Guide · checked 18 October 2026

US citizens: criminal-record certificate and apostille for a Spanish long-stay visa

Which Spanish consulate covers your state, what the Spanish texts say about criminal records, and what the FBI, the State Department and individual consulates say about the certificate and the apostille, with what we could not confirm.

This page covers US citizens; green card holders and dual nationals may differ.

This guide reports what official pages and texts say about the paperwork around a criminal-record certificate for a US citizen applying for a Spanish residence visa: which Spanish consulate covers each state, what the Spanish legal texts say about criminal records, what the FBI and the State Department say on their own pages, and what individual consulates say. It does not tell you what to do or by when. The Spanish visa rules themselves are in our visa comparison guide, and this page adds no visa rule or figure of its own. Quotes are in the language of the source, with the article or page section, a link and the version date the source shows. The FBI and travel.state.gov pages were read as archived copies, and each such quote says so and links the copy. The sentences that follow a quote are our own summary of it, not a translation to rely on.

Which Spanish consulate covers your state

Each Spanish consular office in the US publishes the area it covers on its own page. The table has nine rows, one for each page we read, and shows the areas as that page lists them, in the page's own language. "Page undated" means the page shows no date. Check your consulate's own page: each was read once, on the date shown, and most show no date.

California is split between two consulates: southern counties: Los Angeles; northern counties: San Francisco. Inyo County is named in the list on the Los Angeles page and in the list on the San Francisco page. We do not say which consulate covers it: ask the consulate (see the questions near the end). The quotes behind the table follow.

“El Consulado General de España en Boston tiene jurisdicción en los siguientes estados: Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont Rhode Island Pese a pertenecer a la región de Nueva Inglaterra, del estado de Connecticut es competente el Consulado General de España en Nueva York.” (Boston consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“Estados que pertenecen a la demarcación de este Consulado General: Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Nebraska North Dakota South Dakota Ohio Kentucky Michigan Minnesota Missouri Wisconsin” (Chicago consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“El Consulado General de España en Houston tiene jurisdicción en los estados de: Texas, Nuevo México, Oklahoma, Luisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama y Misisipi.” (Houston consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“El Consulado General de España en Los Ángeles cubre las siguientes demarcaciones: Sur de California : Condados de Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Ángeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Bárbara y Ventura. Estado de Arizona Estado de Colorado Estado de Utah” (Los Angeles consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“La demarcación de este Consulado General abarca los Estados de Florida, Georgia y Carolina del Sur.” (Miami consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“Bajo la jurisdicción de este Consulado General se encuentran los estados de Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York y Pennsylvania. Si se encuentra o reside en otro estado dentro de Estados Unidos, deberá dirigirse a la Oficina Consular que le corresponda por demarcación consular.” (New York consulate, Demarcación page)
Page dated 23 March 2022 (shown under the heading “Demarcación”; the page does not label it as a publication or update date)

“Los territorios comprendidos dentro de la demarcación consular del Consulado General de España en San Francisco son: Estado de Alaska, Estado de Hawaii, Estado de Idaho, Estado de Montana, Estado de Nevada, Estado de Oregon, Estado de Washington, Estado de Wyoming, Islas del Pacífico (Guam, American Samoa, Mariana Islands, U.S. Minor Outlying Islands), Norte de California, incluyendo los condados de Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Buttle, Calaveras, Colusa, Contracosta, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humbboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehema, Trinity, Tulare, Toulumne, Yolo, Yuba.” (San Francisco consulate, Demarcación page)
Page undated

“cuya demarcación cubre las Islas de Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra e Islas Vírgenes Norteamericanas.” (San Juan de Puerto Rico consulate, Cónsul General page)
Page undated

“CONSULAR JURISDICTION: Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina” (Washington consular section, Consular Jurisdiction page)
Page undated

The Washington page says something more about who can apply there:

“… the applicant must be a legal resident in our consular jurisdiction: Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina.” (Washington consular section, Consular Jurisdiction page (second quote))
Page undated

That is the Washington page. This page does not say whether other consulates ask the same.

