You search for your name and one of the first results is a PDF from the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE), Spain's official state gazette: an old traffic fine, a notice from the Spanish tax agency that never reached you, a public sector recruitment list or a seizure order that was settled long ago. It happens far more often than people think, and foreigners who own property, run a business or once lived in Spain are especially exposed, because notices that cannot be delivered to an address are published in the gazette instead. It is particularly worrying when the person searching is a company about to hire you.
Why your name appears in the BOE
The BOE is the State's official journal. Among other things, it publishes:
- Notices that could not be delivered to your address, which the authorities publish to comply with the law. If you have moved abroad, this is the most common reason.
- Administrative penalties imposed by different public bodies.
- Public recruitment processes: lists of candidates admitted, passed and appointed.
- Announcements of auctions, seizures or court proceedings.
- Pardons, appointments and dismissals.
The same applies to the official gazettes of Spain's regions and provinces, which follow similar rules.
Why the BOE will not delete it
An official gazette has a public certification role: what it publishes must remain intact, because deadlines, notices and the rights of third parties depend on it. That is why asking the BOE to delete a publication almost never succeeds. In some cases the gazettes themselves apply technical measures so that certain publications containing personal data are not indexed by search engines, but you cannot count on that in every case.
The route that works is a different one: asking Google to stop showing that PDF when someone searches for your name. This is the right to be forgotten in search engines, recognised by the Court of Justice of the EU in case C-131/12 and by Article 93 of Spain's data protection act (LOPDGDD). We explain the basics in our complete guide.
When it makes sense to ask
You have a good chance when several of these apply:
- The publication is old and the matter is closed: the fine was paid, the debt was settled or the proceedings were dropped.
- You hold no public office and have no public profile that would justify it still being shown.
- The publication was a mere notice and says nothing relevant about you today.
- The result causes you real harm, for example in recruitment processes.
If the publication is recent or the proceedings are still open, Google will normally consider that it is still of interest.
How to ask Google, step by step
- Search for your name on Google in a private window and note the exact URLs of the BOE PDFs that appear.
- Gather proof that the matter is resolved: a payment receipt, a decision closing the case, a payment certificate from the Spanish tax agency.
- Open Google's EU privacy removal form and choose the option to remove results.
- Enter your name as people search for it and paste each URL.
- Explain in a few lines why the publication is no longer relevant: what it is, when it dates from, that it was resolved and how it affects you today.
- Keep the request number and the date.
Tip
Spanish publications list people with two surnames, and foreigners often appear with their name in a different order, with initials or with part of their NIE or passport number. Check every search variant: more than one URL may affect you, and it is best to include them all in the same request.
If Google says no
Google has one month to reply, which can be extended by two months in complex cases (Article 12(3) of the GDPR). If it refuses or does not reply, you can complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), providing your request and Google's reply. If you would rather we prepared it, see our court rulings and official gazettes service.
Other search engines
Bing and other search engines have their own forms. If Google removes the result, it is worth asking the others too so there are no gaps, especially if you know that the company assessing you uses a different search engine.
Frequently asked questions
Will the publication also disappear from the official BOE website?
No. The right to be forgotten in search engines does not affect the original publication, which will remain on the BOE website. What changes is that it stops appearing when someone searches for your name on Google. Anyone who goes straight to the gazette or searches using other terms will still be able to find it.
Does it work for regional and provincial gazettes?
Yes. The reasoning is the same for any official gazette: the publication stays, and what you ask the search engine is not to link it to your name when it is no longer relevant.
What if my DNI, NIE or passport number appears in the publication?
Mention it in your request. The presence of an identity document number, even a partial one, strengthens the argument that showing it in the results serves no public interest and puts you at risk.
We can help with the BOE
If your name appears in the BOE or a regional gazette, we review each publication for free and tell you which ones have a realistic chance and which do not. The final decision rests with Google or, where applicable, the AEPD. You can read more in our page on removing the BOE from Google (in Spanish).
