A background check is a structured process that confirms, in a manner proportionate to the role, a candidate’s identity, academic and professional history and, where justified by the role, their criminal and financial background. The key word is “proportionate”: in Spain, the depth of a check must always be aligned with the actual risk of the role rather than applied identically across the entire workforce.

Common modules of a background check

A professional screening process typically combines several modules, activated according to the profile of the role:

1. Identity verification: confirming that the DNI, NIE or passport genuinely belongs to the candidate, in a way comparable to identity verification when opening a bank account.
2. Criminal record verification: the criminal record certificate, only where there is a specific legal basis for requiring it.
3. Education and employment history verification: direct contact with universities and former employers to confirm qualifications, dates and positions.
4. Financial integrity: relevant only for roles involving budgetary responsibility and limited to public sources such as the Public Insolvency Register.
5. Employment references: conversations with former managers, always with the candidate’s explicit consent.
6. Enhanced Due Diligence: for C-Level and PEP profiles, including screening against sanctions lists and reputational analysis.

When is it mandatory by law?

In Spain, there is no general legal obligation to conduct a background check. There are, however, specific sectoral requirements: security guards must have no criminal convictions for intentional offences (Law 5/2014), and any activity involving regular contact with minors requires the Certificate of Sexual Offences (Organic Law 8/2021, LOPIVI). Outside these cases, the decision to verify a candidate is voluntary, but it must be justifiable.

When is it recommended, even if it is not mandatory?

It is recommended, and defensible before the AEPD, where there is a direct relationship between the role and the information being verified: checking the qualifications of an engineer, verifying references for a finance director, or reviewing the background of a role with access to customer data. It is not recommended, and is likely to be disproportionate, to apply the same level of verification to a role with none of these characteristics.

See also: the pillar page [Human Risk and Background Checks in Spain: The 2026 Reference Guide], [Human Risk in Spain: What It Is and How Companies Manage It with Background Checks] and [Criminal Record Certificates in Spain: What an Employer May (and May Not) Require].