The permanent lay collaborators of the Spanish Inquisition were called familiares. They served the Holy Office without being members of the clergy, helping extend inquisitorial influence beyond the tribunal itself.
Familiares were recruited as local supporters, informants, and agents. Their duties changed over time, but they could report suspected heresy, assist inquisitors, and in some circumstances help pursue or detain suspects. They were not judges: formal investigation and sentencing remained the responsibility of the inquisitorial tribunals.
The position was attractive because it carried social prestige and legal privileges. Appointment publicly signaled limpieza de sangre, or “purity of blood,” meaning recognized Old Christian ancestry. Familiares could also receive exemptions and, in some regions, privileges such as carrying weapons.
The other options describe different roles. Calificadores were generally theologians who assessed whether conduct was heretical; alcaides supervised prisoners; and comissarios were usually priests who assisted the Holy Office occasionally. Familiares, by contrast, were lay collaborators expected to remain in the institution’s service.