Calumnia in Spain: The Crime of Falsely Accusing Someone of a Crime (2026)

Calumnia is the narrower and more serious of Spain's two criminal defamation offences described on the Spain defamation section. It is not any lie about a person, it is specifically a false accusation of a crime, made knowing it is false or not caring whether it is. This page works through the elements, what falls outside them and the procedure, statute by statute. For the other offence, injuria, see the insult page, and for the two compared side by side, see injurias y calumnias.

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 two elements of calumnia

Art. 205 CP defines calumnia as the imputation of a delito made with knowledge of its falsity or with reckless disregard for the truth. Two things have to line up. First, the accusation has to name conduct that would itself be a crime, not just bad behaviour. Second, the person making the accusation has to know it is false, or make it without caring whether it is true, the «temerario desprecio» standard.

Both pieces matter. A false statement made in good faith, believing it true on reasonable grounds, misses the second element; an accusation of conduct that is not actually a crime, however damaging, misses the first.

What does not qualify as calumnia

Several common situations fall outside art. 205 even though people describe them as calumnia in everyday speech. Calling someone dishonest or incompetent does not name a specific crime, so it is assessed as injuria, not calumnia. Accusing someone of a civil wrong, breaking a contract or owing a debt, is not calumnia either, since a civil wrong is not a delito, and neither is a pure opinion without an underlying factual accusation of criminal conduct.

Good-faith reporting is the situation people ask about most. The Código Penal's own definition requires knowledge of falsity or reckless disregard for the truth, so a person who reports a genuine suspicion to the police, honestly believing it, does not meet that element. An accusation later turning out unfounded does not, on its own, establish that knowledge or recklessness. The Spain criminal law section covers how a denuncia works as a separate track.

Proving the imputed crime happened: the complete defence

Art. 207 CP gives the accused a full exit: he is exonerated of calumnia entirely if he proves the criminal act he imputed. This exceptio veritatis is far more generous than injuria's version, where truth only helps against a public official's official conduct. If the crime turns out to be true, calumnia disappears regardless of what the accuser believed at the time.

Penalties and what a «fine of X months» means

Calumnia's penalties turn on whether it was spread with publicidad. With publicidad, art. 206 CP sets prison of six months to two years, or a fine of 12 to 24 months. Without it, the fine drops to six to 12 months. Prison is only on the table in the aggravated, publicidad variant.

Spanish criminal fines run on the day-fine system (art. 50 CP): the court fixes a number of months and a daily quota between 2 and 400 euros, set by the offender's means, with each month counted as 30 days. A fine of 12 months at a 10 euro quota comes to 3,600 euros. Two further consequences can attach: calumnia committed for money or reward adds professional disqualification of six months to two years (art. 213 CP), and a medium's owner is jointly liable for the civil damage if the statement was spread through it (art. 212 CP).

Publicidad: when the aggravated penalty applies

Art. 211 CP treats a statement as made with publicidad when spread by print, broadcasting or any other medium of similar efficacy. Spanish courts have consistently applied that wording to websites and social media, so a false crime accusation posted publicly online is generally treated as the aggravated variant rather than a private remark.

Retraction and publication of the judgment

If the accused acknowledges the falsity before the court and retracts, the penalty drops one degree, and at the victim's request the retraction is published in the same medium and space as the original statement (art. 214 CP). A conviction also carries publication of the condemning sentence at the offender's cost (art. 216 CP).

Filing a calumnia case, in brief

Calumnia against a private individual is a private offence: only the offended person can prosecute, by querella, and the court will not admit it without a certificate showing an acto de conciliación was held or attempted (art. 215 CP, art. 804 LECrim). The querella itself must go through a procurador and be signed by an abogado (art. 277 LECrim). The clock is short: calumnia prescribes in one year (art. 131 CP). The injurias y calumnias page walks through the full querella and conciliación process for both offences.

Worked scenarios

Telling people your neighbour «stole my car» when you know he did not is the textbook calumnia: a specific crime, imputed knowing it is false. Accusing a contractor of «fraud» in a public online review is harder; if the reviewer genuinely believes it and has some basis for that belief, the reckless-disregard element is doubtful, but naming «fraud» specifically, rather than describing the dispute, pushes toward calumnia's territory, and posting it publicly brings art. 211's publicidad into play. Reporting a suspected theft to the police in good faith, by contrast, is not calumnia even if the suspicion later proves wrong, because the accuser lacked the knowledge or recklessness the offence requires.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Does reporting a suspected crime to the police count as calumnia?

Not on its own. Calumnia requires that the accuser know the accusation is false or act with reckless disregard for the truth. A person who reports a genuine, good-faith suspicion to the police lacks that element, even if the suspicion later proves unfounded. The accusation being wrong is not the same as the accuser knowing it was wrong.

Can I be exonerated of calumnia by proving the accusation was true?

Yes. Art. 207 of the Código Penal exonerates the accused of calumnia entirely if he proves the criminal act he imputed actually happened. This defence is broader than the one available for injuria, which only lets truth in when the target is a public official and the statement concerns their official conduct.

Is accusing someone of being dishonest or incompetent the same as calumnia?

No. Calumnia requires imputing a specific crime. Calling someone dishonest, a bad professional or incompetent, without naming a delito, does not meet that element and is assessed instead as injuria, which has its own, separate gravity standard.

What does a fine of 12 months actually cost under Spain's day-fine system?

The court sets a daily quota between 2 and 400 euros based on the offender's means, and each month counts as 30 days. Twelve months is 360 daily quotas, so at a 10 euro quota that is 3,600 euros, and a higher quota multiplies quickly.

Can a negative online review lead to a calumnia charge?

It can, if the review accuses someone of a specific crime, such as fraud or theft, and the reviewer knew that was false or made the accusation with reckless disregard for the truth. A review that describes a bad experience without naming a crime, or that reflects a genuine, reasonably held belief, does not meet calumnia's elements, though it could still raise other legal questions.