Denuncia in Spain: How to Report a Crime, and When You Need a Querella Instead (2026)

A denuncia is how almost every Spanish criminal case begins: a written or spoken account of a crime, given to a judge, prosecutor or police officer, that starts the machinery without making the person who reports it a party to the case. Some people have a legal duty to file one. Almost everyone else has the right to, with almost no formality required. This page covers who must denounce, how the form works, what the telematic portals can and cannot handle, and the point where a denuncia is not enough and the law demands a querella instead.

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.

What a denuncia is, and who it does not make a party

A denuncia is simply notice of a crime given to a judge, the Ministerio Fiscal, or a police official. Filing one does not turn the denunciante into a party to the eventual case, and it carries no burden of proof.

Art. 264 LECrim states this directly: whoever reports a crime by any means «sin que se entienda obligado por esto a probar los hechos denunciados ni a formalizar querella». The person who reports a theft does not have to prove the theft happened; that is the investigation's job.

The flip side of that freedom is narrow. Art. 264 also warns that the denunciante takes on no responsibility beyond «la correspondiente a los delitos que hubiese cometido por medio de la denuncia, o con su ocasión». In practice, that means the main risk in filing a denuncia in good faith is filing one you know to be false.

The duty to report, and who is exempt

Art. 259 LECrim makes reporting a public crime a general duty for anyone who witnesses one: notice must go «inmediatamente» to the nearest judge or the closest available official. The article still carries its original fine denominated in pesetas, a leftover of an unamended clause rather than a current penalty; the operative point is the duty itself, not that specific figure.

Three groups are carved out. Art. 260 exempts young children (the statute says «impúberes», children below puberty) and people without full use of their reason. Art. 261 exempts a spouse, not legally or de facto separated, or an unmarried partner, and ascendants, descendants and collateral relatives up to the second degree, from having to denounce the delincuente, though that exemption drops away when the offence is one of a listed set of serious crimes (against life, homicide, the injuries of arts. 149 and 150 CP, habitual abuse under art. 173.2 CP, crimes against liberty or sexual liberty, or trafficking) AND the victim is a minor or a person with a disability needing special protection; for adult victims outside that combination, the family dispensa stands.

Art. 263 exempts abogados and procuradores over what a client told them in confidence, and clergy over what they learned in their ministry.

Professionals face a stricter version of the same duty. Art. 262 LECrim requires anyone who learns of a public crime «por razón de sus cargos, profesiones u oficios» to report it immediately to the Fiscalía, the competent court, the juez de instrucción, or, failing those, the nearest police official for a flagrant crime.

Everyone else, meaning anyone not covered by arts. 259 to 263, still falls under the general duty of art. 264: report what you know, without needing to prove it or file a querella.

How to file: written, verbal, and the telematic limits

Art. 265 LECrim allows a denuncia «por escrito o de palabra, personalmente o por medio de mandatario con poder especial». No lawyer or procurador is required to file a denuncia, unlike the querella described below. What the law does require is content: the denunciante's identification and a «narración circunstanciada del hecho», plus the identity of any known perpetrators and witnesses.

A written denuncia must carry the denunciante's signature, handwritten if filed in person, or, if filed by telematic means, an electronic signature under art. 10 of Ley 39/2015 (art. 266 LECrim). But telematic filing has real limits written into the same article: it cannot be used when the facts involved violence or intimidation, when the author is already known, when there were witnesses, when the denunciante is a minor, when the crime was flagrant, or when the facts were of a violent or sexual nature. Any of those sends the case to an in-person or verbal denuncia instead.

A verbal denuncia is turned into a written acta by the official who receives it, read back and signed by both (art. 267 LECrim); if the denunciante cannot sign, someone else can sign at their request. Whoever receives a denuncia, verbal or written, records the denunciante's identity and, if asked, issues a receipt confirming the denuncia was filed (art. 268 LECrim).

What happens after a denuncia is filed

Once filed, the judge or official is supposed to move immediately to verify the reported facts, with two exceptions carved out in art. 269 LECrim: a denuncia gets no further action if the facts reported are not a crime at all, or if the denuncia is «manifiestamente falsa». Either way, the same article warns the authority against dismissing a denuncia «indebidamente», which carries its own responsibility.

That manifestly-false standard cuts both ways for the denunciante too. A denuncia filed in good faith, even a mistaken one, is protected by art. 264's limits on responsibility. But knowingly reporting a specific crime against a specific person that you know is false can itself amount to calumnia under the Código Penal, a separate and serious criminal exposure covered on the injurias y calumnias page. The line is knowledge and recklessness about the truth, the same line that separates an honest but wrong denuncia from a criminal one.

Denuncia or querella: the fork that matters

A denuncia and a querella are not two words for the same act. A denuncia has no formality and does not make the denunciante a party. A querella is formal litigation: art. 277 LECrim requires it to be «presentada siempre por medio de Procurador con poder bastante y suscrita por Letrado», naming both a procurador and an abogado, plus seven required contents including the court, the identities of querellante and querellado, the circumstantial account, the diligencias requested and the petición.

Filing a querella also opens the door held by art. 270 LECrim to Spain's acción popular: any Spanish citizen, offended by the crime or not, can bring one, while foreigners can querellarse over crimes against their own person or property, subject to the conditions of arts. 280 and 281. The Ministerio Fiscal has its own duty to bring querellas in the cases the law assigns it (art. 271 LECrim, referring to art. 105).

The fork matters most for a specific category: delitos privados such as injurias and calumnias cannot be started by denuncia at all. As the injurias y calumnias page explains, those offences require a querella from the offended person, filed through a procurador and abogado, and, against a private individual, a prior acto de conciliación. Someone who walks into a comisaría to denounce an insult will be told, correctly, that a denuncia is not the right tool for that particular crime, and the criminal-law section maps how that distinction runs through the rest of the system.

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

What is the difference between a denuncia and a querella in Spain?

A denuncia is informal notice of a crime that anyone can give, verbally or in writing, without a lawyer, and it does not make the denunciante a party to the case (arts. 264 to 267 LECrim). A querella is formal litigation that must be filed through a procurador and signed by an abogado (art. 277 LECrim), and it is the only route into delitos privados such as injurias and calumnias.

Do I need a lawyer to file a denuncia?

No. Art. 265 LECrim allows a denuncia to be made in writing or verbally, personally or through an agent with special power, with no requirement for a lawyer or procurador. A querella is different: art. 277 LECrim requires both.

Can I file a denuncia online in Spain?

Telematic filing exists but has statutory limits. Art. 266 LECrim bars online denuncias for facts involving violence or intimidation, a known author, witnesses, a minor denunciante, a flagrant crime, or conduct of a violent or sexual nature. Those cases need an in-person or verbal denuncia instead.

Am I legally required to report a crime I witness in Spain?

Generally yes, for a public crime, under art. 259 LECrim, with exemptions for young children (impúberes), people without full use of their reason, close family of the offender in most cases, and lawyers, procuradores and clergy over confidential information (arts. 260, 261 and 263 LECrim). Professionals who learn of a crime through their role have a stricter version of the same duty under art. 262.

What happens if I file a false denuncia?

A denuncia found to be manifestly false gets no further action (art. 269 LECrim), and the denunciante's protection from responsibility under art. 264 covers only good-faith reporting. Knowingly reporting a false crime against a specific person can itself amount to calumnia under the Código Penal.