Career · 2026-08-22 · 12 min read

CV for Spanish public exams (oposiciones): the file they asked for

Merits, PDF, and the official form: what CV to send (and what not to invent). We are not the BOE. ClarCV.

A CV does not pass a public exam. Sometimes it is not even the scored document: the notice asks for an official form, diplomas, and a merits table. People searching this usually have a corporate Canva and want to “adapt it for the Administration”. The risk is sending an infographic where they want a simple PDF, or a creative CV where they want numbered annexes. Read the notice. ClarCV is not the BOE and not an exam coach.

When they do ask for a CV (pools, interim posts, some regional processes, interviews after the exam): one column, exact dates, official diploma names, no photo unless asked, no ID number on the PDF if the form already has it. Sisters: what not to put, checklist, PDF vs Word.

ClarCV (clarcv.com) makes the file parseable and A4. You match each line to the scoring table. Free: 3 analyses and 2 downloads / 30 days, no card. Pro €7/month. We do not compute merit points.

CV vs application form vs merits

Three different things. The application is the official form. Merits are courses, seniority, and titles as defined in the rules. The CV is a narrative summary sometimes asked “for the board” or for a hiring pool. Do not copy an academy’s marketing layout: copy the fields the rules ask for. If they want “CV on the official template”, that PDF wins, not a LinkedIn export.

• Titles: official name, institution, issue date. A “own” master is not an official master.
• Courses: hours and body. A 45-minute webinar rarely scores.
• Experience: month and year, employer, duties the syllabus or post recognises.
• No creative objectives or “public vocation 100%” bars.

Private sector → public process

Drop startup jargon the table does not understand; keep facts (team, budget, public served). Do not claim ClarCV “guarantees” a post. If the process is 100% test and they do not ask for a CV, do not spend the file: study. If they ask for both, the CV does not replace certificates.