The first official confirmation that the couple could face 'abandonment' charges came in court documents revealing the areas Portuguese investigators are considering.
They are published on the website of The Times newspaper in London.
The couple's spokesman emphasised the court papers did not mean such a charge would materialise.
He said the couple from Rothley in Leicestershire vigorously denied neglecting Madeleine who went missing in the Algarve in Portugal.
A neglect charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years.
It is understood for such a charge to stand up the prosecutors would have to show the McCanns intended to neglect Madeleine.
The three-year-old disappeared from the couple's holiday apartment in Praia de Luz on 3 May last year while they dined with friends a short distance away.
Members of their group returned to the apartment at regular intervals to check on Madeleine McCann and her younger twin siblings.
