Criminal record certificate from El Salvador for a Spanish nationality file: who issues it and how long it stays valid
What the official pages of El Salvador 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 Ministry of Justice and Public Security issues the Constancia de antecedentes penales; the Foreign Ministry says compatriots abroad can get it with an electronic apostille through simple.sv, whose page states no period of validity for it, only 30 calendar days on the server, so the clock below uses Spain's six-month default.
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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 Foreign Ministry's news item of 18 April 2023 says the Government of El Salvador enabled the digital platform simple.sv, a tool for compatriots living abroad to obtain the constancia de antecedentes penales with its electronic apostille.[1][2] The simple.sv page for the Constancia de antecedentes penales (certificate of criminal record) describes it as a certificate that natural persons of Salvadoran origin have no records of criminal convictions with final effect (ejecutoriada) imposed on them for an offence.[3] The news item says the document is issued (otorgado) by the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.[4]
From abroad. Among the steps it lists, the news item says that to request it you select the country from which you make the request, accept the terms and conditions and pay online,[5] and that once the procedure is verified you receive an e-mail with the constancia with electronic apostille.[6]
The simple.sv page for the procedure gives its cost as $3.00 (the page prints only the dollar sign)[7] and an average resolution time of 12 working hours, with a maximum of 20 working days depending on the case.[8] It also says the document is not sent by e-mail: once the request is processed in full and without observations, you download the constancia from the section "Mis documentos".[9] The news item and this page describe the delivery differently, and the page describes the certificate for persons of Salvadoran origin without mentioning the route from abroad. We found no page that states the fee or the time for a request made from Spain: ask the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
The simple.sv page also says the procedure can be done by an authorised third party, who needs documents proving the representation.[10] It does not say what form that proof takes.
The Foreign Ministry's news item of 16 July 2023 on the new Barcelona consulate lists, among the procedures available there, police clearances (solvencias de la policía) and antecedentes penales.[11][12] We found no official page saying how a consulate in Spain handles the antecedentes penales procedure, and we found no page of the Madrid or Sevilla consulates on it.
Validity. The simple.sv page says the type of validity is variable: the document is valid on the date it is issued, and it stays available on the server for 30 calendar days from issue.[13] It states no period of validity for the document, we do not read the 30 days as a validity period, and none of the other official Salvadoran pages we could open states one. Spain's order says all documents must be in force when you apply, and that for certificates the validity stated on the document counts.[14][15] If a criminal record certificate states no term, Spain's order gives it six months from issue.[16] The clock below uses the six months as a default.
A police certificate is a different procedure. simple.sv lists a separate Constancia de antecedentes policiales, whose description speaks of the Unidad de Registro y Antecedentes Policiales.[17] The Barcelona news item also lists police clearances and antecedentes penales as two procedures.[18] Spain's order asks for the "certificado de antecedentes penales".[19] We found no Spanish text saying whether a police certificate is accepted instead: 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.[20][21] Spain's order also says this certificate may be replaced by the Consular Certificate of Conduct, as laid down by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, duly translated and legalised.[22] We found no Salvadoran page that names a certificate of that kind.
Sources (22)
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