A minor offence becomes time-barred one year after it was committed, and minor injuries, blows, threats and coercion outside the couple or family cannot be prosecuted unless the victim reports them. Whoever lets that year pass loses the chance to have what was done to them judged and to recover their losses in that same trial. Doing nothing also costs the person reported, because if they do not attend the hearing the trial can go ahead and be decided without them, and if they do not appeal within five days of being notified, the judgment becomes final.
At Perseus & RC Abogados we prepare these trials for both sides, the person who reports and the person reported, and the lawyer who goes to court with you is me, Luis Jurado Cano, a criminal lawyer registered with the A Coruña Bar Association under number 6317. Our wider criminal work is on the criminal law page.
What counts as a minor offence
Minor offences (delitos leves) are those punished with minor penalties, usually a fine. They include injuries that only need first medical attention, blows without injury, minor threats and coercion and, without aggravating circumstances, theft, fraud or criminal damage of 400 euros or less. Within a couple or family, a blow or injury is no longer a minor offence and can carry prison. The investigating court tries them in a short, single hearing, and when the police step in at the time, for example in a shop theft or a fight, they can summon everyone straight to the duty court so that the trial can be held that same day if the judge considers it possible. If the offence carries prison, the procedure is the fast-track trial.
The fine is counted in days, and the judge sets the daily amount between 2 and 400 euros according to income, assets and family commitments. An unpaid fine turns into one day of deprivation of liberty for every two unpaid days, which for minor offences can be served as home detention.
If you are the person reported
The summons comes with a copy of the complaint and tells you that you may bring a lawyer and must bring your evidence. A lawyer is not compulsory, except for minor offences whose fine can reach six months or more. At the hearing the complaint is read, the other side’s witnesses give evidence, then you give your account and present your evidence, and the judge rules at the end or within three days. If you were duly summoned and do not appear, the trial goes ahead without you unless the judge needs your statement, and you can be fined between 200 and 2,000 euros for failing to appear without good reason. If you live outside the court’s district, you may instead send a written defence or give a lawyer power to act for you.
If you are convicted, you have five days from notification to appeal to the Provincial Court, and there is no further appeal after that. I explain this in more detail in reported for a minor offence in Spain.
If you reported it
The year runs from the day of the events. Report it with what you have and get a medical report the same day. In minor offences that need the victim’s complaint, the prosecutor may stay away from the trial under the Attorney General’s instructions, and your statement confirming the facts then serves as the accusation, so the evidence is yours to bring, from the medical report to the messages or the witness. When the threats came by WhatsApp or social media, how those messages are presented decides whether they survive a challenge, which is the subject of why electronic evidence decides cases. Be aware that the other person may file a counter-complaint, which I cover in what is at stake in a minor offence trial. Compensation for recovery time, a broken phone or stolen items is claimed in the same trial.
What a conviction leaves behind
A conviction for a minor offence goes on your criminal record and can be cleared six months after the penalty is served, provided you do not reoffend, as explained in how to expunge a criminal record in Spain. Since the April 2026 reform of the Criminal Code, someone with at least three previous convictions of the same kind, one of them minor, faces prison for the next theft or fraud of 400 euros or less.
Where we are
Rúa Torreiro 13, 3.º C, 15001 A Coruña, Spain. Phone +34 677 841 007. Have the summons and the trial date to hand when you call. If you live elsewhere, we talk by video call, in English, and tell you whether to attend or send a lawyer in your place.
Frequently asked questions
I live outside A Coruña. Do I have to attend a minor offence trial here?
If you live outside the court's judicial district, the law does not require you to attend. You can send the judge a written statement or give a lawyer power of attorney to represent you at the hearing and present your evidence. A written statement cannot question the other side's witnesses, so a lawyer attending on your behalf protects you better.
How much is the fine for a minor offence in Spain?
Fines are set in days, usually between one and three months, and the judge fixes the daily amount between 2 and 400 euros according to your income, assets and family commitments. Compensation for the victim may be added. Bring proof of your income to the trial, and if you cannot pay in one go you can ask to pay in instalments.
It happened a few months ago. Can I still report it?
Yes, as long as one year has not passed since the day it happened, which is the limitation period for minor offences. Minor injuries, a blow without injury, minor threats and minor coercion outside the couple or family can only be prosecuted if the victim reports them. The sooner you do it, the easier it is to obtain a medical report and find witnesses.
If we reach an agreement, does the case end?
It can. Minor threats, coercion and injuries are only prosecuted if the victim reports them, and the victim's express forgiveness before judgment ends the case. This does not apply when the victim is your partner, former partner or a close family member, because no complaint is needed there, nor when the victim is a minor or a person with a disability in need of special protection. Any agreement should go through the lawyers, never through pressure on the person who reported you.
Will a minor offence conviction count against me in a future case?
As a general rule it will not. Convictions for minor offences cannot be used to increase the sentence for a later offence or to refuse the suspension of a future prison sentence. The exceptions are theft and fraud, where someone with three previous convictions of the same kind, at least one of them minor, faces prison for the next small theft or fraud.