What to do first when you get an official letter in Spanish

Terms used

• Requerimiento — A requerimiento is an official request to send missing documents or correct mistakes in your file.
• Trámite de audiencia — A trámite de audiencia is your chance to read your file and send arguments and documents before a decision.
• Resolución — A resolución is the official decision that ends a procedure.
• Providencia de apremio — A providencia de apremio is a tax order that starts enforced collection of a debt.
• CSV — The CSV (Código Seguro de Verificación) is a code on an official document that lets you confirm it is genuine online.
• Sede electrónica — The sede electrónica is an official body's online office, where you can verify documents and handle procedures.
• Gestor — A gestor is a paperwork agent who handles dealings with public offices for a fee.
• Recursos — Recursos are the appeals you can file against an official decision.

Key rules

• Four things: Find the sender, the type of letter, what it asks and the deadline before you do anything else.
• Counting days: Check whether the letter counts working days or calendar days, and count from the day after notification.
• Genuine letter: Verify the CSV on the sender's own website, typing the address yourself.
• High stakes: A fine, seizure, expulsion or tax debt means getting professional help quickly.

Start with four questions

Do not ignore the letter, and do not panic. In the first hour, find four things: who sent it, what type of letter it is, what it asks you to do, and the deadline. Write each one down. The checklist below helps you scan the letter.

1. Who sent it?

Look at the header. The sender (the órgano) is usually named there, often with a logo such as Agencia Tributaria, Policía, Seguridad Social or an ayuntamiento. Note its level: state, region, council or court.

At the end you will find the name of the official or head of the office. Electronic letters carry a line such as "firmado electrónicamente por" and a Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV). Genuine letters also give a file number (expediente) and the address of the office's online site (sede electrónica).

To check a letter is genuine, type the CSV into the document verification function on that same body's sede. Type the address yourself. Never follow a link in a message. Layouts differ, and each body only verifies its own CSVs.

2. What type of letter is it?

The type tells you how urgent it is.

• Requerimiento: asks you to send missing documents or correct mistakes. If you do not answer in time, your application can be treated as withdrawn.
• Trámite de audiencia: lets you read your file and send your arguments and documents before a decision. If you stay silent, the procedure goes on without you. The period is usually 10 to 15 days.
• Resolución: the final decision. You must comply with it or appeal.
• Sanción or embargo: a fine or a seizure of money or property. Treat these as urgent.
• Providencia de apremio: a tax order that starts enforcement. You must pay or appeal within the period it states.

3. What does it ask you to do?

Read the full text and write one sentence: "I must send X by date Y" or "I must pay X". If you cannot say what it asks, you need help (see below).

4. What is the deadline?

Find the deadline and check whether the days are working days (días hábiles, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) or calendar days. The letter's own wording decides.

Write down the date you were notified. That is the day you opened it online, the day it was delivered, or the day it was deemed rejected. Count from the day after.

Some typical periods:

• A request to correct your file: usually 10 working days.
• Against a decision: 1 month to appeal to the same or a higher body, and 2 months to go to court.

Deadlines depend on the procedure, and tax procedures have their own. The letter's stated deadline always comes first.

Check the appeal section

A proper notification gives the full decision, says whether it ends the administrative route (pone fin a la vía administrativa), and lists the appeals (recursos), the body you file them with and the time limit. If any of this is missing, ask the sending office or a gestor. A letter that lacks these details only takes effect from the date you act on it, for example by filing an appeal. Do not rely on that to wait.

Keep proof

Keep the envelope, the acknowledgment of receipt or the electronic proof of delivery. Copy or photograph everything before you reply. The documents list below shows what to keep.

When to get help straight away

Get help quickly if the deadline is short, or if the letter mentions a fine, a seizure, expulsion or a tax debt. Contact a gestor, a lawyer, your local social services office or a legal aid service. The decision guide below helps you choose.

Choosing between options

Should you deal with this letter yourself or get help first?

• Check the letter is genuine first: You are not sure who sent it or the letter came with a link. Check the CSV on the sender's own website before doing anything else.

• Deal with it yourself: The sender is clear, the letter asks for something simple such as a missing document, and the deadline leaves you enough time.

First find the sender, the type of act, what it asks and the deadline. If the letter is genuine and the deadline is comfortable, handle it yourself. If it is short or there is a fine, seizure, expulsion or tax liability, get help now.

Which official letters are most urgent, compared

Answer first the letters that can cost you a right you cannot get back: court summonses, seizure notices, and requests from tax, immigration or Social Security. Traffic fines come next because their discount window is short. Routine bills and confirmations come last.

Ranking at a glance

The period in each letter always wins over the general periods here.

