What happens to your case if you leave Spain

Key rules

• Old address: If you move without telling the court, notices sent to your last address still count as delivered.
• Procurador: A procurador with an address in Spain receives notices for you, so you are not served personally again after the first summons.
• Foreign address: You can give an address abroad, but service there is slow and risks missed deadlines.
• Poder signed abroad: A poder signed abroad needs an apostille or consular legalisation, plus a Spanish translation if needed.

The case does not stop when you leave

Moving abroad does not pause a civil case in Spain. The court keeps sending notices, and deadlines keep running. The safest setup is a procurador with an address in Spain, who receives notices for you.

Give the court a way to reach you

If you do not have a procurador, you must give a service address in your first filing. Add a phone number or other contact details if you have them. Tell the court promptly every time your address changes.

The court uses the last address you gave. If you move and say nothing, notices sent to the old address still count as delivered, even if you never see them.

You may give a foreign address. Service abroad follows international rules and is slow, so notices reach you late and deadlines can be hard to meet. If the court cannot find where a defendant lives, it searches official registers. As a last resort it publishes a public notice (an edict), and the case can move on without you knowing.

Appoint a representative in Spain

In most civil cases you need a procurador (a court representative) and an abogado (your lawyer). Living abroad does not prevent this.

Once you appoint a procurador, the court sends notices to them, and this binds you. You are not served personally again, apart from the first summons. Your procurador then passes the notices on to you.

To appoint one, you sign a poder (a power of attorney). You can sign it:

• before a Spanish notary or consulate, or
• before the court clerk.

From abroad, you usually sign before a foreign notary. The document then needs an apostille or consular legalisation, and a Spanish translation if it is not in Spanish. The documents list below gives the details.

Some low-value claims do not require a procurador. If yours is one of them, the service address rules above matter even more.

Check these things

• Ask your lawyer whether your case needs a specific power for particular acts, such as settling the case. Requirements differ by type of proceeding.
• Confirm that your procurador receives the court notices and sends them on to you quickly.
• Keep your own contact details current with both your lawyer and the court.

This page covers civil cases. Criminal and administrative proceedings follow different rules, so ask your lawyer about those.

The checklist below sums up the steps.

Documents you need

• Poder (power of attorney) for your procurador, signed before a Spanish notary or consulate, or before the court clerk (apud acta). It lets the procurador act for you in court.

• If you sign the poder abroad before a foreign notary, add an apostille (Hague) or consular legalisation to it.

• If the poder is not in Spanish, a Spanish translation of it.

Checklist

• Appoint a procurador with an address in Spain, so notices reach you through them.

• Check that your procurador receives court notices and passes them on to you.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I move abroad and do not update my address with the court?

The court keeps using the last address you gave, and notices sent there count as valid even if you never received them. Tell the court about any change promptly. If the court cannot find a defendant at all, it can publish a public notice (an edict) instead.

Can I give the court a foreign address?

Yes, you can give a foreign address, but service there is slow because it follows EU or Hague Convention procedures. Appointing a procurador with an address in Spain avoids that delay, since notices to the procurador are valid.

Do I still get served personally once I have a procurador?

No, once a procurador is appointed, notices go to the procurador and bind you, apart from the initial summons. Stay in touch with your procurador so nothing is missed.