CERTIFICATE OF ABSENCE OF SEXUAL CRIMES

All English Teaching Assistants in Spain are required by law to present a certificate from the Spanish government demonstrating that they have not committed any crimes of a sexual nature, a certificado de delitos de naturaleza sexual. In order to comply with this law, you will need to present it, in addition to your criminal background check(s) with the Apostille of the Hague from the U.S., to your school. All of the necessary information and instructions for obtaining this certificado for each region can be found in the accordion below.

Please note that in academic year 2020-2021 some schools in all regions did not request this certificate, so be sure to check with your Bilingual Coordinator (BC) the first week of school. Your BC and/or other teachers at your school will also be able to help you with this document, if required.

The hyperlink to the form you must fill out in the PDFs in the accordion below do not always work so if they give you an error copy and paste the full link into your browser:
https://www.mjusticia.gob.es/es/Ciudadano/TramitesGestiones/Documents/Modelo_de_Solicitud_de_Certificado_por_Delitos_de_Naturaleza_Sexual.PDF.pdf 

We are waiting for updates from the Asturias Regional Government 

Past grantees indicated the certificate is often not requested by their schools, but for schools that do request it, the certificate can be obtained by making an appointment through this link.

In addition to your criminal background check from the U.S. you may also need to present to your school a certificate issued in Spain. Make sure to ask your Bilingual Coordinator/School if this is necessary before initiating the paperwork.

Below you have some guidelines

WHERE:
Regardless of your placement in Galicia, this certificate must be requested at:
Gerencia Territorial de Justicia
Alcalde Manuel Casas, s/n- Edificio Correos 2ª Planta
15071, A Coruña
Tlf: 981 246 231
Monday-Friday 9:00am-2:00am

*Note: There is a possibility the Subdelegación de Gobierno in Lugo, Ourense, or
Pontevedra will be able to issue this certificate as well, but you will need to check
directly with them.

Lugo
Calle Armanyá, 10
27001, Lugo
Tlf: 982 759 000

Ourense
Calle Parque San
Lázaro, 1
32003, Ourense
Tlf: 988 659 191

Pontevedra
Plaza de España,
s/n
36002, Pontevedra
Tlf: 986 989 00

WHEN:
As soon as you have an address in Galicia and a Spanish cell phone number
(because this data is necessary to complete the application form).
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 9.00-14.00

WHAT:
You will need to present the following documentation:
• Original and copy of your passport.
• Application Form (Impreso de Solicitud) original and copy (so that they can
return one to you stamped as proof that you have requested the
certificate).
• On the form you must include your phone number and you will receive an
SMS with a security verification code that you can use to download your
certificate from the Ministerio de Justicia’s sede electrónica (website) as
many times as you need.

You can find the instructions for La Rioja in the document below:
Certificado Delitos Sexuales La Rioja 2019-20

There is a new requirement to make a cita previa this year, so use this link to do so. 

WHERE:
Oficina Central de Atención al Ciudadano (OCAC)
Calle de la Bolsa, 8 – 28012 Madrid
Metro Station: Sol – Lines 1, 2 & 3, and Cercanías

WHEN:
As soon as you have a Spanish cell phone number (necessary to receive an SMS confirmation of your appointment).

The OCAC hours are:

  • From June 16 to September 15:
    • Mon-Fri-: From 8:00 to 15:00
      Saturdays: From 9:00 to 14:00
  • From September 16 to June 15:
    • Mon-Fri: From 9:00 to 17:30
      Saturdays: From 9:00 to 14:00

Important note: During the summer months, they will not emit certificates after 14:30 and on Saturdays they only emit certificates until 13:00.

HOW:
This certificate is free. You do need an appointment, however. 

WHAT TO BRING:
You will need to present the following documentation:

  • Original and copy of your passport.
  • Application Form (Impreso de Solicitud) original and copy (so that they can return one to you stamped as proof that you have requested the certificate).
  • If you do not yet have an address, you can list your school’s address (which can be found on your carta de nombramiento).
  • On the form you must include your Spanish phone number and you should receive an SMS with a security verification code that you can use to download your certificate from the Ministerio de Justicia’s sede electrónica (website) as many times as you need. Note: this is what the norm says, although some TAs only got a paper certificate on the spot, while others also got the paper certificate on the spot, plus the link to download it again in the future.