Sex Offenses Certificate in Care Work: Mandatory in 2026

If you work in care, run a residential care home, manage home care services, or are going to hire a caregiver for a family member, it is worth reviewing this legal change now. As of October 23, 2026, there is a new suitability requirement for certain professions and activities involving regular contact with persons with disabilities or persons in a situation of dependency. If you need to review your case, you can contact Fernanda Vargas via WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.

Introduction: a new requirement to work in the care sector

The Sex Offenses Certificate in care work becomes a central issue for working legally in part of the care sector from late October 2026 onward. This new development is not limited to residential care homes or large organizations: it may also affect day centers, home care services, personal assistance, non-labor internships, volunteering, and even employing families, if the activity involves regular contact with persons with disabilities or dependent persons in the field of support and care.

The law does not stop at a recommendation. It establishes a requirement for access to and performance of these activities, prohibits giving work to those with certain criminal records, provides for labor consequences in cases arising later, and adds a very serious infringement in the LISOS for employer non-compliance.

That is why workers, companies, organizations, and families alike must clearly distinguish three things: which positions are affected, which negative certificates are required, and what happens if criminal records appear before or after the activity begins.

What Law 4/2026 Establishes and When It Applies (October 23, 2026)

Law 4/2026, of October 1, introduced this new requirement into the regulations on disability and dependency. It entered into force 20 days after its publication in the BOE, that is, on October 23, 2026.

From that date, in order to access and perform certain professions, trades, and activities involving regular contact with persons with disabilities or persons in a situation of dependency in the field of support and care, the law requires that the person must not have been convicted by a final judgment for certain specific offenses. In addition, the absence of such criminal records must be proven by means of negative certificates from the relevant registries.

This is not only a requirement for new hires. The reform also regulates what happens if criminal records appear later, when the employment relationship, non-labor internship, or volunteering is already underway.

Who It Affects: What Is Meant by Regular Contact in the Field of Support and Care

The law applies to all activities, paid or unpaid, which by their nature involve repeated, direct, and regular interaction with persons with disabilities or persons in a situation of dependency, rather than a merely occasional relationship. In any case, it also includes activities whose main recipients are these persons.

This requires analyzing the actual content of the position or activity. The job title alone is not enough. What matters is whether there is regular contact within the field of support and care.

As a practical reference, this requirement clearly applies in areas such as the following:

• residential care homes and residential centers;
• day centers;
• home care services;
• personal assistance;
• support or care programs and activities provided by organizations or through volunteering.

By contrast, where the intervention is sporadic or there is no direct and regular interaction, the case will need to be studied in more detail. In mixed positions or large organizations, it is advisable to review the specific duties, service recipients, and frequency of contact before deciding whether the requirement applies.

What Offenses Bar a Person From Working: Sexual Freedom, Human Trafficking, and Domestic and Gender-Based Violence

The legal prohibition refers to convictions by final judgment for three groups of offenses:

• offenses against sexual freedom, regulated in Title VIII of the Criminal Code;
• human trafficking, regulated in Title VII bis of the Criminal Code;
• domestic and gender-based violence under Article 173.2 of the Criminal Code.

Outside those cases, this additional provision does not extend the prohibition to other types of criminal records. That is why it is important not to confuse this requirement with broader checks that some organizations may wish to carry out on their own: the legal consequence regulated by Law 4/2026 is linked to these specific offenses and to the registries provided for proving them.

Which Certificates Must Be Provided and How to Obtain Them

The law requires proof of the absence of criminal records by means of a negative certificate from the relevant registries. Specifically, it mentions:

• the negative certificate from the Central Registry of Sex Offenders and Human Trafficking;
• the negative certificate from the Central Registry for the Protection of Victims of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, as applicable.

That “as applicable” is important. It will not always be the same document or the same combination of certificates. The review must be carried out according to the type of activity and the exact scope of the requirement in each case.

As for the procedure, the certificate of sexual offenses from the Ministry of Justice is free of charge and can be requested online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, as well as in person. Regarding the certificate from the Central Registry for the Protection of Victims of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, it is advisable to confirm the applicable channel in each case before beginning the hiring process or joining the service.

