Article 136 of the Spanish Penal Code, modified after the Reform that entered into force on July 1st, 2015, about the cancellation of criminal records in general, establishes what follows:

The deadlines

1.- Those convicted who have extinguished their criminal responsibility have the right to obtain from the Ministry of Justice, ex officio or at the request of a party, the cancellation of their criminal record, when the following deadlines have elapsed without having returned to offend:

  • a) SIX MONTHS for the penalties called "leves" (it could be translated as minor offense).
  • b) TWO YEARS for penalties not exceeding twelve months and those imposed for reckless crimes.
  • c) THREE YEARS for the remaining penalties called "menos graves" for less of three years
  • d) FIVE YEARS for the remaining "menos graves" penalties equal to or greater to three years.
  • e) TEN YEARS for the so called "graves" penalties.

When the deadline starts

2.- The terms referred to in the previous section will be counted from the day following the one on which the penalty is extinguished. In the case of a fine, when it is liquidated. If the fine imposed in the sentence is 3 MONTHS or less, the cancellation period will be SIX MONTHS from its fulfillment (PAYMENT OF THE FINE).

An example

For example, if a person is sentenced for a minor offense to a fine of 2 months at a rate of 10 euros a day and pays the resulting 600-euro fine in full, the six-month cancellation period starts running the day after that payment. If the person does not commit any new criminal act during those six months, the record becomes eligible for cancellation at the end of that period.