Notarial divorce in Spain: requirements, settlement agreement and advantages of the express route

Law 15/2015 of 2 July on Voluntary Jurisdiction reshaped divorce law in Spain by introducing a route that had not previously existed: dissolution of marriage before a notary, without any judicial involvement. Couples who meet the legal requirements can now complete the process in a matter of weeks, through a public deed executed before a notary, with legal assistance and entirely outside the court system. What is commonly known as express divorce has, however, precise statutory limits that should be understood before any steps are taken.

What notarial divorce is and what legal effects it produces

Notarial divorce is a form of mutual consent divorce governed by Article 82 of the Spanish Civil Code, as introduced by Law 15/2015. It allows spouses to dissolve the marriage through a public deed executed before a notary, without having to appear before a Family Court or obtain a judicial ruling.

The public deed produces exactly the same legal effects as a final court judgment: from the moment of execution, the marriage is dissolved, both spouses recover their capacity to remarry, and all rights and obligations arising from the marital bond are extinguished. The difference between the notarial and judicial routes is procedural, not substantive.

The legal requirements: who can use a notary

Not all marriages can take this route. Article 82 of the Civil Code requires the simultaneous satisfaction of four conditions:

• At least three months must have elapsed since the marriage was solemnised. The period is calculated from the date of registration in the Civil Registry, not from the ceremony itself.
• There must be no minor children who are not emancipated, and no adult children for whom a court has ordered support measures on grounds of disability. When either of these circumstances is present, jurisdiction belongs exclusively to the Court of First Instance or Family Court.
• At least one spouse must be resident in Spain at the time the deed is executed.
• Both spouses must be in complete agreement, both on the divorce itself and on all its consequences as set out in the convenio regulador (settlement agreement). If there is any disagreement — on housing use, compensatory maintenance, division of assets — the notarial route is unavailable.

In addition, both spouses must appear personally before the notary and be assisted by a lawyer, who may be the same for both provided their interests are not opposed.

When notarial divorce is not available

It is important to identify the situations that fall outside this route:

• The existence of minor children in common, including those over 16 who are not emancipated.
• Adult children for whom a court has ordered support measures on grounds of disability, regardless of the degree.
• Absence of agreement on any aspect of the settlement, even if agreement exists on most points.
• Situations involving domestic or gender-based violence — the notarial route is expressly excluded in these cases under the Third Final Provision of Law 15/2015.

In these circumstances, a judicial procedure is the only available path. Whether that takes the form of a joint petition or a contested divorce depends on the degree of agreement that exists between the spouses.

The settlement agreement: the legal foundation of the process

The *convenio regulador* is the document in which the spouses set out the terms that will govern their situation following the dissolution of the marriage. Its content is not discretionary: it must address all the legal issues arising from the break-up, and the notary will review it before proceeding with the deed.

Matters the settlement must cover include:

• Use of the family home and, where applicable, household contents.
• Liquidation of the matrimonial property regime, where relevant.
• Compensatory maintenance, if one spouse's economic position is significantly worse than the other's as a direct consequence of the marriage (Article 97 of the Civil Code).
• Each spouse's contribution to family expenses, where common obligations remain.

The notary's role in this process goes beyond mere authentication. Under Spanish law, the notary is under a legal duty to ensure the settlement is not seriously prejudicial to either party. If a significant imbalance is detected, the notary may refuse to proceed until the necessary amendments are made — which in practice makes the drafting of the convenio the most technically demanding phase of the entire process.

Simultaneous liquidation of the matrimonial property regime — most commonly the sociedad de gananciales (community property) — can be included in the same deed or executed separately. Combining both in a single act reduces notarial costs and simplifies the overall process.

The advantages over judicial proceedings

The most significant difference is time. A mutual-consent divorce before a Family Court in Spain typically takes between six months and one year in first instance, depending on the court's caseload. A notarial divorce is ordinarily completed within two to four weeks of the documentation being finalised.

Other advantages include lower procedural costs — no procurator (procurador) is required, unlike in judicial divorce — greater privacy, and the reduced emotional burden of resolving the separation in a notary's office rather than a courtroom.

The documentation required

Having complete documentation from the outset is essential, as any missing item delays the process:

• Valid national identity document for both spouses.
• Certified literal extract of the marriage entry from the Civil Registry (a photocopy of the marriage booklet is not sufficient).
• Certified literal extract of birth certificates for any adult children in common.
• Certificate of municipal registration (empadronamiento) confirming the residency in Spain of at least one spouse.
• Land registry note (nota simple) for the family home, where this is addressed in the settlement.
• Settlement agreement signed by both parties.
• Title deeds, bank account statements and other asset documentation where the matrimonial property regime is being liquidated simultaneously.

Frequent errors — such as providing marriage certificates issued more than three months earlier, or settlement agreements that fail to address all required matters — can require the process to restart from the beginning.

How we assist with notarial divorce at RCM Legal

The main difficulty in a notarial divorce is rarely reaching the underlying agreement: it is drafting a settlement that is complete, balanced and that the notary will be in a position to incorporate into the deed without objection. A poorly drafted settlement — with gaps in the compensatory maintenance provision, ambiguity over housing use, or an incomplete liquidation of the matrimonial property regime — can delay the process or generate subsequent litigation that the divorce itself was meant to avoid.

At RCM Legal we advise clients wishing to proceed with a notarial divorce in Murcia and throughout Spain: we assess your specific circumstances, draft the convenio regulador with the precision the notary requires, coordinate the documentation and accompany you through the execution of the deed. If there is any circumstance that might complicate the notarial route — adult children with specific needs, assets abroad, or complex property arrangements — we will advise you from the first consultation so that you can make an informed decision. Tell us about your situation.