Criminal Lawyers in Civil Status Usurpation
Technical defense at the highest level by criminal lawyers specialized in civil status usurpation (Art. 401 CP)
The offence of usurping civil status (Article 401 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP)) punishes passing yourself off as another person completely and continuously, assuming their identity to exercise their rights or fulfil their obligations, with imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years. It is not enough to use someone else's name on a single occasion: case law requires persistence and a full impersonation of the person's identity. The prosecution case usually rests on documentary evidence—contracts signed in the victim's name—witness testimony and, increasingly, computer and biometric expert evidence proving that the defendant was not who they claimed to be. Our defence challenges that continuity and completeness of the impersonation required by the offence, and reviews the strength of the identification expert evidence submitted.
Civil Status Usurpation: Concept, Types and Penalties (Art. 401 CP)
Civil status usurpation typified in Art. 401 CP is the offence sanctioning whoever usurps the civil status of another, that is, whoever integrally and permanently substitutes the legal personality of a real person to exercise their rights, assume their obligations or appear before third parties as if they were that person. The protected legal interest is double: the security of legal traffic (that personal identities be reliable) and the right to personal identity of the victim as inalienable attribute. Consolidated Supreme Court case-law has clarified the typical elements: usurpation must be complete (not partial), persistent (not punctual or episodic) and aimed at the exercise of rights or obligations proper of the victim. Sporadic action using the name or documents of another person may integrate other offences (document forgery, fraud) but not civil status usurpation.
Methods of Commission
The methods of commission are diverse. The classic modality consists of personal substitution in family, professional or administrative relations: appearing before the Administration or financial institutions with the identity of a third party to perform continuous transactions, manage another's salaries or pensions, or assume affective or professional relations under another's identity. The digital modality has gained special relevance: creation of complete profiles on digital platforms with the real identity of a third party, generation of online bank accounts in the victim's name, management of crypto-assets or digital services. The concurrence with other offences is frequent: fraud (Art. 248 CP) when economic benefits are obtained, document forgery (Arts. 390-395 CP) when falsified documents are used as support, discovery of secrets (Art. 197 CP) when prior data are unlawfully accessed, money laundering if the destination of funds integrates another plot.
Penalties (Art. 401 CP)
The penalties are 6 months to 3 years prison, without provision of fine. The penalty, although lower than that of other offences against patrimony or public faith, is significant due to the custodial sentence and the criminal record generated, with effects on public employment, regulated professions, immigration and competitive examinations. Civil liability ex delicto demands full restitution of the damages caused to the victim: patrimonial damages for debts contracted in their name, expenses of identity restoration and challenge of fraudulently signed contracts, moral and reputational damages, legal defence expenses if the victim had to oppose proceedings opened in their name. The civil nullity of full right of all legal acts performed through usurpation protects the victim against obligations they never consented. Concurrence with fraud raises the penalties: 6 months to 3 years prison in the basic offence, up to 6 years in the aggravated form of Art. 250 CP when exceeding €50,000.
Defence Strategy
The technical defense in civil status usurpation is built on four axes consolidated by case-law. First, the absence of persistence or integrity of the impersonation: the sporadic use of another's name or documents does not integrate the offence of Art. 401 CP; the Supreme Court demands proof of stable, prolonged conduct aimed at the effective exercise of rights or obligations of the victim. Second, the error of prohibition of Art. 14.3 CP when the subject believed they were acting legitimately under representation or mandate (especially in family cases where the identity of a relative is used for administrative procedures wrongly believing one can do so). Third, the controversy on authorship: in digital cases, mere linkage of an IP address does not prove material authorship; computer expert evidence may prove that the IP was shared, hacked or improperly attributed. Fourth, the absence of effective harm to the victim or legal traffic: when no rights, obligations or effective legal acts materialise under the usurped identity, typicity may fail.