What the Spanish texts say about criminal records

For the non-lucrative visa, art. 38 of RD 1155/2024 (the Reglamento de extranjería) lists the general requirements for a residence visa. Item e) says:

“Serán requisitos para la concesión del visado de residencia:” … “e) En el caso de que la persona solicitante sea mayor de edad penal, carecer de antecedentes penales en los países donde haya residido durante los últimos cinco años por delitos previstos en el ordenamiento español.” (RD 1155/2024, art. 38.e))
BOE consolidated text, last update published 22/09/2026

In English: if the applicant is of criminal age (mayor de edad penal), they must have no criminal record, for offences provided for in Spanish law, in the countries where they have lived during the last five years. Art. 39.1 says:

“1. La solicitud de visado de residencia temporal no lucrativa, de residencia temporal y trabajo por cuenta propia y de residencia temporal con excepción de la autorización de trabajo conllevará la solicitud de la correspondiente autorización de residencia temporal y deberá ser acompañada de la documentación que acredite el cumplimiento de los requisitos generales previstos en el artículo 38, con excepción del previsto en la letra f), y del cumplimiento de los requisitos específicos de cada autorización.” (RD 1155/2024, art. 39.1)
BOE consolidated text, last update published 22/09/2026

In English: the application for the non-lucrative visa (and for the other kinds the article names) must be accompanied by the documents that show the general requirements of art. 38 are met, except the one in item f), and the specific requirements of each authorisation. Art. 39.2 says:

“2. La oficina consular valorará el cumplimiento de los requisitos previstos en el artículo 38 y, en el caso de los visados de residencia temporal no lucrativa, los requisitos específicos previstos en el artículo 61.2 a) y b).” (RD 1155/2024, art. 39.2)
BOE consolidated text, last update published 22/09/2026

In English: the consular office assesses the requirements of art. 38 and, for non-lucrative visas, the specific requirements of art. 61.2 a) and b). In the non-lucrative section, art. 61.2.d) says:

“d) No representar una amenaza para el orden público, la seguridad pública o la salud pública, circunstancia que se acreditará mediante la comprobación de la inexistencia de antecedentes penales en España y la valoración del informe policial correspondiente.” (RD 1155/2024, art. 61.2.d))
BOE consolidated text, last update published 22/09/2026

In English: the absence of a threat to public order, public security or public health is shown by checking that there are no criminal records in Spain and by assessing the corresponding police report. This is about Spanish records, and this page does not say how that report is obtained. Art. 63.1, quoted in our visa dataset, says:

“La solicitud del visado conllevará la solicitud de la autorización de residencia temporal no lucrativa.” (RD 1155/2024, art. 63.1)
BOE consolidated text

In English, in the words of our visa dataset: the visa application is also the application for the authorisation.

For the teleworker (digital nomad) visa, the criminal-record rule is in Ley 14/2013, not in the Reglamento. Art. 74 ter begins:

“Deberán quedar acreditados, además de los requisitos generales del artículo 62, los siguientes:” (Ley 14/2013, art. 74 ter, lead-in)
Art. 74 ter: text added, published 22/12/2022, in force from 23/12/2022

In English: the conditions that follow must be shown in addition to the general requirements of art. 62. Art. 62.3.c) says:

“c) Carecer de antecedentes penales en España y en los países donde haya residido durante los dos últimos años, por delitos previstos en el ordenamiento jurídico español. Adicionalmente, se presentará una declaración responsable de la inexistencia de antecedentes penales de los últimos cinco años.” (Ley 14/2013, art. 62.3.c))
Art. 62 version: last update published 09/05/2023, in force from 10/05/2023

In English: no criminal record in Spain, and in the countries where the person lived during the last two years, for offences in Spanish law; in addition, a declaración responsable that there was no criminal record during the last five years is to be submitted. The two texts give different numbers of years, and we do not reconcile them.

None of the BOE articles quoted in this section mentions the FBI, an apostille, translation or how old a certificate may be. Those details come only from the consulate pages quoted below, and we do not say how they fit with the Spanish texts.

