Receiving paper notices from Spanish authorities (notificación por Correos)

Terms used

• Aviso de llegada — The aviso de llegada is the card Correos leaves in your mailbox after a missed delivery, showing where and until when you can collect.
• Correos — Correos is Spain's national postal service, which delivers official paper notices from authorities.
• Edict — An edict is a public announcement of a notice on an official notice board, used when delivery to you has failed.
• BOE — The BOE is Spain's official state gazette, whose website hosts the single notice board for edicts.

Key rules

• Collection window: A notice you missed is held at Correos for 15 calendar days before it goes back to the authority.
• Two attempts: Correos tries twice, at different times and at least three hours apart, before leaving a card.
• Uncollected notice: If you do not collect it, the authority publishes it by edict and it counts as served.
• Other people: A flatmate, family member, employee or doorman can sign for your notice, and that counts as valid delivery.

The short version

Correos tries to deliver an official notice twice. If you are not in, it leaves a card in your mailbox, and the notice then waits for you to collect it for 15 calendar days. If you do not collect it, the authority treats the notice as delivered anyway and moves on.

How delivery works

Correos first tries to hand the notice to you at your address. If nobody answers, it tries again at a different time of day, at least three hours after the first attempt. Both attempts are recorded.

If both fail, Correos leaves an aviso de llegada in your mailbox. It tells you which Correos office holds the notice and the last day you can collect it. Read the date on the card, because it is your exact deadline.

Who can sign for it

If you are out, Correos can hand the notice to another person at the address who gives their name and ID number and signs. That can be a family member, a flatmate or an employee. The doorman or porter of the building can also sign. Delivery this way is valid, even if you never see the notice yourself.

Collecting it

Go to the office named on the aviso de llegada before the deadline, and take your ID. The notice is held for 15 calendar days. Counting includes weekends and holidays, so do not wait for a convenient day.

If you do not collect it

After the holding period, Correos sends the notice back to the authority, which records it as not collected. The procedure goes on without you.

The authority then publishes the notice by edict. An edict is a public announcement on the official notice board run through the BOE website, called the Tablón Edictal Único. Before that, it may also appear in a regional or provincial bulletin or at the town hall. The notice counts as served from that publication, whether or not you read it.

The same route is used when the authority does not know who you are or where you live. Special rules can apply to tax and penalty procedures.

If delivery was done wrongly

A defective delivery can be challenged, but only if you act. If you think a notice was handled wrongly, get advice quickly from a lawyer or a gestor, because deadlines may already be running.

Use the checklist, decision guide and timeline below to plan around the delivery days.

Choosing between options

How will the authority get a notice to you: paper delivery or publication by edict?

• Paper delivery by Correos: The authority knows who you are and where you live, and delivery has not yet failed twice.

• Publication by edict: The authority does not know who you are, does not know your address, or delivery failed after the two attempts.

If the authority cannot deliver on paper after two attempts, or cannot identify you or your address, it publishes the notice by edict in the Tablón Edictal Único on the BOE website. Before that, it may appear in the official bulletin of your region or province, or at the town hall.

Timeline and deadlines

• Correos makes the first delivery attempt at your address: on the first delivery day

• If nobody is home, Correos tries again at a different time, at least three hours after the first attempt: within three days of the first attempt

• Correos leaves an arrival notice (aviso de llegada) in your mailbox saying where and until when you can collect the item: after the attempts

• Collect the notice at the Correos office shown on the arrival notice: within 15 calendar days of the failed attempts

• Correos returns the uncollected notice to the authority, which records it as not collected: when the 15 calendar days end

• The authority publishes the notice by edict, and it counts as served from that publication: after delivery has failed

Checklist

• Ask someone at your address to sign for official mail if you will be out during the delivery days.

• Check your mailbox every day for an arrival notice (aviso de llegada) after a missed delivery.

• Read the arrival notice for the Correos office where the item waits and the date it can be collected until.

• Take your ID to the Correos office and collect the notice before the date on the arrival notice.

• Note the date you collect the notice, because your deadlines start counting the day after.

What to watch out for

• An uncollected notice still counts against you: If you do not collect the notice in time, it is treated as rejected or as attempted without success, and the procedure goes on without you. The authority then publishes it by edict, and it counts as served from that publication. Collect every arrival notice before the date it shows, and act on the notice's deadline from the day after you collect it.

• A defective delivery can be challenged, but only if you act: Delivery that did not follow the rules can be challenged, but the procedure keeps running while you wait. If you think delivery was wrong, tell the office that sent the notice in writing straight away and keep the arrival notice.

Frequently asked questions

Can my flatmate or the doorman sign for my paper notice?

Yes, a family member, flatmate or employee at your address can sign for your notice if they identify themselves, and the building's doorman can also receive it. Their name and ID number are recorded. A notice handed over this way counts as delivered to you, so ask the people you live with to pass it on at once.

Can I challenge a paper notice I never actually received?

Yes, you can challenge a notice if the delivery was defective, for example if the attempts were not made as required. Tax and sanctions procedures have special rules of their own. Ask the office that sent the notice, or an adviser, before the deadline runs out.