Sexual offences certificate Spain for working with children: how to get it as a foreigner

In short: the sexual offences certificate Spain issues (officially, «certificado de delitos de naturaleza sexual») is asked of anyone who will work or volunteer in contact with minors on a habitual basis. You request it online on the Ministry of Justice sede with Cl@ve or an electronic certificate, and the form accepts a NIE. If you are a foreigner, the regulation also asks for a criminal-record certificate from your country of origin or nationality, with an exception for EU citizens.

In person or by representative? Online. With Cl@ve, a DNIe or an electronic certificate it is done entirely on the internet. If you have no electronic certificate, the sede says you apply online and then go to an office to prove your identity. If the holder is under 16 or needs support to exercise legal capacity, the legal representative applies (RD 1110/2015, art. 9.3). The official pages we read do not describe a postal route or a request by a third party with a power of attorney. The ministry page also lists an in-person route, but we could not open its details on 17.10.2026.

Requirements

• Who needs it: anyone who wants to enter or practise a profession, trade or activity involving habitual contact with minors, paid or unpaid, including volunteering (LO 8/2021, arts. 57 and 59). Habitual contact means repeated, direct and regular contact, not merely occasional; activities aimed mainly at minors always count. The ministry says the data protection agency (AEPD) reads it as work whose main recipients are minors, not incidental contact with the general public.
• It is the only valid one for this: the sede says the only certificate valid for working with minors in Spain is the sexual offences certificate, not the general criminal-record certificate.
• What it is for: the certificate itself says it shows the situation on the date of issue and is issued only for work or habitual contact with minors. The official pages we reviewed give no validity period; how recent a certificate your employer accepts is up to that organisation.
• Who requires it: companies may not give work in those activities to people with records in the Registry; for volunteering, the volunteer must also provide the negative certificate (LO 8/2021, arts. 57 to 59).

Foreigners: the certificate from your home country

Royal Decree 1110/2015, which regulates the Central Registry of Sexual Offenders and Human Trafficking, says in art. 9.3 that anyone of foreign origin or with another nationality must also provide a negative criminal-record certificate issued by the authorities of their country of origin or nationality. The Spanish certificate repeats this: it says foreigners, or people with another nationality besides Spanish, must request that certificate from the authorities of their other country.

• EU citizens: they are exempt from that obligation. The Registry itself obtains the criminal data from their country of nationality (the ECRIS system, according to the sede). In that case, the sede says the certificate may take up to 30 calendar days.
• Caveat: if an EU citizen's country of origin is not their country of nationality, they still have to provide the negative certificate from that country of origin.
• Outside the EU: that certificate is issued by your country, not by Spain. How to request it depends on the country: start with your country's consulate or embassy in Spain.
• Apostille and translation of that certificate: RD 1110/2015 and the ministry pages we read do not say whether they are needed. Ask the organisation that is hiring you. If it asks for an official translation, see sworn translator. For one concrete case, see the certificate from Ukraine.

Documents

• NIE (or TIE, which carries your NIE). The form asks for a NIF or NIE, date and country of birth, nationality and your parents' names as they appear on your identity document. If you do not have one yet, see how to apply for the NIE and how to get the TIE.
• An identification method: Cl@ve Móvil, Cl@ve PIN, Cl@ve Permanente, DNIe or an electronic certificate. How to get Cl@ve and the certificate.
• A mobile number and an email. The email is mandatory if the mobile is not Spanish (+34).
• If you are a foreigner: the negative certificate from your country of origin or nationality (see above).

Where

• Online: Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual on the Ministry of Justice sede. Go to «Tramitación On-line con CL@VE para personas físicas». There is a separate form to request it on behalf of a minor.
• Official step-by-step guide: guide for individuals (PDF on the sede).
• Status of the request and download: «¿Cómo va lo mío?», with Cl@ve and the application number from the receipt.
• Checking a certificate you receive: the recipient can verify it with the Secure Verification Code on the sede, with no digital certificate.
• In person: the ministry page lists an in-person route; current addresses and phone numbers are on that page, we do not copy them here because they change.
• Hiring organisations: organisations whose activity involves minors can request it for employees and candidates only if the person authorises it in the Mi Carpeta Ciudadana app (TeAutorizo, according to the sede). The person can revoke that authorisation.

Deadlines

• Individuals: the sede says it is normally issued on the spot.
• If you are a national of an EU Member State and it cannot be issued instantly, the Spanish data and the data from your country of nationality must be checked: up to 30 calendar days.
• The certificate from your country of origin or nationality takes as long as that country says.

Cost

• The sede and ministry pages we read list no fee, and the official step-by-step guide has no payment step. RD 1110/2015 (art. 3.1) describes the Registry as non-public and free of charge, without setting a cost for certificates. Confirm on the sede before you apply.
• The cost of the certificate from your country of origin depends on that country.

Steps

1. Confirm with your employer or the volunteering organisation that your activity requires the certificate.
2. Prepare your identification method: Cl@ve or an electronic certificate. With neither, the sede says you can apply online and prove your identity later at an office.
3. Open the Justice sede and click «Tramitación On-line con CL@VE para personas físicas».
4. Identify yourself and enter your mobile and email (the email is mandatory if the mobile is not +34).
5. Choose the purpose «Trabajo y/o contacto habitual con menores». Optional: have the certificate show the destination country. Tick «Solicito apostillado» only if you will use it abroad.
6. Click «Confirmar» and «Descargar certificado». It is an electronically signed document.
7. If you are a foreigner, request the certificate from your country of origin or nationality separately and hand both to your employer (EU citizens: see the exception above).

Official source: Ministry of Justice sede, Certificado de Delitos de Naturaleza Sexual. Rules: Royal Decree 1110/2015 and Organic Law 8/2021. The terms NIE and TIE are in the glossary.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.