Criminal law · Valencia
Arrests, court summonses, drink-driving, fraud and European arrest warrants. We pick up at any hour, by phone or WhatsApp, and deal with you in English.
Talk to a lawyer today
Nearly every criminal case in Valencia passes through one building, the Ciudad de la Justicia on Avenida del Profesor López Piñero, home to the duty court and the Provincial Court. If you or someone close to you has been arrested, or a summons has arrived from there, ring us on +34 711 29 14 66 at any time.
Written and reviewed by Jimena Sastre, criminal lawyer.
Updated on 4 October 2026.
If you are here on Erasmus or another exchange and end up at a police station, you are entitled to a free interpreter, a lawyer of your choosing and to have your consulate told. We can also keep your parents up to date at home, in English.
A summons (citación) from a Valencia court gives the court, the date and time, and whether you are called as a suspect (investigado) or as a witness. A suspect may stay silent and attends with a lawyer; a witness must tell the truth. Send us a photo of it on WhatsApp and we will tell you what it means.
Offences carrying up to five years in prison are tried by a single criminal judge. More serious ones, such as large cocaine shipments, go to the Audiencia Provincial de Valencia. If the case goes to a rapid trial and you accept the sentence, the duty judge passes it there and then.
We assist people under arrest 24 hours a day anywhere in Spain. If you were arrested in Valencia but live in another city or abroad, call the same number.
Arrested right now
You can refuse to make a statement or to answer particular questions, choose your own lawyer and speak to them in private before you say anything. Within 72 hours at most, the police must release you or bring you before the duty judge.
Where to start
Pick the one that fits and message or call us for the next step.
My friend was arrested after a night out
We find out which station is holding them, go there and see them in private before any statement, then go with them to the duty court.
I have received a summons as a suspect
We ask to see the file before the date and decide with you whether to answer, whose questions and on what.
I was over the limit at a police check
Above 0.60 mg per litre of breath it is a crime, usually dealt with in a rapid trial. We tell you whether to accept the sentence on the day and how long you will be banned from driving in Spain, whichever country issued your licence.
Someone has moved into my flat while I was away
If it is somebody’s home, even a holiday home, the offence is breaking into a dwelling. If it stood empty, it is unlawful occupation. Since April 2025 both can go through a rapid trial.
I was stopped at Valencia airport on a warrant
If another country wants you, it can show up at passport control or at any police ID check. Within 72 hours you are brought before the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid, which decides whether to hand you over. Criminal lawyers in Madrid
My partner has reported me to the police
It usually means a night in custody and a restraining order from the duty court. Keep to it even if your partner gets in touch: breaching it is a separate crime.
I was scammed online or over the phone
We report it, ask the judge to freeze the accounts the money went to and join the case as a private prosecutor to get it back.
Other people’s money went through my bank account
Lending your account to receive transfers for someone else can lead to a money laundering investigation, even if nobody told you where the money came from. Keep every message and call us before you give a statement.
Worth knowing
Driving with more than 0.60 mg of alcohol per litre of breath, or 1.2 g per litre of blood, is a crime however well you were driving. The sentence is three to six months in prison, a fine or community service, plus one to four years without the right to drive. Refusing the test carries six months to a year in prison and the same ban.
Entering or staying in someone’s home against their will carries six months to two years in prison, or one to four years with violence or threats. Occupying a property that is nobody’s home is punished with a fine. Owners should not change the locks or force people out themselves, as that can also be an offence.
Fraud of up to 400 euros is a minor offence punished with a fine. Above that, the sentence is six months to three years, rising to one to six years where the loss exceeds 50,000 euros or many people are affected. Online and card fraud carry the same sentences.
Any conviction for abusing a partner or former partner comes with an order to stay away from the victim. Breaching it carries six months to a year in prison, even if the victim agreed to meet. Withdrawing the complaint does not stop the case either: the public prosecutor carries on.
For EU citizens, a prison sentence can only be swapped for removal from Spain if the judge finds a serious threat to public order or security. For everyone else, British citizens included since Brexit, sentences of more than a year are normally replaced by removal unless that would be disproportionate, for instance because of strong ties to Spain.
How we work
Tell us where the person is and what they are accused of. You know the fee for police station assistance before we leave.
The lawyer sees the person alone and together they decide whether to make a statement.
We ask for release or, failing that, the lightest conditions possible.
We read the file, ask for evidence and challenge anything done wrongly. A lawyer attends every statement in person.
If the prosecutor offers a deal, we explain the sentence and the record it leaves. If it does not suit you, we go to trial.
FAQ
Ring +34 711 29 14 66. Arrest calls are answered seven days a week, around the clock. Anything that can wait is dealt with in office hours.
At the Ciudad de la Justicia, Avenida del Profesor López Piñero 14. People arrested in the city are taken there from the police station, and the Provincial Court sits in the same building.
If you are an EU citizen, only where the judge sees a serious threat to public order or security. For non-EU nationals, the law provides for prison sentences of more than a year to be replaced by removal, with exceptions.
It is a crime in itself: six months to a year in prison and one to four years without the right to drive. That is harsher than drink-driving, because here prison has no fine as an alternative.
Yes. If there is a European arrest warrant, police will hold you at passport control and bring you before a central investigating judge at the Audiencia Nacional within 72 hours. If you consent to surrender, the decision is due within ten days; if not, within sixty, which can be extended by thirty.
No. The prosecutor carries on, and the restraining order stays in force until the judge lifts it, even if your partner wants to see you.
Yes. We attend courts across the province, and we will go anywhere in Spain to assist someone under arrest.
It depends on the stage. We give you the fee for assisting someone under arrest over the phone, before we head to the station. For the full defence, you receive a written quote once we have looked at the case.
Client reviews
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