How to use the ranking

1. Find the notification date. Count from the day after you received the notice, not the date written on the letter.
2. Check the type of day. Working days leave out Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. Calendar days include weekends.
3. Put the earliest expiry first. If two letters expire close together, do the one with the harsher consequence first.

What to know about each type

Immigration. You can ask for an extension of up to 5 days. You must ask before the deadline runs out, and it is meant for documents that are hard to obtain. If you never open an electronic notification, it is treated as rejected after 10 calendar days, and the clock starts then. Check your electronic mailbox regularly while an application is open.

Tax. Beyond the first reply, you have two later steps. You can ask the same office to review its decision, which gives you 1 month. You can also go to the tax appeals tribunal, which also gives 1 month, counted from the notification or from the review decision. If the office stays silent on a review request, it is treated as rejected after 1 month. Months run from date to date.

Traffic. Paying with the 50% reduction ends the case, and in most cases you give up the right to appeal. The fine still stands and points are still deducted. The reduction does not apply to every offence, so read the notice before you pay. If you want to contest the fine, do not pay.

Social Security. The supplied information gives no general period. Treat any request as urgent and reply within the time printed on it.

Private mail. Letters from a residents' association, such as a request for a shared-cost payment, rank lower. They move up if a court or a formal demand is involved.

When you cannot tell

If a letter mentions seizure, a court, or a deadline you cannot work out, ask a gestor or a lawyer straight away. The cost is small compared with losing an appeal right.

Timeline and deadlines

• Find the sender: the office and its level (state, region, council or court): in the first hour

• Identify the type of act, such as a requerimiento, trámite de audiencia, resolución, sanción or embargo: in the first hour

• Work out what the letter asks you to do and find its deadline, noting whether the days are working days or calendar days: in the first hour

• Write down the date you were notified: when you opened it, when it was delivered or when it was deemed rejected: on the day you get it

• Keep the envelope and the receipt or justificante, and copy or photograph everything: on the day you get it

• Check the CSV on the sender's own website to confirm the letter is genuine: on the day you get it

• Get help from a gestor, lawyer, social services office or legal aid service if there is a fine, seizure, expulsion or tax debt: straight away if the deadline is short

• Answer a requerimiento by sending the missing documents or correcting the defects: usually within 10 working days

• Send your comments and documents after a trámite de audiencia: usually within 10 to 15 days

• Comply with a resolución or appeal it: 1 month to appeal to the same or a higher body, 2 months to go to court: counted from the day after notification

Documents you need

• The letter or notification itself, complete, with the sender's header, the signature block and the CSV verification code.

• The envelope and the acknowledgment of receipt for a paper letter, or the electronic justificante (the proof of access) for an electronic one. They show the date you were notified.

• A copy or photo of everything you received, kept before you reply or send anything back.

Checklist of what to find in any Spanish official letter

What to find in any official letter

• Find the office that sent the letter and note its name.

• Copy the reference or file number, and keep it for every reply.

• Read the full text of the decision or request, and note what it asks of you.

• Find the deadline and write down the date the letter was notified, so you can count from the day after.

• Find the appeals (recursos) you can use, the body you file them with and the time limit.

• If the deadline, appeal body or appeal line is missing, ask the sending office or a gestor (a paperwork agent) or lawyer before the time runs out.

What to watch out for

• Ignoring a letter: A letter you leave unanswered can lead to a fine, a seizure of money or property, or an application being treated as withdrawn. Read it the day you get it and act within the stated deadline. Never put it aside.

• Miscounting the days: Counting calendar days when the letter means working days (días hábiles, which exclude Saturdays, Sundays and holidays), or the other way round, can make you miss the deadline. Find out which kind of day the letter uses, and when in doubt treat the last day as the deadline.

• Waiting when the stakes are high: A short deadline, a fine, a seizure, expulsion or a tax debt leaves little time to fix mistakes.

• Following links in a message: A link in a message that claims to be about an official notice may not lead to the real office. Type the office's website address yourself and check the CSV and file number there.

Frequently asked questions

How can I check that an official letter is genuine?

You can check that a letter is genuine by typing its CSV (Código Seguro de Verificación, a verification code printed on the document) into the document check function on the website of the office that sent it. That shows you the original document. Type the website address yourself instead of following a link in a message.

What happens if I ignore a trámite de audiencia?

If you ignore a trámite de audiencia, the procedure simply continues without your input. This step lets you look at your file and send comments and documents before a decision is made, usually within 10 to 15 days.

What is a providencia de apremio?

A providencia de apremio is an order from the tax authority that starts enforcement of a debt.

What if the letter does not say how to appeal?

If a letter leaves out the appeal details, it takes effect only from the date you act on it, for example by filing an appeal or getting the missing content. Filing the right appeal also cures the defect.