OTHER SERVICES

This office is receiving a number of calls from American citizens wanting to obtain a “Certificado de Antecedentes Penales” from the United States of America, which is required by the Spanish authorities, essentially for residency purposes. Neither the Consulate General nor the Embassy can provide individuals with a U.S. police clearance document.

There are a variety of options available to U.S. citizens seeking to obtain proof of their lack of a criminal record. Please check the requirements with the Spanish authorities before initiating the residency process.

State Clearances

To obtain police clearance from your state or states of residence for the last five years, you must contact the proper issuing agent in that State. This is usually the state’s Department of Public Safety, State Police, Attorney General, or state’s Division of Criminal Investigations.

When contacting the appropriate state office, please ask that the signature of the record be notarized in order to be legalized, a mandatory requirement for the criminal records to be accepted by Spanish authorities. Officials in the issuing state will legalize the document by stamping or attaching an Apostille to it. Visit State's Treaty Information page for information on where and how to obtain an Apostille certificate for a documents issued in the United States. Procedures vary from state to state.

Federal Clearance

To obtain a Federal clearance, you must contact the FBI. For information visit FBI Identification Record Request page. The FBI’s CJIS Division will authenticate U.S. Department of Justice Order 556-73 fingerprint search results for international requests by placing the FBI seal and signature of a Division official on the results, if requested at the time of submission. Documents prepared in this matter may then be sent to the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office by the requestor to be authenticated, if necessary. Please be sure to indicate the country in which the document is to be used. The FBI procedure became effective 1/25/2010 and will apply only to documents finalized after that date. Requests to authenticate previously processed results will not be accepted. See the FBI FAQ on this subject.

Fingerprints

In some instances, fingerprints may be required to obtain a police record. This office can provide American Citizens with an introduction letter for the police requesting that the fingerprints be taken. This office charges a $30 fee for the letter.

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