Justice of the Peace

Contact

Address: Passatge Llaurador 3
03590 Altea (Alicante)Show on the map
Telephone: +34 627 48 31 29
Certificates online: mjusticia.gob.es
Judicial information: poderjudicial.es

Opening hours

Period	Public opening
Monday to Friday	9:00 – 13:30
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 PeaceAn office elected by the council, not a career judge
RegistryPublic counter, civil registry, certificates
Names of case officers still to be added

Step by step: registering a death

Medical certificateIssued by the doctor who certifies the death. Nothing can be registered without it.
Go to the courtWithin twenty-four hours, 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.

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What is handled here

Births — registration and certificates
Marriages — the preliminary file and the civil ceremony
Deaths — registration and burial licence
Proof of life — the document foreign pension schemes ask for
Certificates from the civil registry, full or abbreviated
Conciliation hearings in smaller civil matters
Judicial assistance — service of documents on behalf of other courts
Nationality by residence — applications accepted in certain cases

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, 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

Proof of life is the most frequent errand for retired foreign residents. Many European pension schemes require it once a year, to a deadline. It is free, issued on the spot, and you have to appear in person — which is precisely the point of it.

Foreign documents need a sworn translation and, depending on the country, an apostille. Sorting that out beforehand is worthwhile: it is the commonest 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?

It is an office elected by the town council, 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. The paperwork is longer than for Spaniards: birth and civil status certificates from your home country, translated and apostilled.

What does a certificate cost?

Civil registry certificates are free.

I need proof of life 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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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 checked August 2026. The competences of the justices of the peace are changing with judicial reform — telephone first for anything unusual.