To avoid mistakes, the prudent course is not to wait until the last moment. If the position falls within the scope of the law, the documentary check must be carried out before the person starts providing services or participating in the activity.

Workers Already Hired: Later-Arising Criminal Records, Termination, or Change of Position

The law clearly distinguishes between criminal records that already existed at the start and criminal records that appear later.

If the criminal records already existed at the beginning of the activity, the consequence is the legal impossibility of hiring. In the area of volunteering, the organization must immediately do without the volunteer.

If the existence of criminal records arises later, the rule expressly provides that entries in the Central Registry of Sex Offenders and Human Trafficking entail the immediate termination or end of the employment relationship, non-labor internship, or volunteering. However, if possible, the company may move the worker to a position that does not involve regular contact with persons with disabilities or dependent persons in the field of support and care.

That change of position is not framed as an automatic and unconditional obligation. The law contemplates it only if possible. Therefore, it will be necessary to assess the company’s actual structure, the existence of vacancies or compatible duties, and the absence of regular contact in the new position.

In small services, in home care, or in domestic employment connected to care work, there may be no organizational alternative at all. In those cases, the labor issue must be handled with great caution, because the rule directly links the appearance of criminal records to the impossibility of continuing in activities that require this qualification.

The Duty to Inform the Company and Disciplinary Dismissal for Concealing It

The worker has the obligation to inform the company of any change in the relevant registries, even when it derives from events prior to the signing of the contract. This is not a minor burden: the law states it expressly.

In addition, failure to make that disclosure is considered a serious and culpable breach for the purposes of Article 54.2.d) of the Workers’ Statute (Estatuto de los Trabajadores). This means that concealing the change may open the way to disciplinary dismissal.

In non-labor internships, this obligation must also be included in the agreements regulated by Royal Decree 1543/2011. Therefore, organizations and companies that use this arrangement should review their document templates so they can adapt them.

In practice, the company should not simply request an initial certificate and then forget about the issue. It also needs to provide, in its documents and internal procedures, how a change is communicated and who decides whether termination, the end of the internship, departure from volunteering, or a possible change of position is appropriate.

Obligations and Penalties for Companies, Organizations, and Volunteering (Art. 8.19 LISOS)

The basic rule for companies, entities, and organizations is clear: it is prohibited to give work to anyone who has entries in the registries referred to by the law for these activities.

If the criminal records exist at the outset, the hiring cannot validly take place. If it is a matter of volunteering, the organization must immediately do without the volunteer. And if the criminal records appear later, the consequences provided for termination or, where possible, reassignment to a position without regular contact must be applied.

In addition, Law 4/2026 amends Article 8.19 of the LISOS to classify as a very serious infringement any failure to comply with the obligations under Article 57.3 of the LOPIVI or this second additional provision. Under Article 40.1.c) of the LISOS, very serious infringements in labor relations are punished with a fine of 7,501 to 225,018 euros.

In addition, the additional provision itself provides that the autonomous communities are to establish by law the penalties regime for failure to comply with the suitability requirement. This means that, alongside the route already opened in the labor sphere by the LISOS, there may still be regional development at the level of specific penalties.

If a company, organization, or employing family needs to review contracts, internal protocols, or the response to a case already detected, they can request employment law advice from Fernanda Vargas, employment lawyer in Madrid.

Foreign Workers in the Care Sector: What to Keep in Mind

For foreign nationals who work in care, the underlying rule is the same: if the activity falls within the scope of Law 4/2026, they must also meet this suitability requirement.

That said, it is worth distinguishing between two scenarios:

• Care for persons with disabilities or dependent persons: the second additional provision requires negative certificates from the registries it mentions, but it does not expressly state that the foreign national must also provide an equivalent certificate from their country of nationality.
• Work with minors with disabilities: in addition to this new regulation, Article 57 of Organic Law 8/2021 applies. In that area, foreign nationals have also been required to provide the equivalent certificate from their country of nationality in order to work with minors.

Therefore, if the care position includes care for minors with disabilities, it is not enough to think about the 2026 reform in isolation. It will also be necessary to check the specific requirements of the child and adolescent protection regime against violence.

In cases with an immigration component or documentation from another country, it is especially advisable to review the situation before signing the contract or joining the service. Fernanda Vargas can help you coordinate the labor side and, where appropriate, the immigration side.

