How to get a criminal-record certificate from abroad

Key rules

• Where to order: Order from the national police or justice body of each country where you lived in the last five years.
• Planning time: Allow 2 to 8 weeks in total, including apostille and sworn translation.
• Format: A digital certificate needs a verifiable electronic signature or verification code and an e-apostille; a paper original with a paper apostille is the standard format.

Start with the right office

Which body issues the certificate depends on the country. Examples: in the US it is the FBI Identity History Summary, and in the UK it is the ACRO Police Certificate. Elsewhere it is usually the Ministry of Justice or the national police.

Most systems ask for identity documents. Some also ask for fingerprints. You can usually apply online, by post or in person.

Pick the route that fits your time

The apostille and the sworn translation are part of the 2 to 8 weeks. Online systems take a day or a few days; postal or fingerprint requests take several weeks.

Work backwards from your filing date. Get the apostille first and the sworn translation last, because the translator works from the apostilled document. A police certificate must be no more than 3 months old on your filing day, counted from the issue date to the day you file; if the apostille and translation or a later appointment would push it past that, order a new certificate and repeat the steps. If time is short, choose the fastest route your country offers, and order from every country at the same time.

Can someone else order it for you?

It depends on the country. Some countries let citizens request the certificate through their embassy or consulate, or through an authorised agent or online portal from Spain. Others make you apply directly to the home authority. In that case a representative may apply for you with a power of attorney. If your authority has an online portal, apply yourself from abroad. If it requires an in-person application, send a representative with a power of attorney, or use the embassy route where your country offers one.

Apostille, legalisation and translation, by issuing country

The country that issued the certificate decides what it needs.

• Issued in another EU country: no apostille. A police certificate on a multilingual standard form needs no translation; without one, a sworn translation into Spanish.
• Issued in a non-EU country that is a Hague Convention member: an apostille and a sworn translation into Spanish.
• Issued in a non-EU country outside the Hague Convention: full legalisation through that country's foreign ministry and the Spanish consulate, plus a sworn translation into Spanish.

A certificate already in Spanish needs no translation. The medical certificate has its own line in What the visa medical certificate must say.

What it costs

Each country sets its own fee: the US FBI Identity History Summary costs $18 and the UK ACRO Police Certificate £65; most other countries charge between €0 and €50. An apostille costs €10 to €40 per document and a sworn translation €30 to €60 per page, so together they cost more than the certificate itself. Courier or agency charges come on top.

If you lived in Spain before

You do not need a Spanish criminal-record certificate for your visa, whether or not you now live in Spain, because Spain checks its own records. If the immigration office asks for one anyway, you get it from the Ministry of Justice. You can apply online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, or in person, using form 790 code 006, which carries a fee of 3.74 EUR in 2026.