Volunteering with children or vulnerable people: checks and certificates

Key rules

• Cost: The sex-offender certificate costs nothing to request.
• Foreign records: The Spanish certificate does not cover other countries, so foreigners may also need one from their home country.
• Adult-care roles: No general law requires the sex-offender certificate for elderly or disabled adults only, but many organisations ask for their own check.
• Training: Organisations working with minors must give child-protection training and a code of conduct.

Working with children: you must show a certificate

If your volunteering involves regular contact with minors, you must show a negative certificate from the Central Register of Sex Offenders, which is free to request. The organisation will not let you start without it, and it keeps a copy on file.

You request it from the Ministry of Justice in one of three ways:

• Online, with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or an electronic ID. This is usually the quickest.
• In person, at a Justice Ministry office or a Gerencia Territorial.
• By post, with the request form.

The certificate lists only sex-offence convictions, including trafficking and exploitation. It does not show your general criminal record.

If you are a foreigner or have lived abroad

The Spanish certificate covers only Spanish records. If you have lived in other countries, you should also provide a no-criminal-record certificate covering sex offences from your country of nationality, and ideally from each country where you have lived.

Do it in this order:

1. Request the certificate from the police or justice authority in that country.
2. If it is not in Spanish, get a sworn translation into Spanish (a traductor jurado).
3. Legalise it. Use an Apostille if the country belongs to the Hague Convention. Otherwise use consular legalisation.

If you are an EU national, you can ask the Spanish register to get your records from your home country through the EU criminal-records exchange.

The organisation decides whether to accept your foreign certificate. Many accept a recent one. Ask what age of certificate it wants before you order, because legalisation and translation rules vary by country and by organisation.

Working with elderly or disabled adults

No general law requires the sex-offender certificate for roles with elderly or disabled adults only. Many organisations still ask for a general criminal-record certificate (certificado de antecedentes penales) or their own signed declaration. Some regions also set extra checks for social-services centres or in their volunteer rules. Ask the organisation, and check your region's rules for the centre where you will work.

If your role also includes minors, you need the sex-offender certificate.

Training and protection rules for roles with minors

Organisations working with children must give their staff and volunteers child-protection training. They must also have protection protocols and a code of conduct. In larger settings such as leisure, sport and education, they must name a protection coordinator.

Expect to sign the code of conduct and the child-protection policy. Larger charities usually run an induction session before you begin. Length and content vary, so ask for the dates early and book your place.

The documents list and checklist below cover what to prepare and ask.

Documents volunteering organisations may ask you for

• Your passport or national ID. If you live in Spain, expect to be asked for your NIE (foreigner ID number) or your TIE (residence card). Non-residents can usually give a passport.

• A negative certificate from the Central Register of Sex Offenders, if your role involves regular contact with minors. You request it from the Ministry of Justice online, in person or by post, and it is free.

• A no-criminal-record certificate covering sex offences from your country of nationality, and ideally from each country where you have lived. The Spanish certificate covers Spanish records only.

• A sworn translation into Spanish (traductor jurado) of any foreign certificate that is not in Spanish.

• Legalisation of the foreign certificate: an Apostille if the issuing country is in the Hague Convention, or consular legalisation if not. EU nationals can use the EU criminal-records exchange through the Spanish register instead.

• The organisation's own forms: volunteer agreement, data protection consent, image rights consent for photos, code of conduct, confidentiality commitment and a child protection policy declaration.

• Insurance details and an emergency contact sheet, which many organisations also ask you to fill in.

Checklist

• Ask the organisation whether your role involves regular contact with minors, since that decides if the sex-offender certificate is needed.

• Ask the organisation whether your role with elderly or disabled adults needs a general criminal-record certificate or its own declaration.

• Ask the organisation for its child-protection training dates and book your place before you start.

• Read and sign the organisation's code of conduct and child-protection policy.

• Find out who the organisation's protection coordinator is and how to report a concern.

Frequently asked questions

Does my Spanish sex-offender certificate cover years I lived abroad?

No, the Spanish certificate covers only Spanish records, so it says nothing about years you lived in other countries.

How do I get a foreign certificate accepted by a Spanish organisation?

You request it from the police or justice ministry in your home country, then get it translated and legalised. If it is not in Spanish, you need a sworn translation (traductor jurado). Legalisation is an Apostille for Hague Convention countries or consular legalisation for others, and many organisations accept a recent certificate.

Will I have to do child-protection training before working with minors?

Yes, organisations working with minors must give child-protection training to their staff and volunteers. Larger organisations usually run an induction, ask you to sign a code of conduct and have a protection coordinator. Training length and content vary, so ask what yours will involve.