Cancel your criminal record entries at the Ministerio de Justicia

What you need to have ready

1. ID: DNI, NIE or passport (if it's a TIE, both sides scanned).
2. Details of convictions: court/tribunal and case number or ejecución. If you have the sentencia firme or the auto de extinción de la pena, even better.
3. Responsabilidad civil: proof of payment or auto de insolvencia. Without this, they'll stop the process.
4. Cl@ve, certificate or DNIe: to enter the sede and sign.

Documentation

1. Identity (DNI/NIE/passport).
2. Auto or certification of cumplimiento/extinción de pena (if the Registro doesn't have those updated).
3. Proof of responsabilidad civil (bank transfer, consignments, homologated agreement or auto de insolvencia).
4. Document of representation if someone files for you (apoderamiento apud acta, power of attorney or signed authorization + copy of both IDs).
5. List of cases if you have several, with court and ejecución, so they can find them faster.

Step by step

1. Go to the sede: sede.mjusticia.gob.es > Cancelación de antecedentes penales and click Tramitar online.
2. Identify yourself with Cl@ve, certificate or DNIe.
3. Fill the form: personal data and, if requested, details of the convictions. Confirm you have served the sentence and the waiting periods have passed.
4. Upload PDFs of whatever you have: auto de extinción and responsabilidad civil. If you don't upload them, they'll likely request them and you'll lose weeks.
5. Sign and register the request. Save the justificante (CSV).
6. Watch Carpeta Ciudadana for requerimientos and the resolution. If they ask for something, upload it to the same expediente.
7. When they cancel, if you want to check, request a certificado de antecedentes penales on the same sede (different trámite) and you'll see it blanked out.

Tips that save time

1. If you have several convictions, attach a summary with ejecutorias and courts. It saves them hunting and speeds things up.
2. If you can't find the auto de extinción, ask the court for a diligencia de ordenación or certificación proving cumplimiento; it usually comes out in days.
3. Upload clear, legible PDFs and one file per document. Avoid blurry photos: they end in a requerimiento.
4. Check you have no pending cases. If a new conviction appears before they resolve, they can deny the cancellation.

Common mistakes that can ruin the process

1. Applying too early. Legal waiting times run from 6 months to 10 years depending on the sentence; if not met, automatic denial.
2. Forgetting the responsabilidad civil. Without payment or an auto de insolvencia, they usually won't cancel.
3. Mixing up penal and police records. This doesn't delete detention or police files; those go through Policía/Guardia Civil.
4. Uploading incomplete or unreadable documents. Requerimiento and months wasted.
5. Not checking Carpeta Ciudadana. You can miss a requerimiento and they archive you for inactivity.