Criminal record certificate from Mexico for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of Mexico 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 federal certificate (CAPF) comes from Prevención y Reinserción Social, online; its FAQ says it has no specific validity and that the requesting authority says how long it will accept it. We found no current official page saying whether state certificates are also needed for Spain.
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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 Mexican Government's page for the Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales (CAPF) lists the Órgano Administrativo Desconcentrado Prevención y Reinserción Social as its dependencia (agency)[1] and describes it as a certificate you obtain and download online.[2]
The Prevención y Reinserción Social FAQ says the Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana, through Prevención y Reinserción Social, issues the criminal record certificate "en materia Federal" (in federal matters).[3] The same FAQ lists, among the cases in which the constancia can be requested, a request made through a Mexican embassy or consulate abroad.[4] Among its recommendations, it says to make sure, for the procedure from abroad, that the payment is made with a bank card, Visa or MasterCard, issued by a bank that operates in Mexican territory.[5]
The Consulate of Mexico in Barcelona says you can obtain the CAPF online through the website of the Órgano Desconcentrado de Prevención y Readaptación Social (OADPRS), which it calls the authority responsible for this procedure.[6] The Government page names the body "Prevención y Reinserción Social"[7] and this page "Prevención y Readaptación Social"[8]; we found no page saying whether they are the same body.
The Consular Section of the Mexican Embassy in Madrid has a request form headed "Solicitud para que se expida la constancia federal de antecedentes penales" (the PDF carries no printed date).[9] Its procedure says to book an appointment through a system the form names,[10] and its list of documents includes one showing that a Spanish authority requires you to prove your Mexican criminal record.[11] The form's options for the procedure the document is for include "Nacionalidad".[12] A press release of the Embassy dated 12 September 2022 says the certificate (CFAP) is requested by the authorities of Spain and Andorra as an indispensable requirement for residence, studies, a work permit or obtaining nationality.[13] Neither it nor the form says whether Spain accepts the certificate issued this way for a nationality file. The Embassy's directory page says all queries and requests for procedures are made by email to the consular section,[14] while the undated form says to book an appointment: ask the section which applies. We found no page stating a fee or a delay for the certificate issued through the Madrid section: ask the section.
On the online route, the Government's page prints a fee of $240.00 MXN[15] and a response time of 72 hours.[16] It says the response time is 10 working days when homonyms (matching names) are detected,[17] and that the email carries a download link that stays available for 10 natural days from receipt of the email.[18]
Validity. The Prevención y Reinserción Social FAQ says the constancia has no specific validity, and that the authority requesting it is the one that tells you how long after issue it will accept it.[19] Spain's order says all documents must be in force when you apply, that the validity stated on a certificate itself counts, and that a criminal record certificate with no stated validity counts for six months from issue.[20][21][22] We found no validity period stated by the Mexican issuer. Spain's order uses the term printed on the certificate where there is one, and the clock below otherwise uses Spain's six months.
Federal or state? Spain's order names Mexico among the federal states and says the certificate must cover the whole country, not one state.[23] It adds that where no single certificate is issued for the whole federal state, the certificates of the states where you lived in the five years before the application must be attached.[24][25] The Mexican federal constancia is described as issued in federal matters.[26] The Barcelona consulate describes state certificates separately: it says the competent authority depends on the state and can be the Fiscalía General de Justicia, the Secretaría de Seguridad Pública, the Poder Judicial, the Archivo General or another body,[27] that the consulate is only an intermediary who helps with the requirements for a procedure carried out in Mexico,[28] and that such a certificate has a validity of between 1 and 3 months.[29] The only Mexican statement we found on this is on an older Barcelona consulate page (last updated 1 August 2017) about a procedure for foreigners that names the PGR: it says the certificate refers to federal offences and covers all the states of the Mexican Republic, and that this is what the Spanish government requires to continue nationality and/or legal residence procedures.[30] We found no current official page saying whether the federal constancia alone meets Spain's rule for Mexico or whether state certificates are also needed: ask the registry.
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.[31][32]
Sources (32)
Next steps
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Where is my Spanish nationality file? The official ways to check it
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Years, exams and fee for Spanish nationality by country of origin: open data
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