Current Forensic Practice
In current forensic practice, civil status usurpation proceedings have multiplied linked to the digitalisation of services: contracting telephony or supply services with stolen identities, fraudulent online opening of bank accounts, management of crypto-assets in third-party names, and fraud linked to deficient biometric or KYC verifications. Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency, Organic Law 3/2018 on Personal Data Protection, the eIDAS Regulation on electronic identification and consolidated Supreme Court case-law configure the normative framework. Victims usually detect the usurpation when they receive claims for debts not contracted, administrative notifications or judicial procedures for foreign facts, or when services are denied for improperly appearing in delinquency files. At Alonso Sala, with 15+ years' experience, we undertake both the technical defence of the accused articulating calligraphic and computer expert evidence, typicality and error of prohibition analysis, and the representation of the victim through criminal complaint, civil nullity of fraudulent acts, removal from delinquency files and full damages claim.
Our Specialized Defense Strategies
Handwriting & Documentary Expertise
We challenge signatures and supposedly fake documents through forensic experts to prove the accused's non-involvement in identity fraud.
Dismantling Persistence
The law requires usurpation to be continuous. We demonstrate that isolated acts do not constitute the Art. 401 CP crime, seeking technical acquittal.
Specialist Defense in Civil Status
At Alonso Sala we combine procedural experience with deep technical knowledge of identity-related offences. We articulate the defence of your name and reputation with technical rigour before the courts, examining every piece of evidence under the procedural legality standard.
- Exclusive specialization in Identity Criminal Law.
- Coordination with qualified IT and handwriting experts.
- Direct and personalized treatment in critical situations.
- Rigorous analysis of typicality to articulate the defense.
Identity and Public-Function Usurpation: Penalties and Defence
Usurpation of another’s civil status (Art. 401 CP), usurpation of public functions (Art. 402 CP) and the offences against privacy and of illegal access to information systems (Arts. 197 and 197 bis CP) share the same evidential battleground: attributing authorship in digital environments. We work with forensic IT experts to counter every report filed by the prosecution.
Penalty Table: Identity Usurpation and Computer Offences
| Offence | Article | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Usurpation of another’s civil status | Art. 401 | Imprisonment 6 months – 3 years |
| Usurpation of public functions: performing acts proper to an authority or official while claiming official capacity | Art. 402 | Imprisonment 1 – 3 years |
| Unlawful practice of a profession | Art. 403 | Fine 12 – 24 months (6 – 12 months where the required qualification is an official, licensing one); imprisonment 6 months – 2 years in the situations of Art. 403.2 |
| Discovery and disclosure of secrets | Art. 197.1 | Imprisonment 1 – 4 years and fine 12 – 24 months |
| Dissemination, revelation or transfer to third parties of the data or images discovered | Art. 197.3, para. 1 | Imprisonment 2 – 5 years |
| Illegal access to an information system in breach of its security measures (hacking) | Art. 197 bis 1 | Imprisonment 6 months – 2 years |
| Knowing use of a false identity document | Art. 392.2 | Imprisonment 6 months – 1 year and fine 3 – 6 months |
Defence Strategies in Identity Usurpation
Usurping civil status versus one-off use of data
Art. 401 CP requires supplanting another’s identity as a whole, assuming their legal position with a degree of permanence. Using someone else’s data in isolation does not make out the offence and usually falls to lesser figures.
Fake profiles: identifying the applicable offence
Creating a profile in another person’s name may amount to usurpation, an offence against privacy or one against honour, depending on what is done with it. The correct characterisation determines the penalty and the competent court.
Attributing authorship in digital environments
An IP address identifies a connection, not a person. With shared networks, commonly used devices or leaked credentials, individual attribution of authorship is open to dispute and further evidence must be required.
Illegal access versus dissemination of what was found
Entering a system and disclosing what was found are not the same thing. Illegal access under Art. 197 bis 1 CP carries imprisonment of six months to two years; disseminating the data or images discovered carries two to five years (Art. 197.3 CP). Pinning down which conduct is charged transforms the sentencing framework.
Absence of intent to impersonate
Satirical, parody or critical profiles may lack the intent to pass oneself off as another. Without that supplanting purpose, the conduct may fall outside criminal law altogether.
Exercise of public functions (Art. 402 CP)
Claiming official capacity and performing acts proper to an authority or official is a standalone offence, punished with one to three years’ imprisonment and distinct from usurpation of civil status. The two should be separated from the initial characterisation onwards.
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