Unpaid criminal fines in Spain

You have received a demand from the court for a criminal fine you have not paid. And on that letter there is a phrase that frightens people: responsabilidad personal subsidiaria (subsidiary personal liability for an unpaid fine). It is natural that your first thought is whether you are going to prison.

Let us be honest. An unpaid criminal fine can turn into days in custody. But before that happens, the law offers several ways out: paying by instalments, lowering the daily rate if your situation has got worse, or serving the penalty through trabajos en beneficio de la comunidad (community service). None of them opens by itself. You have to ask, and ask in time.

At Bataller Abogados we have more than 25 years of experience in sentence enforcement, and we know these deadlines are short. If you already have the summons in your hand, call us on +34 696 967 181. We are available 24 hours and we work throughout Spain.

What subsidiary personal liability is

It is the consequence set out in art. 53 of the Código Penal (the Spanish Criminal Code) when a convicted person does not pay the fine imposed, either voluntarily or through enforcement proceedings. In plain terms: if the court cannot collect the fine, the fine becomes a loss of liberty.

It is not a new penalty or an added punishment. It is the substitute way of serving a fine that has not been paid. Art. 35 CP lists it among the custodial penalties, alongside prison and localización permanente (permanent location order).

Two limits, from the outset:

• Art. 53.3 CP states that it cannot be imposed on anyone sentenced to more than five years in prison.
• Art. 53.4 CP states that serving it extinguishes the obligation to pay the fine, even if your finances improve afterwards. You do not pay twice.

How it is calculated: from fine to days in custody

Art. 50 CP sets out the días-multa (day-fine) system. A criminal fine is not fixed as a single lump sum, but as a number of days multiplied by a daily rate.

• The minimum length is ten days and the maximum is two years.
• The daily rate runs from two to 400 euros for an individual.
• The judge fixes it with reasons, looking only at the convicted person’s financial situation: assets, income, obligations and family responsibilities.

On that basis, art. 53.1 CP applies its conversion rule: one day in custody for every two unpaid daily rates. Subsidiary liability therefore comes to half the unpaid day-fines.

An example. A fine of six months at a rate of six euros is 180 daily rates. If nothing is paid, subsidiary liability would be 90 days. If you have paid part of it, the calculation is made only on the outstanding amount.

And if the fine is proportional

Some offences carry a multa proporcional (proportional fine) under art. 52 CP. The amount is worked out in proportion to the harm caused, the value of the object of the offence or the profit obtained. There are no daily rates, so there is no automatic conversion rule.

Art. 53.2 CP leaves it to the judge to fix the liability that fits the case, with one clear cap: it can never exceed one year. That judicial discretion is one more reason to come to court properly prepared.

I cannot pay the fine: what alternatives are there

Not being able to pay today does not mean custody is the only road. There are several routes, and they are not mutually exclusive:

• Pay by instalments or defer payment, matching it to your real income.
• Change the daily rate if your finances have altered since the judgment (art. 51 CP).
• Serve the penalty through trabajos en beneficio de la comunidad (community service), with your consent (art. 53.1 CP).
• Serve it under localización permanente (a permanent location order), where the offence is a delito leve (minor offence).
• Consider whether a suspended sentence is available in your case.

Timing is everything. Almost all of these are easier to obtain before subsidiary liability is declared and calculated.

Paying by instalments or deferring payment

Art. 50 CP allows the court to set the time and manner of payment of the daily rates, and provides for payment in instalments over a period of no more than two years from the date the judgment became final. Instalments are not a favour. They are a legal option written into the code.

The application goes to the court enforcing the sentence, in a written submission with reasons. And it is decided on what you prove, not on what you say: payslips, employment history, unemployment certificate or evidence of family responsibilities.

Changing the daily rate if your finances have changed (art. 51 CP)

Art. 51 CP is little known and very useful. If the convicted person’s financial situation changes after the judgment, the judge may alter both the amount of the periodic instalments and the deadlines for paying them, exceptionally and after proper enquiry.

The typical scenario: the daily rate was fixed while you were working, and then came redundancy, long-term sick leave or the closure of your business. The judgment is not reopened, but the rate can be adapted.

The law says “exceptionally”, so the court will check what you put before it. For proportional fines the route is art. 52.3 CP, which allows the amount to be reduced within the legal limits for the offence, or payment by instalments to be authorised, where the situation has worsened.

Serving the penalty through community service

This is the alternative we are asked about most. Art. 53.1 CP allows the court to order, with the convicted person’s prior consent, that subsidiary liability be served through trabajos en beneficio de la comunidad (community service). The law fixes the equivalence: one day in custody equals one day’s work.

In the earlier example, those 90 days would become 90 days of work. With no time in prison.

1. Your consent is essential. Art. 49 CP provides that community service cannot be imposed without the convicted person’s consent, and art. 53.1 CP requires your prior agreement.
2. You have to ask for it. The court is not obliged to offer it to you of its own motion. The application must be made in writing, with reasons.

How community service is carried out

Under art. 49 CP, it consists of unpaid cooperation in activities of public benefit: repairing the harm caused, supporting or assisting victims, or taking part in workshops and training programmes.

• A working day cannot exceed eight hours.
• It is carried out under the supervision of the Juez de Vigilancia Penitenciaria (the prison supervision judge).
• The work cannot offend the convicted person’s dignity or be made subordinate to economic interests, and it is covered by the prison system’s social security protection.

Your family and work circumstances are taken into account when the work plan is drawn up. If you have fixed hours or caring responsibilities, provide evidence of them.

What happens if you do not complete the community service

We have to be clear, because the risk is real. If you agree to the work and then do not turn up, matters can get worse.

Art. 49 CP requires the prison social services to report any significant incidents to the Juez de Vigilancia Penitenciaria: absences, output well below what could reasonably be expected, or repeated failure to follow instructions.

