Police records in Spain: what they are and how to delete them

Many people find that they appear in police files even though they have never been convicted: an arrest, a complaint or an investigation that ended in dismissal can all leave a trace. These data are not a criminal record, but it is worth knowing that they exist, what consequences they may carry, and that their deletion can be requested.

What are police records?

They are the personal data the police record in the exercise of their crime prevention and investigation functions. A person may have police records because they were the subject of an investigation, because they were arrested or because a complaint was made against them, among many other situations, regardless of how the matter later ends. Their processing is governed by Organic Act 7/2021, on the protection of personal data processed for the purposes of preventing, detecting, investigating and prosecuting criminal offences (LO 7/2021).

How do they differ from a criminal record?

A criminal record arises only from a final conviction and is held in the Central Register of Convicted Persons. Police records, by contrast, can exist even though the person has never been tried or convicted, and they do not appear on a criminal record certificate. We explain criminal records and how they are cleared in our separate article.

What effects can they have?

Although they do not appear on a criminal record certificate, police records can have consequences. For instance, they may affect an application for the grant or renewal of a foreign national's residence and work permit.

How long can they be kept?

The law provides that data may be kept only for as long as is necessary for the purposes that justify processing them, and that they must be accurate and up to date (article 6.1 LO 7/2021). In addition (article 8 LO 7/2021):

• The police must review the need to keep them at least every three years, taking particular account of the person's age, the type of data and the outcome of the investigation or the criminal proceedings.
• As a general rule, the maximum period for deleting them is twenty years, unless circumstances such as open investigations, offences that have not become time-barred, sentences still to be enforced, reoffending or the need to protect victims apply.

How is deletion requested?

The first step is to approach the police force holding the data (National Police, Guardia Civil or Mossos d'Esquadra, as the case may be):

• Right of access. It allows you to find out whether the police are processing your data and to learn, among other things, what the data are, for what purpose and for how long they will be kept (article 22 LO 7/2021).
• Right to erasure. You may ask for the deletion of data whose processing does not meet the statutory requirements or that should no longer be kept. The police must consider the application and decide under LO 7/2021; applying for erasure does not guarantee that it will be granted or that all the data will disappear automatically (article 23 LO 7/2021).
• Right to rectification. If the data are inaccurate or incomplete, you can ask for them to be corrected, providing supporting documents (article 23.1 LO 7/2021).

In practice, an application for deletion should be accompanied by the judicial decision showing how the proceedings ended — for example, an acquittal or an order of dismissal — together with any other relevant documents. Such a decision makes it more likely that whether the data should still be kept will be examined, but it does not by itself mean they will be deleted automatically.

What to do

• Ask for access to the data first, to find out exactly what is held.
• Gather the documents showing how the matter ended: the judgment, the dismissal order or a certificate from the court.
• File the deletion request in writing and keep the receipt.
• It is advisable to take legal advice if the request is refused or goes unanswered.