The FBI Identity History Summary

We could not read the live fbi.gov pages, so this section quotes archived copies. Each quote is labelled "FBI page, as archived" with the archive date, and links the live address and the archived copy. The first page describes what the summary is:

“For a fee, the FBI can provide individuals with an Identity History Summary, often referred to as a criminal history or "rap sheet"—listing certain information taken from fingerprint submissions kept by the FBI and related to arrests and, in some instances, federal employment, naturalization, or military service.” (FBI, Identity History Summary Checks page (as archived)) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 6 October 2026; page undated

The FBI page says the FBI can provide individuals with an Identity History Summary for a fee. It lists the ways to request one:

“Get Your Identity History Summary/Rap Sheet (or Proof One Does Not Exist) Online Mail FBI-approved channeler” (FBI, Identity History Summary Checks page (as archived), ways to request) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 6 October 2026; page undated

In English: online, by mail or through an FBI-approved channeler. This page does not say whether a Spanish consulate accepts a summary requested through these routes: see the list at the end. On channelers, the page says:

“An FBI-approved channeler may only process requests for a U.S. citizen or U.S. lawful permanent resident located in the U.S. or its territories.” (FBI, Identity History Summary Checks page (as archived), channelers) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 6 October 2026; page undated

In short, channelers are limited to people located in the US or its territories; the quote names US citizens and US lawful permanent residents. This page does not say what a person who now lives abroad can do instead. The FBI keeps a separate page listing approved channelers, and we name none. The archived copy of that page shows this date line:

“Last updated on May 27, 2026” (FBI, list of approved channelers page (as archived), date line only) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 6 October 2026; page shows its own date line

On what a summary may be used for, the first page says:

“Under federal law, you can use your Identity History Summary to review, correct, or update your own personal record. Identity History Summaries are not to be used for employment or licensing .” (FBI, Identity History Summary Checks page (as archived), use limits) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 6 October 2026; page undated

That is the FBI's wording and we do not paraphrase it. On authentication and the apostille, the FBI's FAQ says:

“The FBI will authenticate all fingerprint search results by placing the FBI watermark and the signature of a division official on the results at the time of submission. Documents authenticated by the FBI may then be sent to the U.S. Department of State by the requestor to obtain an apostille if necessary. Requests to authenticate previously processed results will not be accepted.” (FBI, Identity History Summary Checks FAQ (as archived)) (archived copy)
FBI page, as archived 26 September 2026; page undated

In English: the FBI authenticates the results at the time of submission by placing its watermark and the signature of a division official on them; the requester may then send the authenticated documents to the State Department to obtain an apostille if necessary; and, on the archived FAQ, requests to authenticate previously processed results are not accepted.

The apostille

The State Department's travel.state.gov pages were also read as archived copies. The Office of Authentications page says:

“We issue apostille certificates and authentication certificates.” (travel.state.gov, Office of Authentications (as archived)) (archived copy)
travel.state.gov page, as archived 6 January 2026; page shows “Last Updated: December 22, 2025”

On what an apostille certificate is for, the archived page on preparing a document for one says:

“An apostille certificate is for documents you use in countries that are in the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty .” (travel.state.gov, Preparing your Document for an Apostille Certificate (as archived)) (archived copy)
travel.state.gov page, as archived 15 June 2026; page shows “Last Updated: December 13, 2024”

In English: an apostille certificate is for documents used in countries that are in the Hague Convention Treaty the page names. This page does not say which countries those are. On documents signed by federal officials, the same page says:

“If your document is signed by one of the following officials, you must get an apostille certificate: U.S. federal official” (travel.state.gov, Preparing your Document for an Apostille Certificate (as archived), federal officials) (archived copy)
travel.state.gov page, as archived 15 June 2026; page shows “Last Updated: December 13, 2024”

and, in the same list:

“U.S. consular officer Foreign consul registered with the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Protocol” (travel.state.gov, Preparing your Document for an Apostille Certificate (as archived), officials listed) (archived copy)
travel.state.gov page, as archived 15 June 2026; page shows “Last Updated: December 13, 2024”

On state-issued documents, it says:

