Criminal record certificate from Cuba for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of Cuba and of Spain say about the criminal record certificate: who issues it, how to ask for it from Spain, cost and time where they are stated, and how long it counts for your file, with a source under every line. Reading this page is free.
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In short
- Criminal record: The Registro Central de Sancionados of the Ministry of Justice keeps the records; for use abroad the Ministry's FAQ names Consultoría Jurídica Internacional or, from abroad, a Cuban consulate (a 2022 news item names more companies), and we found no page on the validity of a certificate for use in Spain: a Cuban embassy page says a 2023 resolution set one year for Cuban purposes, while Spain applies the certificate's own term or else six months, and the clock uses six months.
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Last checked: 19 October 2026. Check the official page: sede.mjusticia.gob.es.
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1. Criminal record certificate
The Cuban Ministry of Justice's FAQ says the Registro Central de Sancionados registers, certifies and cancels the criminal records of people sentenced by Cuba's courts or by foreign courts.[1]
For use outside Cuba, the same FAQ says the service of obtaining and legalising the criminal record certificate of Cuban or foreign citizens is contracted only with the branches of the civil services company ("sociedad civil de servicios") Consultoría Jurídica Internacional S.A. and, abroad, through Cuban consular offices.[2] The Ministry's request page says requests for use abroad are made through the Consultorías Jurídicas Internacionales of the province of residence, in person or by email.[3] A Ministry news item of 2 April 2022 says Resolution 171 authorised civil services companies (sociedades civiles de servicios) and their branches to provide the service of obtaining and legalising these certificates for use outside Cuba,[4] and that until then only the Consultoría Jurídica Internacional provided it.[5] The Ministry's pages therefore differ, and we do not know which is current.
For a person living abroad, the FAQ says you can go to the Cuban consulate in the country where you live and request it.[6] It adds that a third person who is in Cuba can request it for the holder who is outside the country, at any of the branches and offices it calls its own.[7] We found no page saying whether that person needs a power of attorney.
A news item on the Ministry's site, dated 15 October 2026, says the Ministry has enabled an online request for criminal records on the Soberanía platform.[8] It says the applicant must authenticate with the Identidad Digital Certificada,[9] and that digital certificates issued by the central registries have the same value and legal effect as paper ones, citing resolution 284/2025.[10] We found no page saying whether a person living abroad can use this service, or whether Spain accepts the digital certificate.
Barcelona's consular tariff table has one 110 € line for certificates of birth, marriage, unión de hecho, death, criminal record, divorce, last wills, declaration of heirs and single status; the page does not say what that line covers.[11]
Consular certificates are a separate case. The Sevilla consulate's page warns that criminal records issued by the consulate are not recognised by Spain's Foreign Ministry.[12] It says the consulate can issue a Certificado de Buena Conducta, which certain Spanish institutions may accept in place of the criminal record for some procedures,[13] and that the person must first check with the Spanish institution whether it is valid for the procedure.[14] In a paragraph with no date it says the person must first request the criminal record from the consulate, for a fee of 100 euros, and that this record is the basis for making the Certificado de Buena Conducta, for a fee of 60 euros;[15] the same page's tariff table of 23 September 2026 lists consular declarations or certificates, buena conducta among them, at 110 euros,[16] and we do not know which figure applies. Spain's order says the criminal record may be replaced by the Certificado Consular de Conducta, as established by the Foreign Ministry, translated and legalised.[17] We found no page saying that the Cuban Certificado de Buena Conducta is the same document as the one in Spain's order, or that it is accepted for a nationality file: ask the registry.
Validity. A page of the Cuban embassy in Costa Rica (a Foreign Ministry site), dated 2 December 2023, says Resolution 609/2023 extends to one year, "a los efectos de Cuba", the validity of the criminal record certificates issued by the Registro Central de Sancionados.[18] We found no page saying whether that term applies to a certificate for use in Spain. Spain's order says all documents must be in force when you apply,[19] that the certificate's own term applies if it states one,[20] and that a criminal record with no stated validity counts for six months from issue.[21] The clock below therefore uses six months, and only if your certificate states no validity. As for processing time, not validity, the FAQ gives a term of between 17 and 39 working days, and 17 in Havana, for obtaining and legalising the certificate, with legalisation before the Foreign Ministry, both institutions being in Havana.[22] We found no date on that answer, and the notices in the apostille section say legalisation moved from the Foreign Ministry to the Ministry of Justice in February 2025.
Spain asks for the criminal record certificate of the country of origin, legalised and translated, and says that as a rule it must be issued by the competent body of that country.[23][24]
Sources (24)
Next steps
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