Contact
- Address
- Passatge Llaurador 3
03590 Altea (Alicante)Show on the map - Telephone
- +34 627 48 31 29
- ojm_altea@gva.es
- Certificates online
- mjusticia.gob.es
- Judicial information
- poderjudicial.es
Opening hours
| Period | Public opening |
|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | 9:00–13:30 (per the notice on the door, October 2026) |
| Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays | closed |
The window is short and the office small. A telephone call first saves the journey, especially for anything unusual.
Opening hours change. Please check before going: poderjudicial.es
Departments and contacts
- Justice of the PeaceA lay judge elected by the town council, not a career judge
- RegistryPublic counter, civil registry, certificates
Step by step: registering a death
- Medical certificateIssued by the doctor who certifies the death. Nothing can be registered without it.
- Go to the courtPromptly, usually via the funeral director, with the medical certificate and the deceased’s identity document.
- RegistrationThe registry makes the entry and issues the burial or cremation licence.
- Full certificateAsk for several copies from the outset: bank, insurer, notary and consulate will each want one.
- AfterwardsFor the estate you will also need the certificate of last wills, applied for at the Ministry of Justice.
What is handled here
- Births — registration and certificates
- Marriages — the preliminary file and the civil ceremony
- Deaths — registration and burial licence
- Life certificate (fe de vida) — the document foreign pension schemes ask for
- Certificates from the civil registry, full or abbreviated
- Conciliation hearings in minor civil matters
- Judicial assistance — service of documents on behalf of other courts
What to bring
- Identity document or passport, and NIE where applicable
- Registration certificate, for several procedures
- Medical certificate, for a birth or a death
- Family book (libro de familia), if you have one
- Foreign documents with a sworn translation and Hague apostille
The documents required change with the rules. Current list: mjusticia.gob.es
Good to know
The life certificate is a frequent errand for retired foreign residents. Many European pension schemes require it once a year, to a deadline. You have to appear in person with your identity document — which is precisely the point of it. For a state pension it is free. Any other office with an official seal can issue it too, such as the town hall or the honorary consulate (by appointment). According to the notice on the door, it is only issued on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Foreign documents need a sworn translation and, depending on the country, an apostille. Sorting that out beforehand is worthwhile: it is a common reason a matter stalls.
Many certificates can be requested online from the Ministry of Justice and arrive by post. If you are not in a hurry, that is the easiest route.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Justice of the Peace a real judge?
The justice of the peace is elected by the town council and is not a career judge. The functions are the civil registry, conciliation and assistance to other courts. Court proceedings proper take place at the courts in Benidorm.
Can I marry here as a foreign national?
Yes, after a preliminary file. At least one partner must be registered (empadronado) in Spain; Germans need a certificate of capacity to marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis) from the German registry office. The list of documents is set by the Registro Civil.
What does a certificate cost?
Civil registry certificates are free.
I need a life certificate for my pension abroad. Will the Spanish one do?
Usually yes, but many schemes insist on their own form being stamped. The practical answer is to bring the form they sent you and ask for it to be stamped.
Map
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Related pages
- After a death — the whole sequence, step by step
- Town hall — registration and civil weddings
- Other offices — consulates and notaries
Address, telephone and opening hours compiled October 2026. The competences of the justices of the peace are changing with judicial reform — telephone first for anything unusual. Designation and judicial district as listed by the Ministry of Justice (mjusticia.gob.es); life certificate as stated by the German Foreign Office (spanien.diplo.de). Phone numbers without an official source reflect the position in October 2026; please check before calling.