Expunged Criminal Records and Their Relationship With the Certificate for Working With Minors

The law expressly establishes that expunged criminal records are not taken into account. This point is essential, because it prevents the prohibition from being extended to situations in which, legally, the criminal records should no longer have that effect.

It is also important not to confuse this new requirement with the certificate for working with minors. They are not exactly the same, nor do they always replace one another’s checks.

When the support and care activity is provided in relation to minors with disabilities, Law 4/2026 itself indicates that Article 57 of Organic Law 8/2021 also applies. In other words, in those cases the requirements of the new provision are cumulative with those that already exist for activities involving minors.

This is of practical relevance for mixed centers and services, where the same staff may assist both adults and minors. In those cases, it is advisable to analyze what documentation must be required for each position according to the actual recipients of the service.

Issues Still Pending Further Development and Criteria Yet to Be Clarified

Although the core of the requirement has already been in force since October 23, 2026, there are aspects that still require further development or clearer application criteria.

Already in force	Requires further development or clarification
The application date: October 23, 2026.	The penalties regime that the autonomous communities must establish by law.
The requirement not to have certain convictions by final judgment in order to access and perform activities involving regular contact in support and care.	The more precise way to define some borderline positions or those with indirect, sporadic, or mixed contact.
The need to provide negative certificates from the registries provided for, as applicable.	The exact procedure in some cases for the certificate from the Central Registry for the Protection of Victims of Domestic and Gender-Based Violence.
The legal impossibility of hiring if criminal records exist at the outset.	Whether, for disability or dependency outside the sphere of minors, foreign nationals will or will not be expressly required to provide an equivalent certificate from their country of nationality.
Immediate termination or end in the later-arising cases provided for by law and the possibility of a change of position if possible.	The practical criteria for small companies and employing families when there is no organizational alternative.
The duty to report changes in the registries and the possible disciplinary relevance of failing to do so.	The documentary and procedural adaptation in non-labor internships, volunteering, and outsourced services.
The very serious infringement under Article 8.19 LISOS.	The coordination between this new labor infringement and future regional developments.

Given these gray areas, the prudent course is not to improvise. A wrong decision may affect the validity of the hiring, keeping the position, or exposure to penalties.

Checklist for Companies, Employing Families, and Workers

Checklist for Companies and Organizations

• Identify which positions, duties, internships, or volunteering activities involve regular contact in the field of support and care.
• Check whether the main recipients of the service are persons with disabilities or persons in a situation of dependency.
• Request, before the activity begins, the negative certificates from the registries that apply.
• Do not formalize the hiring or allow the activity to begin if there are criminal records that legally bar access to or performance of the activity.
• Review contracts, internal protocols, and non-labor internship agreements to include the duty to report any change in the registries.
• Provide for how to act if criminal records appear later: termination, end of the internship, departure from volunteering, or transfer to a position without regular contact, if possible.
• Assess specifically positions that also involve assisting minors with disabilities, because the rules on working with minors may also apply.

Checklist for Employing Families

• Check whether the caregiver will have direct, regular, and not merely occasional interaction with a person with a disability or a dependent person.
• Request the negative certificates applicable to the case before the work begins.
• Do not begin the employment relationship if there are criminal records that make hiring impossible.
• Bear in mind that, in domestic employment connected to care work, there will often be no alternative position without regular contact.
• If care is provided to minors with disabilities, also review the additional requirements applicable to work with minors.

Checklist for Workers

• Confirm whether your position or activity actually falls within the field of support and care with regular contact.
• Prepare in advance the required negative certificates if you are going to start working, do an internship, or collaborate as a volunteer.
• If you are a foreign national and the work includes minors with disabilities, also check whether you must provide an equivalent certificate from your country of nationality.
• Inform the company of any change in the relevant registries, even if it stems from events prior to your contract.
• If the company proposes termination or a change of position for this reason, seek immediate advice to review how the law should be applied to your specific situation.

If you need to review a hiring, a change of position, a dismissal, a non-labor internship, or the documentation required in your case, you can contact Fernanda Vargas via WhatsApp or book an appointment on Calendly.