What’s This Letter
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Other · Spain

Trámite de audiencia: the file is about to be decided — this is the window to be heard

This letter says an administrative procedure affecting you is about to be decided, and grants a last window to inspect the file (expediente) and submit arguments and documents before the resolution is drafted. After it closes, the administration decides.

How serious: routineAlso called: trámite de alegaciones, puesta de manifiesto, audiencia al interesado

The trámite de audiencia exists in almost every Spanish administrative procedure — tax audits, sanction files, extranjería applications, subsidy revocations. It is the formal chance to be heard before a decision is made.

The letter identifies the procedure and the file number, and often lists where and how to consult the expediente. Inspecting the file shows exactly what evidence the administration will decide on.

It is a procedural step, not a decision itself: nothing has been resolved yet. The resolution comes after this window, and it will carry its own payment or appeal deadlines.

Who sends it

Any Spanish public administration — the AEAT, ayuntamientos, the Seguridad Social, extranjería offices, the DGT and others. It is a procedural step, not tied to one body; the letter names the specific office handling the file.

Wording like 'trámite de audiencia', 'puesta de manifiesto del expediente', or 'para que alegue lo que convenga a su derecho', with a deadline of 10 to 15 days. It identifies the procedure and file number, and often lists where and how to consult the expediente.

The deadline

Between 10 and 15 days, as fixed in the letter (Ley 39/2015 art. 82.2: 'en un plazo no inferior a diez días ni superior a quince'; identical range in tax procedures, Ley 58/2003 art. 99.8)

Between 10 and 15 days, as fixed in the letter, counted from the day after notification (Ley 39/2015 art. 82.2: 'en un plazo no inferior a diez días ni superior a quince'; the identical range applies in tax procedures, Ley 58/2003 art. 99.8).

If you do nothing

The step is simply deemed completed and the administration resolves on the evidence already in the file (Ley 39/2015 art. 82.3 lets it close early only on an express declaration that no alegaciones will be made; under art. 73.3, a party who misses a trámite's deadline can be declared to have forfeited it, though action taken before — or on the day — that forfeiture is notified is still admitted and takes effect). No fine follows from silence itself — what is lost is the best chance to influence the outcome.

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

That date is on the envelope or the delivery stamp, not in the letter — enter it and we count the deadline for you.

How it escalates

  1. 01The procedure moves straight to resolution based on the file as it stands.
  2. 02Whatever the resolution imposes (a denial, a sanction, a liquidation) is then notified with its own payment and appeal deadlines; from that point only recursos remain.
  3. 03In sanction procedures, an ignored acuerdo de iniciación that contains a precise finding can itself become the propuesta de resolución (Ley 39/2015 art. 64.2.f).

Your options, procedurally

  • The expediente can be consulted — electronically or at the office named in the letter — before writing anything.
  • Alegaciones with documents can be filed within the 10–15 day window, via the sede electrónica of the issuing body or any official registry.
  • An express declaration that no alegaciones will be made closes the step early (Ley 39/2015 art. 82.3).
  • In tax procedures, documents can still be submitted before the liquidación is issued; the ordinary recurso remains available after the resolution.

How to respond

Response types

  • Ask for clarificationAcceso al expediente puesto de manifiesto (vista del expediente) · art. 53.1.a Ley 39/2015 (derecho a conocer el estado y acceder al expediente); art. 82.1 Ley 39/2015; art. 99.4-99.5 Ley 58/2003
  • File the objectionEscrito de alegaciones en el trámite de audiencia · art. 82 Ley 39/2015; art. 76 Ley 39/2015 (alegaciones y aportación de documentos); art. 99.8 Ley 58/2003 en procedimientos tributarios
  • Confirm receiptManifestación expresa de no formular alegaciones ni aportar documentos · art. 82.3 Ley 39/2015
  • Ask for more timeSolicitud de ampliación del plazo de audiencia · art. 32.1 y 32.3 Ley 39/2015 (procedimientos comunes); art. 91 RD 1065/2007 en procedimientos tributarios

Where and how

  • Electronic registry of the receiving administration or body (its electronic office)
  • Correos offices — filing in an open envelope (art. 16.4.b Ley 39/2015)
  • Registry assistance offices (OAMR) — in person, usually by appointment
  • Spanish diplomatic missions or consular offices abroad
  • Ordinary email
  • Fax

What makes it count

A reply counts as filed on time if it enters a valid registry — an electronic registry (the electronic office's official date-and-time stamp, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year), a Correos office in an open envelope (date, hour and minute of acceptance), a registry assistance office, or a consulate — within the last day of the deadline; what counts is the date it was filed or accepted, not the date it reaches the competent body.

Common questions

Is this letter itself a fine or a decision?

No. It is a procedural step announcing that a decision is close, and opening a 10–15 day window to inspect the file and submit arguments. The actual resolution comes later, with its own deadlines.

Is there a penalty for not responding?

No fine follows from silence itself. The step is deemed completed and the administration resolves on the evidence already in the file — the loss is the chance to influence the outcome.

Can the file be seen before writing anything?

Yes. The letter identifies the expediente and usually where and how to consult it — electronically or at the named office.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.