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Documents and apostilles

Mexican federal criminal record certificate for use in Spain

By Humberto Franco Díaz de León, Mexican lawyer (professional licence 6538816), founder of Franco & Asociados. Published on 26 October 2026.

The Federal Criminal Record Certificate (Constancia de Antecedentes Penales Federales) is issued by Mexico's Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection through its body Prevención y Reinserción Social, and it is requested online. Certificates issued by the individual states are different documents. If the authority asking for it requires the federal certificate, do not replace it with another one; and if it also requires an apostille, that formality is handled separately before the Ministry of the Interior.

What the federal certificate is and who issues it

The Agreement published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) on 9 June 2025 regulates the digital procedure for issuing it. According to its title, the certificate is issued by the Ministry of Security and Citizen Protection through the decentralised body Prevención y Reinserción Social, and its first point names the platform constancias.oadprs.gob.mx for requesting it. Its second point defines it as the document containing the data and records of persons sentenced to a custodial penalty by resolutions or judgments of the competent judicial authorities of the federal jurisdiction.

It follows that the scope of this document is defined by the federal jurisdiction: the certificates issued by the individual states are different documents, with their own authority and requirements, which this agreement does not regulate.

For what purposes it can be requested

It is not issued for any purpose. Article 27, section IV, of the National Criminal Enforcement Act (Ley Nacional de Ejecución Penal), reproduced in the third point of the agreement, allows it only: at the request of the competent administrative and judicial authorities for criminal investigation or procedural purposes or following a court order; when it is necessary to exercise a right or comply with a duty provided for by law; when the regulations make it a requirement for a public-service job, post or commission or for joining public or private security institutions, or it is considered enforceable because of the nature of the job or reasons of public interest; and when requested by a foreign embassy or consulate in Mexico, or through a Mexican embassy or consulate abroad.

The platform's frequently asked questions add that it is not issued as a requirement for a private-sector job, except in private security. When applying, you must choose from the platform's catalogues the institution requesting the certificate and the reason for the request: choose the option that matches the real purpose.

How it is requested

The fourth point of the agreement describes these steps:

  1. Go to the platform constancias.oadprs.gob.mx.
  2. Enter the 18-character CURP (Mexican population registry code).
  3. Validate the identification data shown on screen. In case of homonyms, attach the birth certificate and an official identification in PDF format.
  4. Enter an email address and the reasons for the request.
  5. Pay online or with a payment reference at a bank counter.
  6. Once the payment is reflected and if there are no homonyms, receive the download link in approximately 72 hours.

The platform's frequently asked questions also say you should have ready, as PDF files of up to 2 MB, the birth certificate and a valid official identification (for foreigners, an apostilled and translated birth certificate and a passport).

Four warnings from official sources. The link is sent only once to the registered email address and is valid for thirty calendar days (points nine and ten); if the email address is typed with errors, the system will not be able to deliver the certificate (frequently asked questions). If documents without validity are attached, or documents different from those requested, or one is left out, the procedure is cancelled with no refund (point eight). The fee is set under Article 5 of the Federal Fees Act and updated every year (point seven), so we give no figure. And from abroad, payment must be made with a Visa or MasterCard bank card issued by a bank operating in Mexican territory.

How long it is good for

The fifth point of the agreement establishes that the certificate has no specific validity period. According to the frequently asked questions, it is the authority requesting it that indicates how long after issue it will accept it; in a Spanish procedure, that maximum age is set by the rule governing the procedure or, failing that, by the body before which it is filed.

One example from a published rule: for Spanish nationality by residence, the annex to Order JUS/1625/2016 (section 4) requires documents to be valid when the application is made and treats criminal record certificates that state no validity period as valid for six months from issue. That is why it is wise to request the certificate close to the date it will be filed, not months ahead.

If it will be used in Spain: the apostille is a separate procedure

The frequently asked questions say so expressly: obtaining the certificate and obtaining the apostille are different procedures. The certificate is issued by Prevención y Reinserción Social; the body empowered to apostille is the Ministry of the Interior (Secretaría de Gobernación). Its platform for the apostille or legalisation of the federal certificate asks for the CURP and the reference number of the certificate already issued, so the order is certificate first, apostille second.

Whether an apostille or legalisation is needed depends on the Spanish procedure. For nationality by residence, Order JUS/1625/2016 requires foreign documents to be legalised in accordance with international conventions, and its annex (section 5) lists Mexico among the federal States, for which the criminal record certificate must cover the whole country and not just one state; if no single certificate is issued, those of the states where the applicant lived in the previous five years are attached. Since the Mexican agreement defines the federal certificate by the federal jurisdiction, which document the Spanish authority accepts in each file should be confirmed before requesting it.

Common mistakes

  1. Assuming that any criminal record certificate will do, without confirming the exact name of the document the authority requires.
  2. Typing the email address wrongly, letting the thirty-day link run out or attaching documents different from those requested.
  3. Confusing the certificate with the apostille, or trying to apostille without having the certificate and its reference number.
  4. Requesting it too far in advance and finding that the Spanish body no longer accepts it because of its age.

Sources

General information as at the date of publication. It does not replace advice on a specific case.

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