Empadronamiento in Spain: what the padrón is, what it is for and how to register

The municipal register (padrón) is the administrative record of the residents of a municipality. Its data prove your residence and your usual address, and the certificates issued by the city council are a public document for all administrative purposes ¹.

The law obliges everyone who lives in Spain to register in the padrón of the municipality where they usually live. If you live in several, you register in the one where you spend most of the year ¹. You acquire the status of resident at the moment of registration ¹.

For foreigners, the registration records your NIE if you have it in a valid Spanish document or, if not, your passport number ¹.

Health card. In the Community of Madrid, one of the requirements for the first health card is to be registered in the Community, as well as being entitled to care through the INSS and, if you are a foreigner, holding a residence permit in force or under renewal ⁷.

Immigration procedures. The Barcelona City Council explains that the padrón is a requirement for most procedures related to the Immigration Law and gives access to rights such as public health care ⁴.

Arraigo. For most arraigo permits you need to have stayed in Spain continuously for at least the two years before the application ². The padrón helps you prove that stay, because its data attest your residence in the municipality ¹.

Renewal. If you are not a citizen of the European Union and do not have a long-term residence permit, your registration must be renewed every two years. If you do not, the city council can declare it lapsed without warning you first ¹. For anyone who wants to show two years of stay, a deregistration for lapse leaves a gap in the record.

The Barcelona City Council sums it up like this: you have to prove your identity and the availability of the home ⁴. Each city council defines which documents it accepts. In general they will ask for:

• Identity: in Barcelona, if you are not from the European Union, your TIE or your passport ³.
• Home: in Barcelona, if you rent, the rental contract in force with a minimum duration of three months; if the contract expired and was extended without an express clause, the last rent receipt paid in the last two months, a utility bill or a transfer that identifies the rent. If you are the owner and appear on the IBI (property tax) receipt, you do not have to provide anything; if you do not appear, the deed less than a year old or a note from the Land Registry ³.
• Authorisation from the holder, if you are neither owner nor tenant: in Barcelona, an express authorisation with the original signature of an adult who is the owner or tenant, with a copy of their identity document ³.
• The signed application by the adults who register, in Madrid ⁵.

If you cannot provide documents for the home, Barcelona still lets you register at that address: the City Council checks that you live there and has three months to decide ³. The documents must be in Catalan or Spanish; those in another language need a translation ³.

Madrid. In-person registration is done by appointment in the municipal appointment system. You must bring the signed application, your identity documents in force and those proving the use of the home ⁵. The appointment is in the name of the adult who does the procedure, you can only handle one address per appointment and there is a limit of one appointment per person every 30 days ⁵. The renewal of the padrón for foreigners is also done by appointment, bringing the renewal or confirmation letter and your original identity document in force ⁵.

Barcelona. You can register in three ways: in person with an appointment at a citizen service office, online at the Virtual Procedures Office or by phone on 010 ³. If you do it by phone, you receive the instructions by e-mail and send the signed application and the documents by post within a month of receiving them ³. The procedure is free ³.

València. The Municipal Padrón Office is in the City Hall, with the entrance on calle Periodista Azzati. Registrations and changes of address are done there without an appointment ⁶. At the Tax Management Office, with the entrance on calle Arquebisbe Mayoral, the other padrón procedures are by appointment (010 or 96 310 00 10), and certificates and renewals for foreigners are done without an appointment ⁶. All padrón procedures are free ⁶.