Turning experience into a certificate (acreditación de competencias)

Key rules

• Experience needed: You need 3 years of experience with at least 2,000 hours worked in the last 10 years.
• Calls: You can only apply when your region opens a call for your occupation, so watch your regional employment or education department.
• Partial result: If you prove only some units, you keep them and can complete the rest later through training or another call.
• Foreign experience: Foreign work can count if you document it, with legalised documents and sworn translations.

What this gets you

If you have worked in a trade for years but have no diploma, Spain lets you have that experience officially recognised. You apply in a call (convocatoria) from your region. A commission checks your experience, and you receive an official accreditation of each skill you can prove. It is valid across Spain.

An accreditation is not a qualification by itself. It becomes a full certificado de profesionalidad only if you prove every unit of that certificate.

Who can apply

You need to meet these conditions:

• Experience: at least 3 years of experience with at least 2,000 hours worked in the last 10 years, in the skill you want accredited.
• Age: at least 18 for levels 1 and 2, and at least 20 for level 3.
• Status: Spanish nationality, EU citizenship, or legal residence or a residence and work permit in Spain.
• Training, if you rely on courses instead of work: at least 300 hours in the last 10 years (200 hours for modules shorter than 300 hours).

Workers, self-employed people and volunteers can all apply. Some calls give priority to people over 25 with experience, and each call can add its own conditions. Read the call itself.

When you can apply

Calls are not continuous. Your region's employment or education department opens them for specific qualifications, with a limited number of places. Many regions open them once or a few times a year, and some leave gaps of years. Some regions now keep applications permanently open.

Calls usually target sectors with many unqualified workers. These include care for dependent people, childcare, health and social services, hospitality, commerce, cleaning, transport, construction, agriculture, and community services. Regions such as Andalucía, Catalonia, Madrid, Valencia, Galicia, the Basque Country, Castilla y León, Murcia and Canarias have run calls. Sectors, places and dates change each time, so check your region's current call.

Experience from abroad

Experience abroad can count. You prove it with certificates or contracts from your foreign employer or authority. They must state the activity, the periods and the hours. If you were self-employed, use tax or registration records. Foreign documents normally need legalisation or an apostille, plus a sworn translation into Spanish. Your Spanish work-life report only covers work in Spain, so it cannot prove foreign work. The assessment commission decides whether your evidence is enough. Ask the office running your call what it accepts before you pay for translations.

What you receive

Each skill you prove is registered as a partial accreditation that adds up over time. The steps and the documents list are below.

• All units proved: you can apply for the full certificado de profesionalidad, or for the matching vocational training title.
• Some units proved: you complete the missing units through training modules or by joining a later call. Your accredited units are kept.
• Vocational training: accredited units can exempt you from matching modules if you later study for a vocational title.

Steps to accredit your professional competences

• Check you are eligible: at least 18 for levels 1 and 2, at least 20 for level 3, with Spanish nationality, EU citizenship, or legal residence or a residence and work permit in Spain: before you start

• Check your experience meets the minimum: 3 years of experience with at least 2,000 hours worked in the last 10 years (for non-formal training, 300 hours in the last 10 years, or 200 for modules shorter than 300 hours): before you start

• Find an open call (convocatoria) from your region's employment or education department for your occupation. Calls are not continuous, often come once or a few times a year, and have limited places: before you apply; watch for it regularly

• Gather your evidence: ID (DNI, NIE or residence card); for employees, your work-life report (informe de vida laboral) plus contracts or a company certificate with activity, period and hours; for self-employed people, proof of registration in the self-employed scheme or tax census with a signed statement of activities and periods; for volunteers, an organisation certificate with activities, hours and years; and training certificates showing content and hours: before you apply

• Submit your application with the documents showing your experience and training: while the call is open

• Wait for the administration to check your eligibility and admit you: after you apply

• Do the advice stage (asesoramiento): an adviser helps you build a professional portfolio and a personal competence file, and reports whether you should continue: once you are admitted

• Go through the assessment (evaluación): a commission reviews your file and may use interviews, observation at work or tests to judge each competence unit: after the advice stage

• Receive your accreditation: the administration issues it for the competence units you showed and registers them in the register of professional accreditations: after a successful assessment

• Ask for guidance on the training you still need to complete a full qualification: after you receive your accreditation

• If you are not admitted or no call is open for your occupation, ask your regional employment or education department when the next call is due and what extra conditions it sets: if you are refused or no call is open

Documents you need

• Certificates or contracts from your foreign employer or authority, stating the activity, the periods and the hours worked

• Sworn translation into Spanish of each foreign document

• If you were self-employed abroad, tax or registration records showing your activity

Confirm with your region's call which foreign documents it accepts and how they must be legalised.

Frequently asked questions

How often do regions open calls for accreditation?

Regions usually open calls once or a few times a year, and some leave gaps of years. Calls are not continuous and cover specific qualifications with a limited number of places.

Which sectors usually have calls for accreditation?

Calls usually cover sectors with many unqualified workers, such as care for dependent people, childcare, hospitality, commerce, cleaning, transport, construction and agriculture. The list changes by region and year. Look for your occupation in your region's current call.

Can my work experience from another country count?

Yes, experience abroad can count if you prove the activity, periods and hours with documents from the foreign employer or authority. The assessment commission decides whether the evidence is enough. Spanish work-life reports only cover Spain, so you need other proof.

What do I get if I do not prove every unit of a certificate?

You get an official partial accreditation for each competence unit you prove, valid across Spain. You can complete the missing units through training or in later calls, and the units add up. Once you have all the units, you can apply for the full certificado de profesionalidad.