How criminal record expungement works in Spain (art. 136 CP)
A criminal record is the entry of a final conviction in the Central Register of Convicted Persons, kept by the Spanish Ministry of Justice. Article 136.1 of the Criminal Code grants anyone who has extinguished their criminal liability the right to obtain expungement of those entries, ex officio or at the request of a party, once certain periods have elapsed without reoffending. The fact that the right can be exercised "at the request of a party" means you do not have to wait for the administration to act: you can apply for expungement as soon as the period has run.
The expungement periods of article 136.1 CP
The provision sets five periods, depending on the nature and length of the penalty imposed:
- 6 months for minor penalties.
- 2 years for penalties not exceeding twelve months and those imposed for offences of negligence.
- 3 years for the remaining less serious penalties under three years.
- 5 years for the remaining less serious penalties of three years or more.
- 10 years for serious penalties.
The key lies in classifying the penalty correctly. Article 33 CP distinguishes between serious penalties (for instance, imprisonment over five years or absolute disqualification), less serious penalties (among others, imprisonment from three months up to five years or a fine of more than three months) and minor penalties (such as a fine of up to three months or permanent localisation). Note a frequent nuance: what determines the period is the penalty actually imposed in the judgment, not the abstract penalty the offence carries. And penalties imposed for offences of negligence always take the two-year period, whatever their length.
What if the same conviction imposed several penalties?
Where the judgment imposes several penalties (for example, imprisonment plus disqualification or a fine), each must be extinguished and each entry follows its own regime. In practice, the computation looks at the conviction as a whole, so with complex sentences a professional review of the sentence liquidation is advisable before applying.
When the period starts: article 136.2 CP
The periods run from the day after the sentence was extinguished: the last day actually served, full payment of the fine, final release, or the date resulting from the sentence liquidation drawn up by the sentencing court.
Retroactive computation for suspended sentences
If the sentence was extinguished through conditional remission (a suspended sentence followed by final remission), art. 136.2 CP contains a very favourable rule: once final remission is obtained, the period is computed retroactively to the day after the date on which the sentence would have been served had the benefit not been enjoyed. For that hypothetical calculation, the starting date of the sentence is the day after the suspension was granted. In other words: someone whose one-year prison sentence was suspended does not start counting when the (normally longer) suspension period ends, but from the earlier date on which the sentence would have been served had it been executed. Our calculator applies exactly that retroactive rule when you indicate the sentence was suspended.
Essential requirement: no reoffending
All the periods must elapse "without having reoffended". A new final conviction within the period prevents the earlier record from being expunged on schedule, and a breach of sentence can also reopen enforcement of the original penalty. That is why the tool's result is always conditional: it assumes no new offence has been committed during the computed period.
Effects of expungement
Recidivism: article 22.8 CP
For the purposes of the aggravating circumstance of recidivism, records that have been cancelled — or that should have been cancelled — are not counted, nor are those for petty offences, except as provided for offences aggravated by repeated petty offending. The phrase "or should have been" is decisive: even if the Register has not yet processed the cancellation, once the art. 136 CP period has run, that record cannot support the aggravating circumstance.
Non-public register: article 136.4 CP
Paragraph 4 of article 136 governs the non-public nature of the Register: entries of criminal records are not public and, while in force, certificates are only issued subject to the limitations and safeguards laid down in their specific rules and in the cases established by law. Judges and courts may obtain certification in all cases, even of entries already cancelled, although that circumstance must be expressly stated.
Period elapsed but nobody cancelled: article 136.5 CP
Where the requirements for expungement are met but it has not taken place, the court, once those circumstances are proven, shall not take those records into account. It is a safety net, but it does not replace the procedure: for the criminal record certificate to come out clean (relevant for public examinations, licences, employment or immigration matters), you need the actual cancellation from the Ministry of Justice.
What expungement does not do
Expungement operates on convictions already extinguished. It does not close pending criminal proceedings, does not lift arrest warrants and does not affect unpaid civil liability. Nor should it be confused with police records, which are kept in separate files and cancelled through their own administrative channel.
A final note: article 136.3 CP lays down specific rules for penalties imposed on legal persons and the accessory consequences of article 129, which are cancelled within the period that corresponds under paragraph 1, except where dissolution or a definitive ban on activities was ordered, in which case the entries are cancelled after fifty years counted from the day following the date the judgment became final.