Cancelling a Criminal Record in Spain: The Art. 136 Clocks, With a Checker (2026)

Spanish criminal records are built to expire. Art. 136 of the Código Penal turns cancellation into a right with fixed waiting periods, six months to ten years by gravity of the pena, and the courts must ignore a record that qualifies even before the paperwork catches up. The machinery has three moving parts people get wrong: which period applies, when the clock starts, and the condition that keeps it running. This page covers all three, and the checker computes the date.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

The five periods, and the override people miss

Art. 136.1 CP fixes the waiting periods by the pena actually imposed, not by the crime's abstract maximum:

The second row is an override, and ordering matters: a 10-month prison sentence is a pena menos grave, but because it does not exceed twelve months it cancels at 2 years, not 3. Likewise any sentence for a delito imprudente takes the 2-year row. Only what falls through those filters lands in the 3, 5 and 10-year tiers.

Classification comes from art. 33 CP, and it holds a surprise: prison is never a pena leve. The leve tier is built from small fines (up to 3 months), localización permanente, short community work and short ancillary bans; prison from three months to five years is menos grave, and above five years grave. So the 6-month fast lane belongs mostly to fine-only and delito-leve convictions, while short prison sentences ride the 2-year override.

When the clock starts, and what stops it

The period counts from the day after the pena was extinguished (art. 136.2 CP): the day after prison and any accessory penalties ended, the fine was fully paid, or the pena otherwise died. Not the sentencing date. Not the offence date. For long sentences, that difference is years.

One special rule helps the suspended: when a sentence was suspended (remisión condicional) and the remission becomes definitive, the clock is computed retroactively, from the day after the pena would have been completed had it been served. A successfully completed suspension therefore does not delay cancellation.

And the condition: the period must pass «sin haber vuelto a delinquir». Reoffending during the wait defeats the running period. Staying clean is not advice here; it is an element of the right.

How cancellation actually happens

Art. 136.1 CP provides both routes: de oficio, by the Ministerio de Justicia itself, and a instancia de parte, on the person's request through the ministry (whose official page above is the entry point for record matters). The request route exists because the automatic one is not instant, and anyone facing a job process or an oposición has reasons not to wait.

The statute also protects you against the register's lag: when the conditions are met but the cancellation has not yet been processed, the judge or court must disregard those antecedentes (art. 136.5 CP). And the register is not public in the meantime: certificates issue only within legal limits, and only courts receive information on cancelled entries, expressly marked as cancelled (art. 136.4 CP).

Two adjacent rules complete the picture. Medidas de seguridad (imposed instead of penas where criminal responsibility was excluded) follow art. 137: their annotations cancel as soon as the measure is fulfilled or prescribed, with no waiting period. And what the record means in practice, who sees it, and the minors-work exception live on the antecedentes penales page.

This page is general legal information about Spanish law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case. The controlling texts are the current versions in the BOE.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long until criminal records are cancelled in Spain?

Six months for penas leves; two years for penas up to twelve months and for all imprudent offences; three years for remaining penas menos graves under three years; five years for menos graves of three years or more; and ten years for penas graves (art. 136.1 CP). The clock runs from the day after the sentence was fully extinguished, and it requires not reoffending during the period.

When does the cancellation clock start?

The day after the pena was extinguished: served, paid or otherwise ended (art. 136.2 CP). It does not start at the conviction or at the offence. For a suspended sentence whose remission becomes definitive, the clock is computed retroactively from the day after the pena would have been completed without the suspension.

Do I have to apply to cancel my antecedentes?

Not necessarily: cancellation operates de oficio by the Ministerio de Justicia once the conditions are met, but you can also request it (a instancia de parte), which is worth doing when a certificate is imminent. If the conditions are met but the register has not caught up, courts must disregard those antecedentes anyway (art. 136.5 CP).

What happens if I commit another offence while waiting?

The statute conditions the whole waiting period on not reoffending («sin haber vuelto a delinquir»), so a new offence during the period defeats the running clock. Beyond that defeating effect, the precise recomputation mechanics are not spelled out in the article itself, so anyone in that situation needs case-specific advice.

Can I pay to have my antecedentes erased faster?

No. The periods are statutory and no service can shorten them. Cancellation is exercised directly with the Ministerio de Justicia once the clock has run; paid «borramos tus antecedentes» services can only file the same request you can file yourself, on the same dates.