Your Spanish health card is lost, never arrived or stopped working

Key rules

• Who handles it: Your regional health service issues and replaces the card, so always deal with the region where you are registered.
• Reporting a loss: Reporting a card lost or stolen cancels the old one, so only do it when you are sure.
• Moving region: Apply to your new region; the old card stops working when the new one arrives.
• Care while you wait: Ask for a provisional proof so you can still get care until the new card arrives.

Start by finding the cause

Your health card (tarjeta sanitaria) is issued by your region's health service, so every fix goes through that service. Pick the line that matches you:

• You lost it, it was stolen or it is damaged. You need a duplicate.
• It never arrived. You need to trace it and ask for proof in the meantime.
• It worked and then stopped. Something changed in your entitlement or your data, and you need to find out what.
• You moved to another region. You need a new card from the new region.

Lost, stolen or damaged

Report the loss or hand in the damaged card, then ask for a duplicate. You can do this at your health centre's admissions desk (atención al usuario), online through your regional health portal with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, or by phone or appointment.

A duplicate is normally free. The card is posted or collected. While you wait, many regions let you print a provisional proof or use the regional health app. Ask for one.

It never arrived

First check that the address and padrón details on file are correct. Then contact the admissions desk or your region's health helpline or portal. Ask for a duplicate or a provisional proof, and bring ID and your padrón proof.

Most regions let you get care meanwhile with your registered ID or a provisional printout. You can still be assigned a family doctor (médico de cabecera).

It stopped working

Common causes are:

• Your entitlement ended, for example your job or Social Security registration stopped, or your residence permit was not renewed.
• You moved region or left Spain, including being removed from the padrón.
• Data was missing or not confirmed, or you were registered twice.
• You reported the card lost or replaced, which cancels the old one.
• You had a special agreement (convenio especial) and payments stopped.

Reactivation depends on the cause:

• Entitlement lost: prove it again with a new employment or Social Security registration, a renewed residence permit, an entitlement certificate from the INSS, or a convenio especial.
• Expired permit or padrón: show the renewed document at your health centre or regional office.
• Missing data: supply it.

Requests are made at the health centre, online or by appointment.

You moved to another region

Register on the padrón of your new town, then apply for a new card from the new region's health service. The old card is cancelled once the new one is issued. It often still works for urgent care meanwhile. Your national health system entitlement covers care across Spain even before the new card arrives.

Choose a new family doctor and ask for your medical history to be transferred through the digital system.

Documents you need

• Your NIE or passport, to prove who you are when you ask for a duplicate or a provisional proof.

• Proof of your padrón registration (the municipal register of residents), needed if your card never arrived or when you move to a new region.

• Your renewed residence permit, if the card was deactivated because the permit expired.

• A new employment or Social Security registration, an entitlement certificate from the INSS (Spain's Social Security institute), or a convenio especial (a special paid agreement), if the card was deactivated because your entitlement ended.

If you are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, or a Spanish citizen

The duplicate, reactivation and change-of-region routes are the same for you. Only the ID you show differs.

• EU, EEA or Swiss citizen: show your passport or EU registration certificate.
• Spanish citizen or dual national: show your DNI or passport.