“If you're using the document in a country that is part of the Hague Convention Treaty, get it certified by the state that issued the document.” (travel.state.gov, Preparing your Document for an Apostille Certificate (as archived), state-issued documents) (archived copy)
travel.state.gov page, as archived 15 June 2026; page shows “Last Updated: December 13, 2024”

The State Department's Foreign Affairs Manual says, in 7 FAM 871 b.(2):

“In the United States, authentication of state-issued documents are performed by officials of the state in which they are issued. Federal documents are authenticated by officers in the Office of Authentications in the Office of Technical Operations, Passport Services (CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT):” (7 FAM 871 b.(2), United States authentications (CT:CON-1057; 04-04-2025))
Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 871 version shown as CT:CON-1057; 04-04-2025

In English: state-issued documents are authenticated by officials of the state that issued them, and federal documents by officers in the Office of Authentications. Another section of the manual, 7 FAM 878.3-1, says:

“b. CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT is designated as the competent authority to issue Apostilles for documents executed by Federal agency officials. …” (7 FAM 878.3-1, item b. (CT:CON-924; 12-01-2021))
Foreign Affairs Manual, 7 FAM 878.3-1 version shown as CT:CON-924; 12-01-2021

In English: that office is designated the competent authority to issue apostilles for documents executed by federal agency officials. The quote is cut: the sentence after it is not shown. This page does not say whether a particular document, such as an FBI Identity History Summary, counts as federal or as state-issued; the FBI FAQ quoted above says what the FBI says about sending its authenticated results to the State Department.

What individual consulates say

The age of the certificate, translation and state or local checks are not in the BOE articles quoted above. Some consulate pages say something on them, and the pages differ. Each statement below is that consulate's page alone, as quoted, and is not a general rule. We do not say what a page's silence on a point means. The table shows the sentence from each page we quote below it, in the page's own wording.

A dash means the paragraph quoted below has no such sentence; the Washington age sentence is in the same item of its page as the paragraph quoted. On the Los Angeles page, the sentence “A local Apostille is not valid.” is about the kind of apostille, not about state or local record checks. For New York's teleworker page, the translation words are part of the apostille / non-Hague-legalisation sentence; we do not say which branch they apply to.

Houston

Houston's non-lucrative visa page:

“Deberá presentarse el certificado de antecedentes penales emitido por el FBI y legalizado con la Apostilla Federal de la Convención de la Haya, solicitada al Departamento de Estado en Washington DC . No deberá tener más de 6 meses de antigüedad. Los certificados deben estar traducidos al español por un traductor certificado: Asociación Americana de Traductores Los certificados de antecedentes penales estatales (Local State) no se admitirán.” (Houston consulate, non-lucrative visa page)
Page undated

Houston's teleworker visa page:

“Los solicitantes deben presentar el certificado de antecedentes penales emitido por el FBI y legalizado con la Apostilla Federal de la Convención de la Haya, solicitada al Departamento de Estado en Washington DC . No deberá tener más de 6 meses de antigüedad. Los certificados deben estar traducidos al español por un traductor certificado: Asociación Americana de Traductores Los certificados de antecedentes penales estatales (Local State) no serán admitidas.” (Houston consulate, teleworker visa page)
Page undated

Los Angeles

Los Angeles's non-lucrative visa page, in English:

“10. Criminal record check certificate. Applicants over 18 must submit both the original and copy of the criminal record check certificate issued by the FBI . The certificate cannot be older than 6 months from issued date, and it has to be legalized with the Federal Apostille of the Hague Convention issued by the Department of State in Washington D.C . A local Apostille is not valid. The certificate must be translated into Spanish by a certified translator .” (Los Angeles consulate, non-lucrative visa page (English), item 10)
Page dated February 11, 2026 (as shown on the page)

Miami

Miami's teleworker visa page. The quote is cut after the last sentence on the certificate: the page's next words are link labels.

