Police records in Spain: how to check them and get them deleted

Police records come as a big surprise to many people who were never convicted. You were arrested one night, you were reported and the case was dismissed, or you were acquitted, and years later that episode resurfaces when you apply for a firearms licence or for Spanish nationality. We explain what police records are, how to find out whether you have any and how to ask for them to be deleted.

Criminal records and police records are not the same

They are often confused, but they are separate registers with separate rules:

If what you have is a conviction, the route is different: we explain it in how to clear a criminal record. It is also worth knowing that, in many cases, your criminal record must be cleared before your police record can be deleted.

What police databases hold

Organic Act 7/2021 regulates the data the police process to prevent, investigate and prosecute offences. Its article 9 requires a distinction to be drawn, as far as possible, between suspects, convicted persons, victims and witnesses, and expressly states that this cannot affect the presumption of innocence under article 24 of the Constitution. If you were never convicted, you remain innocent for all purposes; we explain this in what the presumption of innocence is and how it applies in Spain.

That data cannot be kept indefinitely. Under article 8 of the Act:

• It is only kept for as long as necessary for its purposes.
• The police must review at least every three years whether it is still necessary to keep it, taking into account, among other things, whether the investigation or criminal proceedings have ended.
• As a general rule, the maximum period before erasure is twenty years, unless there are open investigations, offences that are not time-barred, sentences not yet enforced, reoffending or other reasoned grounds.

How to find out whether you have a police record

Article 22 of Organic Act 7/2021 gives you the right of access: you can ask whether the police hold data about you and, if so, find out what it is, together with its purposes, how long it will be kept and your right to ask for it to be erased. It is free of charge (article 20.5).

The request is addressed to the controller of each database, separately:

• National Police (PERPOL): at any police station or by the means set out in article 16.4 of Act 39/2015 (electronic registry, post offices, consulates abroad), according to its online portal.
• Guardia Civil (INTPOL): addressed to the Directorate General of the Guardia Civil, Judicial Police Headquarters (Jefatura de Policía Judicial), preferably through its online portal.

The reply must arrive within one month. If it does not, the request is deemed refused (article 20.4). The police may restrict access if it would harm an ongoing investigation or for reasons of public security, but they must tell you in writing and inform you that you can complain (article 24).

When you can ask for it to be deleted

Article 23.2 requires data to be erased when processing it is no longer lawful or a legal obligation requires it to be deleted. In practice, the official forms ask you to prove with a final court document that the matter was closed in your favour or has been extinguished. The most common cases:

• Dismissal or discontinuance. Ideally a definitive dismissal (sobreseimiento libre, article 637 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal). If it is provisional (sobreseimiento provisional, article 641), the case can be reopened, and as long as the offence is not time-barred the police may argue that they need to keep the data.
• Acquittal by final judgment.
• Time-barring of the offence declared by a court.
• A sentence already served, with the criminal record cleared.

The Guardia Civil states that it refuses erasure if there is a judicial investigation under way or a case awaiting trial, or if the sentence has been suspended.

How to request erasure, step by step

1. Gather the court documents. Ask the court that dealt with your case for a certified copy of the dismissal order or the acquittal, stating that it is final, or the document proving that the offence is time-barred or that your record has been cleared.
2. Complete the official form. The National Police and the Guardia Civil both have erasure request forms on their websites. Attach a copy of your DNI, NIE or passport and the court documents. The Guardia Civil also asks for a certificate from the Central Register of Convicted Persons showing that you have no criminal record, and the National Police asks for your authorisation to check it.
3. Submit it. For the National Police, at any police station, through their registries or on their online portal. For the Guardia Civil, on its online portal, by post to the Directorate General (Calle Guzmán el Bueno, 110, 28003 Madrid) or at the Weapons Offices (Intervenciones de Armas), Guardia Civil posts, police premises or post offices.
4. Wait for the reply. Both forces state a maximum period of one month. According to its online portal, the National Police notifies its decision through the nearest police station.

If they do not reply or refuse: the AEPD

If a month passes without a reply or erasure is refused, you can file a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (article 52 of Organic Act 7/2021). The Guardia Civil also allows you to ask its data protection officer for a review first. If the AEPD does not decide and notify within three months, you can bring proceedings in the administrative courts (article 52.4).

Why it is worth having it deleted

• Firearms licences. The Weapons Regulations (Reglamento de Armas) require, in addition to the criminal record certificate, a report on the applicant’s conduct and record before a licence is granted (article 97 of Royal Decree 137/1993).
• Spanish nationality. The application file includes a mandatory report from the Ministry of the Interior on your conduct (article 8.2 of Royal Decree 1004/2015), and the Civil Code requires good civic conduct (article 22.4).
• Residence. The Immigration Act (Ley de Extranjería) requires you to have no criminal record (article 31.5), not no police record; even so, it is wise to make sure your records are up to date before any application. If you are a foreign national, see our service as a criminal lawyer for foreign nationals.
• National Police or Guardia Civil entrance exams. The legal requirement is not to have been convicted of an intentional offence (article 7 of Royal Decree 614/1995 for the National Police), but it is prudent to check your records before applying: you are entitled to have removed anything that should already have been erased.

Deleting police records from Alicante

There is no need to travel to Madrid. The request to the National Police can be submitted at any police station in the province, and the request to the Guardia Civil at any Guardia Civil post or online. What is handled here is the court paperwork: since 31 December 2025, under Organic Act 1/2025, the former investigating courts are Investigating Sections (Secciones de Instrucción) of the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Instancia), and the certified copy stating that the decision is final must be requested from the Section that dismissed your case.

At our firm we check what decision you have, whether it is final and whether it is enough to request erasure. If the case is still open or was only provisionally dismissed, we assess the criminal appeals that may achieve a definitive dismissal. Celeste Pérez Bleda has more than 20 years’ experience in criminal law, and our team will assist you in English. If your data comes from gender violence proceedings, we can help you through our specialist website, abogadaviolenciadegenero.com.

Frequently asked questions

If my case was dismissed, is my police record deleted automatically?

Not necessarily. Organic Act 7/2021 requires the police to review at least every three years whether they need to keep your data, but dismissal by the court does not delete it automatically. The safest course is to request erasure with a certified copy of the final dismissal order, separately to the National Police and the Guardia Civil, and to keep their reply.

Can an employer see my police record?

No. The PERPOL and INTPOL databases are for police use and are governed by Organic Act 7/2021, which limits their processing to the prevention, investigation and prosecution of offences. What an employer can ask you for is the criminal record certificate, which does not show arrests or complaints that did not lead to a conviction.

How long do they take to reply to my request?

The maximum period is one month from when the request reaches the database controller, under article 20.4 of Organic Act 7/2021 and as stated by the National Police and the Guardia Civil. If there is no reply in that time, the request is deemed refused and you can file a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency.

Do I need a lawyer to delete my police record?

It is not compulsory: you can submit the form yourself. A lawyer is most useful when the court documents are unclear, when the dismissal was provisional, when there are several sets of proceedings, or when the police refuse erasure and you need to complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency or go to court.

If you want to know what the police databases hold about you, or you need it deleted before an important application, tell us about your case and we will tell you how to go about it. Our team will assist you in English. We can help you through our service as a criminal record lawyer in Alicante. Message us on WhatsApp at 607 449 491, 24 hours a day: we will reply straight away.