Official notices and deadlines

It is for anyone considering, planning or carrying out a move to Spain. Missed notices and misread deadlines are a leading cause of lost applications, so the aim is simple: you will know how notices reach you, how to avoid missing them and how to read deadlines.

Start with "How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them". It shows how to set up and monitor electronic notices, which is the channel you are most likely to miss. From there, move on to what happens if you miss a notice, how paper notices from Correos reach you, how to set your notification address and alerts, and how deadlines and silence are counted.

Appeals, replying to correction requests and booking appointments are covered elsewhere.

Key rules

• Deadline start: A deadline in days starts the day after the notice is received, opened or deemed rejected, and working days exclude Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
• Unopened notice: An electronic notice you do not open within 10 calendar days of being made available is treated as rejected, and the procedure and its deadlines carry on.
• Collecting paper notices: After failed delivery attempts, a paper notice is held at Correos for 15 calendar days before it is returned to the sender.
• Obliged groups: Companies, the self-employed and professionals who must join a professional association cannot ask for paper notices.
• Individuals: If you are a private individual, you choose between electronic and paper, unless a specific regulation says otherwise.
• No repeat notice: You cannot ask for the notice to be sent again.

Official notices and deadlines: the whole process, step by step

• Find out whether you must receive notices electronically, and set up your access and alerts (see: How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them): before you start any procedure

• Add your email and mobile number and keep your notification address up to date (see: Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice): before the first notice arrives, and again after every move

• Open each electronic notice as soon as you get an alert (see: How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them): within 10 calendar days of the notice being made available

• If you miss an electronic notice, act on it and challenge it if access was impossible (see: What happens if you miss an electronic notice): after 10 calendar days the notice is treated as rejected and the deadlines carry on

• For paper notices, collect the item from Correos using the arrival notice (see: Receiving paper notices from Spanish authorities (notificación por Correos)): within 15 calendar days after the failed delivery attempts

• Start counting your response deadline (see: How Spanish deadlines are counted and what silence means (silencio administrativo)): the day after the notice is received, opened or deemed rejected

• Send your response or appeal: before the last day of the deadline; months run from date to date, and a last day that is not a working day moves to the next working day

• If the administration has not answered, ask for a certificate confirming silence (see: How Spanish deadlines are counted and what silence means (silencio administrativo)): after the period to resolve has passed; it is issued within 15 days of your request reaching the body

Documents you may need

Identity and residence

• Your NIE or TIE number — How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them
• ID: DNI, NIE or passport, for registering at the new town hall's padrón — Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice
• Padrón application form from your new town hall — Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice
• ID and proof of the new address for a DGT address change — Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice

Income and work

• A company or representative's certificate — How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them

The home and the lease

• Proof of your right to live at the new address — Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice

Other documents

• Your immigration file number — Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice
• A Cl@ve registration — How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them
• Certificado de acto presunto — How Spanish deadlines are counted and what silence means (silencio administrativo)

Official notices and deadlines: questions that cross several articles

Do I have to receive official notices electronically as an individual?

No, individuals can normally choose their channel, unless they are self-employed or a rule obliges them. Companies, professionals who must join a professional association and self-employed workers must use the electronic channel.

Will an alert email or SMS protect me if I do not open a notice?

No, an alert is only a courtesy and not receiving it does not change the deadlines. The notice is still treated as rejected after 10 calendar days. Read Setting your notification address and alerts so you never miss a notice and What happens if you miss an electronic notice.

Do all authorities send notices through DEHú?

No, only bodies that have joined DEHú use it, and others use their own office or mailbox, such as the tax agency. The notice or the body's website says which system applies.

How are my immigration notices delivered?

Immigration offices notify electronically when you or your representative filed electronically, and by post if you filed on paper as an individual. Lawyers and gestores must use the electronic channel. Read How electronic notifications (DEHú) work and whether you must use them, then Receiving paper notices from Spanish authorities (notificación por Correos).