What are police records and how can they be expunged? What are the requirements and rights that must be fulfilled? These are questions that we frequently receive from our clients.
What is a police record?
Police records originate at the time of incurring in any of the facts framed in the current Penal Code as crimes or misdemeanors or those of an administrative nature that have led, by the State Security Forces and Corps, to the instruction of proceedings and their subsequent referral to the Judicial or Administrative Authorities.
Is it possible to cancel the police record?
It is possible to exercise the right of total or partial cancellation of police record data whenever, in the course of the judicial investigation, an order to close the proceedings or an acquittal is issued.
How can I get my police record expunged?
The application can be made either in person or online.
- On-site
The required documentation must be submitted, within the scope of the National Police Corps, at any National Police Station or through the electronic registry, post offices, diplomatic representations or consular offices of Spain abroad, registry assistance offices.
When the affected person is in a situation of incapacity or minority that makes it impossible for him/her to exercise these rights personally, a voluntary representative, expressly designated, shall present him/her. In this case, the identity of the represented party and the representation conferred by him/her must be clearly evidenced.
- Online
It is possible to request the cancellation of police records through the electronic headquarters of the National Police with an electronic certificate or password. It is advisable to fill in both the telephone number and the e-mail address, as it makes it easier for the administration to contact the interested party in case of doubts about any aspect of the file, as well as to receive a notice about the availability of access to the notification, in case of choosing electronic means as the preferred means for the procedure.
Time it takes to resolve the request
The request for cancellation of data from the file for the management of the background of persons of police interest will be resolved within a maximum period of one month from receipt of the request. The communication will be made through the nearest Police Unit to the address indicated in the request for notification purposes.
If the application is made electronically, it is necessary to choose the means of notification for the file, which can be either by electronic appearance with electronic certificate or paper notification, for which all the data of the complete address must be duly filled in.
