Leaving Spain: building a school record that travels

Terms used

• Secretaría — The secretaría is the school's administration office, which handles withdrawals and issues certificates and records.
• Baja — The baja is the formal withdrawal of your child from a school.
• Historial académico — The historial académico is your child's official academic record for primary and ESO.
• Boletín de notas — The boletín de notas is the school's grade report for a term or year.
• Informe de final de etapa — The informe de final de etapa is a report the school issues when a child finishes primary.
• ESO — ESO is compulsory secondary education in Spain, for ages 12 to 16.
• Bachillerato — Bachillerato is the two-year upper secondary course after ESO, for ages 16 to 18.
• Padrón — The padrón is the town hall register of residents, which serves as proof of address.

Key rules

• Withdrawal: Ask for the baja in writing, signed by the guardians, at the school's secretaría.
• Apostille: Certificates of studies, the historial académico and titles often need an apostille or legalisation; ordinary grade reports normally do not.
• Destination school: The new school decides what it needs, including any apostille or translation, so ask it first.
• Padrón: Cancelling the padrón is a separate step with your town hall.

What leaving Spain means for your child's school

Leaving Spain means formally withdrawing your child and collecting the records the next school will ask for. Do both before you go. Fixing a missing document from abroad is slow.

Start with the destination school

Ask the new school, in writing, which documents it wants. Ask whether it needs an apostille and a translation. The destination school or authority decides this, so its answer sets your list. Also confirm the start date, because that fixes your timeline here.

Withdraw your child (the baja)

Tell the school's secretaría in writing that your child is leaving, and ask for the baja. This is usually a short form or letter signed by the guardians. Ask the secretaría which form it uses, because forms and the regional education platform differ by region.

When your child leaves the country, the school closes the file. It gives you the records instead of sending them to another Spanish school. In public schools the withdrawal is recorded in the regional education platform. If the regional education authority asks you to tell it as well, do so.

Records the school issues

The secretaría issues these on withdrawal:

• a certificate of enrolment or attendance
• a certificate of studies completed
• the historial académico, for primary and ESO, with the report on your child's progress
• the latest grade reports (boletín de notas)
• an informe de final de etapa, if your child is finishing primary

Secondary leavers can also ask for the ESO or Bachillerato title or certification. Names and format differ slightly between regions. The list of documents below shows who issues each one.

Which documents need an apostille

Official academic documents often need an apostille if the destination country is in the Hague Convention. Otherwise they need consular legalisation. This covers the certificate of studies, the historial académico and titles.

Usually the school's or regional authority's signature is legalised first. Then the competent body adds the apostille in Spain. For school records that is commonly the regional education authority. For titles it is the Ministry of Education.

Ordinary grade reports, attendance notes, vaccination cards and teacher reports normally need no apostille.

Other papers to gather

Ask the health service for your child's vaccination card. If your child has support needs, ask the secretaría for any reports held by the school's orientation team.

Cancelling the padrón is a separate step with your town hall. The school does not do it for you. The FAQ below covers it.

Work through the checklist below in order, starting with the destination school's list.

Documents you need

• Written request for the baja (withdrawal), a short form or letter signed by the guardians, handed to the school's secretaría.

• Certificate of enrolment or attendance, issued by the school's secretaría.

• Certificate of studies completed, issued by the school. Apostille it if the destination country is in the Hague Convention, or get consular legalisation otherwise, when the new school asks for it.

• Historial académico (academic record) for primary and ESO, with the report on the pupil's progress, issued by the school. Apostille it if the new school or authority asks for it.

• Latest grade reports (boletín de notas), issued by the school. These normally need no apostille.

• Informe de final de etapa, issued by the school if your child is finishing primary.

• ESO or Bachillerato title or certification, if your child is a secondary leaver. Titles are apostilled through the Ministry of Education.

Checklist of school records to collect before leaving Spain

School records to collect before leaving Spain

• Ask the destination school, in writing, for its list of admission documents, and whether it wants an apostille (an official stamp that validates a document abroad) or a sworn translation.

• Confirm the new school and the date your child can start, because that fixes your timeline.

• Tell the current school's secretaría (administration office) in writing, usually with a short request form, and give the leaving date.

• Request from the school's secretaría: the enrolment or attendance certificate, the certificate of studies, the historial académico (academic record), the latest boletín de notas (grade report) and the informe personal (individual report) for transfers.

• Ask the secretaría for the informe de final de etapa if your child is finishing primary, and for the ESO or Bachillerato title or certification if your child is finishing those.

• Ask the regional education authority (consejería) for duplicates of the historial and for the apostille where needed.

• Ask the health service for your child's vaccination card, and the town hall for a padrón certificate (proof of registered address).

• Order apostilles and sworn translations (traducción jurada) only once the originals are final. Certificates of studies, the historial and titles often need an apostille or consular legalisation; ordinary boletines, attendance notes and vaccination cards normally do not.

• Ask the embassy or consulate of the destination country in Spain if the school's requirements are unclear.

• Check that your child has a school place for the whole gap, since schooling is compulsory from 6 to 16.

• For an infantil child, ask for the attendance certificate and the basic development report, as there is no formal academic record.

• For a primaria child, ask for the historial de primaria, the informe personal and the evaluation reports. No title is awarded at this stage.

• For an ESO child, ask for the historial and the consejo orientador. If your child leaves without the Graduado title, ask for a certificate of the years completed.

• For a Bachillerato child, ask for the historial de Bachillerato, and check with the destination school whether subjects need convalidation (recognition) or the final title needs homologation (official validation).

• Collect final-year grades after the course closes, and keep the school's contact details in case you need later copies.

• Make several copies, scan everything to cloud storage and a USB drive, and carry the originals in hand luggage, not in shipped boxes.

Frequently asked questions

Which school documents need an apostille for use abroad?

Official academic certificates, transcripts and titles, such as the certificate of studies and the historial académico, often need an apostille when the destination country is part of the Hague Convention. Other countries may ask for consular legalisation instead.

Who puts the apostille on a school document?

The apostille is placed in Spain by the competent body, which for school documents is commonly the regional education authority. Titles go through the Ministry of Education, and other documents through the Ministry of Justice or a notary.

Do I need to cancel the padrón when my child leaves school?

Yes, you tell the town hall separately to cancel your padrón registration, because the school withdrawal does not do it for you.