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Instructions on how to register on the website.
Instructions on how to download a digital credential from the website.
The new “Portal for the recognition and validation of foreign non-university degrees and studies” is now available, providing a wealth of information on the procedure and the different educational systems on which information is available.
This procedure can be used to apply to have non-university qualifications and studies from other countries recognised or validated.
Recognition or validation may be requested by persons who have completed studies under a foreign education system.
Students from foreign education systems who wish to follow any of the primary education or compulsory secondary education courses will not be required to have any of their studies validated.
Nor will recognition be required for studies in any level, course or modality of the Spanish education system that can be accessed without the need to obtain a compulsory secondary education qualification.
To be recognised or validated, qualifications or studies must meet the following requirements:
The qualification must endorse studies duly approved in the education system of the issuing country. A foreign qualification obtained through a process of recognition, validation or conversion in a third country will not be accepted for recognition purposes in Spain.
The following qualifications or studies will not be recognised or validated:
ATTENTION: The information shown below is not valid if the address indicated in the application is for the Autonomous Communities of Catalonia (access to the competent service), Galicia (access to the competent service) or the Basque Country (access to the competent service).
Education systems with specific regulation:
Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, Venezuela.
Countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Agreement not included in the Order of 20 March 2001: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Paraguay
The application is made through the button "Access to online processing service" at the top of the page.
Once you have completed the application, remember to print it and submit it to the official register, together with the other documents required for processing.
Mandatory documents to be submitted with the application (the documents must be official and, where appropriate, duly legalised and accompanied by official translations into Spanish):
For recognition or validation for Spanish studies of courses under the special scheme (artistic and sporting courses), evidence must also be provided of:
The following documents may be required to obtain recognition or validation for Spanish artistic and sporting educational courses::
In the case of applications for recognition of higher artistic education, a certified photocopy of the diploma or, where appropriate, of the academic certificate attesting that the applicant has passed their initial secondary education studies (Baccalaureate or equivalent) must be provided..
The investigating body may request all the documents it considers necessary to establish equivalence between the foreign studies carried out and the Spanish diploma or studies with which recognition or validation is sought.
All documents relating to these procedures must be official and issued by the competent authorities, in accordance with the legal system of the country concerned
Legalisation is the procedure for validating the signatures of the authorities responsible for signing a document in order to attest their authenticity, so that the document can be submitted in a third country.
For educational qualifications or academic certificates, legalisation generally involves recognising the signature of the educational authority issuing the original document (not the signature endorsing its authentication or translation).
No legalisation is required for documents issued in European Union Member States or signatories to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Likewise, documents issued by Switzerland under a bilateral agreement with the European Union are also exempt from legalisation.
In other cases, documents issued abroad that are submitted for validation in these procedures must be duly legalised in accordance with the following conditions::
Article 15(1) of Law 39/2015 of 1 October 2015 on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations states that the language of procedures handled by the General State Administration must be Spanish. Accordingly, official translations into Spanish must be provided for any documents issued abroad that are submitted for consideration in the procedures for validating foreign non-university studies.
Official translations may be done by::
In principle, unless the unit processing the application requests the original documents, verified copies of all the required documents must be submitted. The verification or authentication is carried out by the relevant authority (usually the registration unit receiving the documents), providing evidence that a copy corresponds faithfully to the original document it reproduces. The copy must be made once the originals are authenticated..
The application may be made at:
Applications and submissions may be submitted to any of the administrations mentioned in Article 16(4) of Law 39/2015 of 1 October on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations. Consulting the registration offices
Article 15(2) of Royal Decree 104/1988 of 29 January 1988 provides that education centres may grant conditional admission to those students whose validation or recognition procedures have commenced and are pending decisions on the dates when the corresponding admission periods end.
Regarding the above, and in order to allow applicants to be registered conditionally within the statutory time limits, either in educational establishments or in official examinations, applications may be accompanied by a document signed by the applicant or their legal representative and compliant with the template published as Annex II to Order ECD/3305/2002. Once stamped by the registration unit where the application was submitted, this document will act as a letter of reference certifying that the application has been submitted and, within the period of validity of the application, will enable the registration on the same terms as if the recognition or validation had been granted, albeit on a conditional basis and for the time limit set out therein. The note is issued under the personal responsibility of the applicant and does not affect the final decision on the case file. If the decision to validate is not favorable, the conditional registration and the results of any examinations taken by the applicant as a consequence thereof shall cease to have effect.
La resolución de los expedientes de homologación o convalidación se realiza mediante Orden del titular de este Ministerio, firmada por delegación por el titular de la Dirección General de Evaluación y Cooperación Territorial.
El contenido de las órdenes de homologación o convalidación se recoge en credenciales individuales expedidas por la Subdirección General de Ordenación Académica, que serán entregadas a los interesados y que surtirán los mismos efectos que la documentación exigible al alumnado del sistema educativo español para acreditar la superación de los estudios de que se trate o, en su caso, la posesión del título español correspondiente.
El plazo para la resolución de los expedientes de homologación o convalidación es de 3 meses, a contar desde la fecha en que el expediente se encuentre correctamente cumplimentado.
La falta de resolución en plazo de los expedientes de homologación tiene efectos desestimatorios, de acuerdo con la disposición adicional 29ª de la Ley 14/2000, de 29 de diciembre, de Medidas fiscales, administrativas y del orden social.
Esta desestimación presunta tiene los únicos efectos de permitir la interposición de los recursos procedentes, en vía administrativa o contencioso-administrativa. Se mantiene la obligación de la Administración de dictar una resolución expresa, que no queda vinculada al sentido del silencio.
The decision in the procedure closes the administrative formalities and may be challenged by lodging an administrative appeal with the same administrative body that issued the decision, or an appeal with the administrative courts.
Notification of the decision to the applicant includes information on the legal remedies available, the body to which they should be addressed and the time limit for doing so.
Queries on the procedure can be made by any of the means listed on the Administrative Information page