Where the failure is deliberate, the case may be referred for quebrantamiento de condena (breach of sentence) under art. 468 CP, which carries six months to one year in prison for a person deprived of liberty, and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months in other cases.

Now the good news. Art. 49 CP makes clear that missing work for a justified reason is not treated as abandonment, although that time does not count towards the total. Sick leave or a family emergency is not a breach if you can evidence it. If you cannot attend on a given day, tell them and keep the paperwork. It is silence that gets read as abandonment.

I have been summoned to serve the penalty: what to do now

1. Do not ignore the notification. Time runs from the moment you are served, and letting it pass closes options that are open today.
2. Check the exact dates on the summons and the deadline for making submissions.
3. Gather your financial documents. Employment history, payslips or unemployment certificate, bank statements, rent or mortgage, and family responsibilities.
4. Speak to a sentence enforcement lawyer as soon as you can. A submission filed in time travels a very different road from one that arrives late.
5. Do not attend the hearing without weighing your options. Agreeing to community service, asking for instalments or changing the daily rate all have different consequences.

If the deadline is imminent, call us on +34 696 967 181 or +34 937 490 708.

Cases we typically handle

• Fines for road traffic offences that became impossible to pay after a job loss.
• Demands following conviction for a delito leve (minor offence), with an application for a permanent location order.
• Changing the daily rate after redundancy, long-term sick leave or a business closing.
• Conversion into community service that fits around a job.
• Problems during completion and the risk of breach of sentence, and proportional fines where the length is in dispute.
• People already in prison who need help with prison law.

How we work on your case

1. Urgent review of the file. We read the judgment, the enforcement order and the demand to establish the real deadline.
2. Checking the calculation. We verify the day-fines, the daily rate, sums already paid and the conversion rule. Calculation errors do happen, and they can be challenged.
3. Strategy and choice of route. We decide with you whether to seek instalments, change the daily rate, apply for community service or a permanent location order, or combine them.
4. Written application and financial evidence. We draft the application with the documents that show your real situation.
5. Follow-up to the end. Filing, chasing, hearings and support while the penalty is served.

Useful documents

• The judgment and the enforcement order.
• The demand for payment or the summons you received.
• An up-to-date employment history report (informe de vida laboral).
• Recent payslips or an unemployment certificate, and recent bank statements.
• Tenancy agreement or mortgage receipt, and proof of any payments already made.
• Family book (libro de familia) or other proof of family responsibilities.
• Medical or social work reports and a disability certificate, if you have them.

Frequently asked questions

Can I go to prison for not paying a criminal fine?

Yes, it is legally possible. Art. 53 CP converts an unpaid fine into subsidiary personal liability, which art. 35 CP classes as a custodial penalty. That said, the law offers alternatives before it comes to that: instalments, a change to the daily rate, community service and, for minor offences, a permanent location order. What matters is acting within the deadline and evidencing your situation.

How many days in custody for each unpaid daily rate?

Art. 53.1 CP sets one day in custody for every two unpaid daily rates. If you owe 100 rates, that is 50 days; if you have paid part, the calculation is made only on the balance. This rule does not apply to proportional fines: there the judge fixes the length, up to a maximum of one year.

Can I ask for it to be changed to community service?

Yes. Art. 53.1 CP allows the judge to order, with the convicted person’s prior consent, that subsidiary liability be served through community service. The equivalence is one day’s work for each day in custody. You must apply and give your consent: it is not automatic, and the court decides.

What if I genuinely have no money?

Real insolvency does not by itself extinguish the fine, but it is legally relevant. It supports an application for instalments, for a change to the daily rate under art. 51 CP, and for community service or a permanent location order. Evidence it with documents: employment history, unemployment certificate, bank statements and family responsibilities. Proven insolvency is treated very differently from a bare assertion.

Can I pay a criminal fine in instalments?

Yes. Art. 50 CP allows the court to determine the time and manner of payment, including payment in instalments over a period of no more than two years from the date the judgment became final. The application goes to the court enforcing the sentence. Propose a schedule you can genuinely keep to.

What exactly is a permanent location order?

Localización permanente is a custodial penalty requiring you to remain at home or at a place fixed by the judge, governed by art. 37 CP. As a penalty in its own right it lasts up to six months and can be served non-continuously or at weekends if the convicted person asks. For unpaid fines, art. 53.1 CP provides for it in minor offences, and there the time limit in art. 37.1 CP does not apply.

What happens if I stop doing the community service?

Incidents are reported to the Juez de Vigilancia Penitenciaria under art. 49 CP. If the failure is deliberate, the case may be referred for breach of sentence under art. 468 CP, which provides for six months to one year in prison for a person deprived of liberty and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months in other cases. Missing work for a justified reason is not treated as abandonment, although that time does not count towards the total.

I have already served the subsidiary liability. Will the fine still be claimed from me?

No. Art. 53.4 CP is clear: serving subsidiary personal liability extinguishes the obligation to pay the fine, even if the convicted person’s finances improve. Civil liability arising from the offence is a separate matter, with its own rules, and is not extinguished this way.

Talk to a lawyer today and buy yourself time

If you have read this far, it is because you have a court demand sitting on your table. Do not let it rest there. Here, the difference between having options and having none is usually measured in days.

We are a boutique firm in Barcelona with more than 25 years of experience in sentence enforcement and prison law. We study your file, explain which routes are open and prepare the application with the evidence behind it. We work throughout Spain.

Call us on +34 696 967 181 or +34 937 490 708. We are available 24 hours. You can also write to us via our contact page or see the profile of our prison lawyer in Barcelona. We are at C/ Aribau 205, 2nd floor, 08021 Barcelona.