Statute of Limitations for Crimes in Spain (Deadlines 2026)

The statute of limitations in criminal law is one of the most important institutions in our legal system. It means that, once a certain amount of time has passed without the State acting against the offender, the offence "expires" and can no longer be punished. As criminal lawyers experienced in limitation periods, this is one of the procedural mechanisms we examine in every case: Art. 131.1 CP sets periods of 20, 15, 10 and 5 years depending on the maximum penalty attached to the offence, and 1 year for minor offences and for libel and slander. Our page on the statute of limitations for crimes in Spain sets out how we use it in defence. In 2026, the deadlines remain in force under the current Spanish Criminal Code (CP). If you are unsure whether an old case can still be prosecuted, our criminal defence lawyers in Spain can review the limitation period in your case.

What Is the Statute of Limitations for a Criminal Offence?

It is the extinction of criminal liability through the passage of time. It rests on two principles:

• Legal certainty: Nobody should live indefinitely under the threat of being prosecuted for acts in the distant past.
• Purpose of punishment: Punishing something that happened 20 years ago, when the person has already reintegrated into society, makes no rehabilitative sense.

It is governed by Articles 130 to 135 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP).

Limitation Periods (Art. 131 CP)

The time required for an offence to become time-barred depends on the severity of the maximum penalty provided in the abstract for that offence (not the penalty the prosecutor will actually request, but the maximum set out in the Spanish Criminal Code).

This is the complete table of limitation periods for acts committed today, under the wording of art. 131 CP in force:

How the period is calculated, and the closing rules. The periods in the table run from the day on which the punishable offence was committed; in continuing offences, from the day of the last infringement; in permanent offences, from the moment the unlawful situation was brought to an end; and in offences requiring habitual conduct, from the moment that conduct ceased (art. 132.1 CP). Where the penalty set by law is composite, the one requiring the longer period applies (art. 131.2 CP), and in cases of concurrent or connected offences the period of the most serious offence applies (art. 131.4 CP).

When Does the Clock Start Running?

The general rule is: from the day the offence was committed.

Important exceptions:

• Continuing offences: From the day on which the last infringement took place (e.g. an employee who steals money from the till every day for a year; the clock starts on the last day).
• Permanent offences: From the moment the unlawful situation comes to an end (e.g. unlawful detention; the clock starts when the victim is released).
• Minor victims: For the offences listed in Art. 132.1 CP — sexual offences, human trafficking, attempted homicide, serious bodily harm (Arts. 149-150 CP) and habitual abuse (Art. 173.2 CP) — the period does NOT begin to run until the victim turns 35 years old (the Rhodes Act reform). Previously it started at 18. In practice these offences rarely become time-barred.

How Is the Limitation Period Interrupted?

The clock "resets" (goes back to zero) when judicial proceedings are directed against the offender. This is the most complex and litigated area.

Acts that interrupt the period (they require a reasoned judicial decision naming the suspect):

• Court summons to give a statement as a person under investigation.
• Any reasoned judicial decision attributing the offence to a specific person (committal order, abbreviated proceedings order).

The mere filing of a private criminal complaint (querella) or of a police complaint does not by itself interrupt the limitation period: it only suspends the calculation for a maximum of six months (art. 132.2.2.ª CP). If within that period the court issues a reasoned decision directing the proceedings against the person under investigation, the interruption takes effect retroactively as of the date of the complaint; if it does not, the clock continues to run as if the complaint had never been filed.

Acts that do NOT interrupt (according to Spanish Supreme Court case law):

• Police inquiries without judicial involvement.
• Purely "procedural" decisions with no substantive content.
• Periods during which the case sits "paralyzed" in court without justification.

Common Practical Examples

1. Burglary with Force (Art. 240 CP)

• Penalty: 1 to 3 years in prison.
• Limitation period: 5 years.
• Example: You burgled a house in 2018. If in 2024 you are identified through fingerprints, the offence is time-barred.

2. Tax Offence (Art. 305 CP)

• Penalty: 1 to 5 years in prison.
• Limitation period: 5 years.
• Caveat: If it is aggravated (Art. 305 bis), the penalty rises to 6 years and the limitation period to 10 years.

3. Minor Bodily Harm (Art. 147.2 CP)

• Penalty: Fine of 1 to 3 months.
• Limitation period: 1 year.
• Example: A bar fight. If it takes more than a year to locate and summon you, the offence is time-barred.

Offences That NEVER Become Time-Barred

Some crimes are so serious that the State never gives up prosecuting them (Art. 131.3 CP):

• Crimes against humanity and genocide.
• Offences against protected persons and property in armed conflict.
• Terrorism (if it caused a person's death).

For these offences, you can be prosecuted even 50 years later.

When Does the Sentence Become Time-Barred? (Not the Same as the Offence)

Limitation of the penalty is a separate institution from limitation of the offence, and the Criminal Code (CP) treats them as two distinct grounds for the extinction of criminal liability: limitation of the offence, and limitation of the penalty or the security measure (art. 130.1, points 6 and 7, CP).

• Limitation of the offence (arts. 131 and 132 CP): applies before conviction. It is measured against the maximum penalty set in the abstract for the offence, and the clock runs from the day the offence was committed. The effect is that the acts can no longer be tried.
• Limitation of the penalty (arts. 133 and 134 CP): applies after a final judgment. It is measured against the specific penalty imposed in that judgment, and the clock runs from the date the judgment became final. The effect is that an existing conviction can no longer be enforced.

These are the periods that art. 133.1 CP sets for penalties imposed by a final judgment:

• 30 years: prison sentences of more than 20 years.
• 25 years: prison sentences of 15 years or more, not exceeding 20.
• 20 years: disqualification for more than 10 years, and prison sentences of more than 10 and less than 15 years.
• 15 years: disqualification for more than six years and not exceeding 10, and prison sentences of more than five years and not exceeding 10.
• 10 years: all other serious penalties.
• 5 years: less serious penalties, which include imprisonment from three months up to five years (art. 33.3 CP).
• 1 year: minor penalties.
• Never time-barred: penalties imposed for crimes against humanity and genocide, for offences against protected persons and property in armed conflict (except those punished under art. 614 CP) and for terrorism offences that have caused a person's death (art. 133.2 CP).

When the clock starts (art. 134.1 CP). Time runs from the date on which the judgment became final or, where the sentence had already begun to be served, from the moment the offender breached it by absconding. When the clock stops (art. 134.2 CP). The period is suspended in two situations: while enforcement of the penalty is suspended, and while other penalties are being served where the consecutive-service rule of art. 75 CP applies. Unlike limitation of the offence, art. 134 CP sets out no grounds for interruption through procedural steps: it provides only for those two forms of suspension.

Defence Strategy: The Statute of Limitations as a Weapon

The court does not apply the statute of limitations "just because". It has to be invoked, proven and fought for. As defence lawyers we:

1. Analyse the exact date of the events.
2. Review every page of the case file for periods when the case was "paralyzed".
3. Calculate whether the applicable penalty triggers a shorter limitation period.
4. Raise the statute of limitations as a preliminary objection (artículo de previo pronunciamiento) so the case can be dismissed without going to trial.