Documents you need to enrol your child in a Spanish school

Terms used

• padrón — The padrón is the local register of residents kept by your town hall; it proves where you live.
• DNI — The DNI is the national identity card for Spanish citizens, whose number also serves as their tax ID.
• NIE — The NIE is the identification number Spain gives to foreigners, used for tax, work, housing and official procedures.

Key rules

• Regional lists: Each region sets its own official list, and schools often ask for more than they may require.

Only a few papers are legally needed to apply for a place. Schools often ask for more. Several of those extra items can be handed in after your child starts. The exact list is set by each region, so ask the school or your regional education office for its list.

What the law requires

To apply for a place and have it allocated you need only the application form, identity papers for your child and the parents or guardians, proof of address, and evidence for any scoring points you claim: a sibling at the school, income, disability or a large-family card. The right to education covers every child under 18 living in Spain, not only ages 6 to 16.

What schools customarily ask for

Schools also usually ask for the health card, the vaccination record, passport-style photos, previous school reports, bank details and consent forms. Treat these as normal requests, not legal conditions. The vaccination record is the clearest case: no law makes it a condition for enrolling, because national vaccination is recommended, not compulsory, and a foreign record is accepted. The region sets the rules and a school cannot add to them: if a school asks for more, ask it to state the requirement in writing and name the regional rule, then offer the document or an equivalent, such as a translation or a signed statement, and agree a deadline. If a school insists on one you do not have, ask what it can accept instead.

What can wait until after your child starts

Previous school records and their translation, photos, bank details and the homologación or convalidación credential can be handed in after your child starts. The homologación is processed separately from enrolment, and the apostille and translation rules for it are in Preparing your child's foreign school records. Identity and address papers must be given at enrolment. If the school flags a missing paper, you have 10 working days from its request to hand it in.

Records by school stage

Ask the target school what it needs, then collect records for each child's stage:

• Infantil (ages 0 to 6): ID, vaccination record and birth certificate.
• Primaria: the previous school's reports, or a certificate of years completed.
• ESO: a transcript or certificate of grades for previous years.
• Bachillerato and FP: proof you finished ESO or the foreign equivalent. Formal recognition of foreign studies is often needed too; the rules are in Recognition of foreign studies.

Compulsory schooling covers ages 6 to 16, and the right to a school place runs to age 18, so a 16 or 17-year-old can still enrol; bachillerato and FP admit by grades, so apply in the ordinary period rather than waiting a year. Missing records cannot block enrolment for children aged 6 to 16: the school can enrol your child provisionally and place them by age after an initial assessment.

How it differs by region

Regional rules differ. Some regions verify your data electronically, so you do not bring certain papers; some add the health card or an income check to the file; some add language-model choices. Madrid uses a unified application with a tax-based income check, and Catalonia asks for the health card and has its own pre-enrolment calendar. Get your region's list from its education portal or the school before you gather papers.

Address proof when padrón is not ready

Proof of address is the paper newcomers most often lack. If your padrón is not ready, any of these works:

• A recent utility bill (electricity, water, gas or internet) in your family's name.
• A signed letter from your landlord or host confirming you live at the address.
• The receipt or application for your padrón registration (volante or justificante de solicitud de alta), if your region accepts it.

Bring an employment contract only if you want your work address to count for proximity points. Always use your real address on the application: a false address can get it cancelled. If you move after applying, tell the school or education office and send proof of the new address within the period your region allows. A move normally does not change the points already awarded, unless it is for a justified cause such as a change of work or a forced move.