55 Judge Positions for Legal Professionals: Requirements, Deadlines and How to Apply in 2026

Key data

The General Council of the Judiciary announces 55 Judge positions through the turn of legal professionals of recognized competence, specialized in the civil and criminal jurisdictional orders. This call, approved on June 9, 2026 and published in the BOE on June 15, opens a direct access route to the Judicial Career for legal professionals with accredited trajectory, without the need to pass ordinary competitive examinations.

This is a unitary call, approved together with other jurisdictional specialties on the same date, with no possibility of accumulating positions between different specialties.

What does this call establish?

The call regulates the selective process to fill 55 Judge positions in the civil and criminal orders through the so-called "turn of legal professionals of recognized competence". This turn allows access to the Judicial Career for legal professionals who, without belonging to it, accredit extensive practical experience.

The eligible profiles to compete are the following:

• Practicing lawyers registered with a bar association
• Prosecutors
• State Lawyers
• Legal officials of Public Administrations
• Full-time university law professors
• Those who have exercised judicial functions without belonging to the Judicial Career

In all cases, the common requirement is to accredit more than 10 years of professional practice in matters of the civil and criminal jurisdictional orders.

Regarding the distribution of positions:

• One third of the 55 positions is reserved for Court Administration Lawyers of first or second category.
• 1 position is reserved for persons with disability equal to or greater than 33%.

The call has a unitary character together with those of other jurisdictional specialties approved on the same date. It is not possible to accumulate positions between different specialties: each candidate must opt for only one call.

Professional and operational impact

For law firms, prosecutor's offices and legal departments, this call has a direct implication: the possibility that senior professionals with more than a decade of experience make the leap to the judiciary. This can generate rotation in consolidated teams, especially in civil and criminal litigation areas.

For the candidates themselves, access to the Judicial Career in the category of Judge represents a significant change in professional status, with the remuneration conditions and security of tenure inherent to judicial office.

From an operational perspective, candidates should keep in mind that:

• The submission of applications is preferably electronic through the general access point.
• The deadline is 20 business days counted from October 1, 2026, which places the closing approximately at the end of October 2026.
• You cannot participate simultaneously in several specialties of the same unitary call.

Who does it affect?

• Practicing lawyers registered with a bar association with more than 10 years of practice in civil and/or criminal law
• Prosecutors with accredited experience in said orders
• State Lawyers with more than 10 years of practice in civil and criminal matters
• Legal officials of Public Administrations who meet the experience requirement
• Full-time university law professors with dedication in civil and criminal matters
• Court Administration Lawyers of first or second category (with specific reserve of one third of positions)
• Persons who have exercised judicial functions without belonging to the Judicial Career
• Law firms and legal departments that may see their senior staff affected by the incorporation of professionals into the judiciary

Practical example

A lawyer registered with a bar association who has been practicing for 12 years in a firm specialized in civil litigation and criminal defense meets the minimum experience requirement. If he decides to submit his candidacy, he must do so between October 1, 2026 and the end of the 20 business day deadline, preferably electronically through the general access point.

Since this is a unitary call with other specialties, this lawyer cannot apply simultaneously for positions in another jurisdictional specialty announced on the same date. He must choose only one specialty.

If he also has recognized a disability equal to or greater than 33%, he may opt for the position specifically reserved for this group within the 55 announced.

What should candidates do now?

1. Verify compliance with the experience requirement: accredit more than 10 years of professional practice in matters of the civil and criminal orders, in one of the eligible profiles (lawyer, prosecutor, state lawyer, legal official, university professor or exercise of judicial functions without membership in the Judicial Career).
2. Check if you fall within the reserve for Court Administration Lawyers: if you belong to this body in first or second category, verify whether you opt for the reserved quota or the general turn.
3. Prepare supporting documentation of experience and professional profile with sufficient advance notice before October 1, 2026.
4. Activate access to the electronic general access point for the electronic submission of the application, which is the preferred method established in the call.
5. Do not apply to more than one specialty: remember that the call is unitary with other jurisdictional specialties and does not allow accumulation of positions between them.
6. Consult the complete call in the BOE (BOE-A-2026-12916) to verify the complete bases of the selective process.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is purely informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-12916