Sentence accumulation and maximum term (Art. 76 CP)
When a person is convicted of several offences, the sentences are not always added together without limit. Article 76 of the Spanish Criminal Code (CP) sets a maximum effective term: the total sentence cannot exceed triple the length of the most serious sentence imposed, and can never exceed the applicable overall cap. Once the terms already served reach that maximum, the remaining sentences are declared extinguished. This calculator applies both rules —the triple and the cap— to the prison terms you enter, to provide an informational estimate.
The overall cap is determined by the magnitude of the sentence the law provides in the abstract for each offence (its statutory range), not by the specific sentence imposed nor by the type of offence. The general rule is 20 years. Exceptionally, Art. 76.1 CP raises that limit: 25 years where there are two or more offences and one carries a prison term of up to 20 years (paragraph a); 30 years where one carries a term of more than 20 years (paragraph b); and 40 years where at least two carry a term of more than 20 years (paragraph c). That is why this tool asks, for each sentence, for two figures: the sentence imposed and the offence’s statutory maximum. Certain offences are also subject to special accumulation limits or rules not covered by this tool.
The maximum term is always compared with the arithmetic sum of the sentences: if that sum is lower than both the triple and the cap, no reduction applies (Art. 75 CP, successive service). Where the limit does operate and the resulting maximum is lower than half the total sum imposed, Article 78 CP allows the court to order that prison benefits, day-release permits, third-grade classification and the calculation of time for parole be referred to the total of the sentences rather than to the reduced limit.
The maximum term is fixed by an accumulation ruling issued by the court that handed down the last sentence, on its own motion or at the request of the public prosecutor or the convicted person, under Article 988 of the Criminal Procedure Act (LECrim). Legal accumulation only applies to acts that could have been tried in a single proceeding (connection, Art. 76.2 CP and Art. 17 LECrim), and the ruling may be appealed by cassation. This estimate is informational and does not replace the court’s decision.