replaced by deportation once parole is granted.

If Parole Is Refused: Appeals and a New Application

• Request for reconsideration (recurso de reforma) before the Prison Supervision Judge, available against all of the judge's orders (Fifth Additional Provision of the Judiciary Act, LOPJ, section 1).
• Appeal (apelación) to the sentencing court, because the matter concerns the enforcement of sentences; with several sentences, the court that imposed the most serious one hears it (section 2). The prosecutor and the prisoner or parolee may lodge it; a lawyer is required (section 9).
• A new application. If one is rejected, the judge may set six months, extendable with reasons to one year, before it can be made again (Art. 90.7 CP).

Conversely, if parole is granted to someone convicted of a serious offence (delito grave, for example one punishable by more than five years in prison) and the decision is appealed, the appeal has suspensive effect and prevents release until it is decided or, where applicable, until the Provincial Court or the National High Court has ruled on the suspension (section 5).

Duration, Rules of Conduct and Revocation of Parole

During the period, the parolee is supervised by the prison social services (Art. 200 RP). The judge may impose prohibitions and obligations under Art. 83 CP, such as staying away from the victim or reporting periodically, and change or lift them if circumstances change (Art. 90.5 CP).

Revocation follows Art. 86 CP: it applies after a conviction for an offence committed during the period which shows that the expectation behind the suspension no longer holds, or after a serious or repeated breach of the prohibitions and obligations; if the breach is neither serious nor repeated, the judge may impose new rules or extend the period. Art. 90.5 adds revocation where a change of circumstances means the prognosis of no dangerousness can no longer be maintained. See our guide on revocation of a suspended sentence.

If parole is revoked, the outstanding sentence is enforced and the time spent on parole is not deducted (Art. 90.6 CP). If the period ends without an offence that defeats that expectation and with the rules sufficiently complied with, the judge orders the remission of the sentence (Art. 87.1 CP).

What to Do (and What Not to Do) to Apply for Parole

What to do: check the half, two-thirds and three-quarters dates in the sentence calculation order; document the activities and programmes; keep proof of what has been paid towards civil liability and, if the full amount cannot be paid, of the real capacity to pay and an affordable payment undertaking; gather the undertaking from whoever will receive the prisoner, the accommodation and any job offer; and ask whether the file was opened in time.

What not to do: do not give inaccurate information about assets or confiscated property, as it is a ground for refusal; do not wait for the qualifying date to gather the documents; do not let an appeal deadline pass; and, once released, do not breach the rules of conduct: revocation means losing the time spent outside.

At Alonso Sala, with over 15 years of experience in criminal law, we review the sentence calculation order, prepare the file and the submissions to the Prison Supervision Judge and, if parole is refused, the appeal. You can read about our parole defence service and our prison law practice, or call us on +34 91 078 65 74 for an initial assessment of your case.