“Certificado de antecedentes penales. Los solicitantes mayores de edad presentarán original y una copia del certificado de antecedentes penales expedido por el país o países de residencia en los últimos 2 años. Además, se presentará una declaración responsable de la inexistencia de antecedentes penales de los últimos cinco años. Requerido sólo para mayores de 18 años. En EEUU puede solicitar el expedido por el US Department of Justice‐ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (No se aceptaran certificados Locales ni estatales; solamente federales). Este certificado es válido por 6 meses. El certificado de antecedentes penales deberá ser legalizado con la Apostilla de La Haya y traducido oficialmente al español (Presentar originales del certificado de penales, la apostilla, y la traducción al español del certificado, junto con copias de todos esos documentos). En caso de haber residido en otro país durante los últimos dos años debe, adicionalmente, presentar certificado de antecedentes penales traducido y legalizado con la Apostilla de la Haya o en aquellos países que no sean parte del Convenio de la Haya deben estar legalizados por el Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y luego por el Consulado español en dicho país. …” (Miami consulate, teleworker visa page)
Page undated

New York

New York's teleworker visa page:

“Certificado de antecedentes penales. Los solicitantes mayores de edad presentarán original y una copia del certificado de antecedentes penales expedido por el país o países de residencia en los últimos 2 años. Además, se presentará una declaración responsable de la inexistencia de antecedentes penales de los últimos cinco años. Deberá estar certificado con la "Apostilla de la Haya" o, si es de un país no firmante del "Convenio de la Haya", legalizado con el sello del Ministerio de Exteriores del país más traducción al español. Para Estados Unidos se aceptarán los certificados expedidos por el FBI. No se aceptan los expedidos por la policía local o por la policía estatal.” (New York consulate, teleworker visa page)
Page undated

New York's non-lucrative visa page:

“Certificado de antecedentes penales . Los solicitantes mayores de edad penal presentarán original y una copia del certificado de antecedentes penales expedido por el país o países de residencia en los últimos 5 años. Los documentos extranjeros deben estar legalizados o apostillados y, en su caso, deben presentarse junto con una traducción oficial al español. Para Estados Unidos, son válidos los registros emitidos por el FBI. No se aceptarán verificaciones de antecedentes de la policía local ni de la policía estatal.” (New York consulate, non-lucrative visa page)
Page undated

Washington

The Washington consular section's teleworker visa page, in its paragraph on the certificate:

“Certificado de antecedentes penales. Los solicitantes mayores de edad presentarán original y una copia del certificado de antecedentes penales expedido por el país o países de residencia en los últimos 2 años. Además, se presentará una declaración responsable de la inexistencia de antecedentes penales de los últimos cinco años. El certificado de antecedentes penales deberá solicitarse ante el FBI-Department of Justice , y deberá ir acompañado de Apostilla de La Haya federal (expedida por el Department of State) y una traducción jurada al español.” (Washington consular section, teleworker visa page, certificate paragraph)
Page undated

and the same item continues:

“Debe haber sido expedido en los últimos 6 meses .” (Washington consular section, teleworker visa page, certificate age)
Page undated

“Si el solicitante ha residido durante más de 6 meses en los últimos 2 años en algún país distinto a Estados Unidos, deberá aportar el original y una copia notarizada de certificados de antecedentes penales de todos aquellos países en los que haya residido.” (Washington consular section, teleworker visa page, other countries lived in)
Page undated

Chicago

Chicago's teleworker visa page:

“En el caso de los Estados Unidos de América, el certificado de penales será expedido por el FBI Información FBI y apostillado por el Departamento de Estado en Washington D. C. Una vez apostillado deberá ser traducido al idioma español. Se requiere la presentación de original y fotocopia. El certificado de antecedentes debe emitirse dentro de los cinco meses anteriores a la presentación de la solicitud de visado Información Apostilla de la Haya” (Chicago consulate, teleworker visa page)
Page undated

We did not obtain a usable certificate paragraph from the Boston, Los Angeles teleworker, San Francisco or San Juan de Puerto Rico pages: see the list at the end.

How current each source is

Where to go next

1. Read the pages of your own consulate for the visa you are applying for: the pages quoted above are the ones we read, each in its consulate's own wording.
2. Other guides on this site cover their own topics, and this page does not say whether they matter for a visa application: the visa comparison, the NIE and the padrón.

See also our guide to the AEAT declarations of assets held abroad.