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Registering your address (empadronamiento)

You will be able to register your address with your town hall even when your housing is informal, temporary or unusual.

Registering your address with your town hall (empadronamiento) puts you on the padrón, the register of residents. It is free, everyone who lives in a Spanish town must do it whatever their immigration status, and the certificate you get is what the TIE appointment, the health card, school…

11 articlesAbout 31 min of readingEssentialIdentity numbers and local registration

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Pick the article that fits your situation

  1. What registering your address (empadronamiento) is and why Spain needs it

    Registering your address on the padrón is the first piece of paperwork in Spain: most other procedures ask for the certificate it gives you.

    3 min read

  2. Must you register your address, whatever your immigration status?

    Registering your address on the padrón is required for everyone who lives in a Spanish town, whatever their immigration status.

    2 min read

  3. How to register your address at the town hall (ayuntamiento)

    Registering your address at the town hall is a short procedure with standard documents and a few checks. It is for anyone about to register.

    4 min read

  4. Proof of address for registration: contract, deed or owner authorisation

    Shows which document proves you have the right to live at an address when you register on the padrón: a rental contract, a title deed, or an owner's authorisation. Covers tenants, owners, room-sharers and guests, and what owners must supply.

    3 min read

  5. Registering your address without a rental contract in your name

    You can usually register on the padrón without a lease in your name.

    2 min read

  6. What to do when your landlord will not let you register

    A landlord cannot lawfully stop you registering at the home where you really live.

    3 min read

  7. Registering your address from a hostel, holiday rental or camper

    Registering at a hotel or short-let is usually refused. It works only if the business signs an authorisation or the town hall accepts a stay certificate. Most hostels are refused too, and a camper has no fixed address.

    2 min read

  8. Registering your partner, children and other household members

    Everyone who lives at your address goes on one household registration sheet. It is for newcomers registering a partner, children or others.

    3 min read

  9. Online or in person: how registration differs between town halls

    Shows how Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Málaga let you register your address at the town hall: online, by phone or in person. For newcomers who want to know what to expect before they start.

    2 min read

  10. Does registering your address put your immigration status at risk?

    Registering your address does not require legal status, and your data is protected from routine sharing with police or immigration.

    1 min read

  11. Should you register if you split your year between Spain and home?

    For people who live in Spain only part of the year or own a holiday home: whether you must sign up on the padrón, and how registering affects your tax position and your health cover.

    2 min read

About this topic

This works whether you rent with a contract, rent a room or sublet, live with friends or family, stay in a short-let or hotel, own your home or have no fixed address.

Registering your address (empadronamiento): the whole process, step by step

From arrival to a registered address

  1. Learn what the padrón is for. It proves where you live and unlocks your TIE appointment, health card, school places and EU registration: what the padrón is and what it unlocks.
  2. Check that you must register. Everyone who lives in a town does, with or without papers, and only once you actually live there: who must register. If you split your year between Spain and another country, decide where to register.
  3. Get your proof of address. If you rent with a contract or own the home, or have the owner's authorisation: proof of address. If you rent a room, sublet or live with friends or family and have no contract in your name: registering without a contract. If the owner refuses: when your landlord will not let you register. If you are in a hotel, hostel, holiday rental or camper: registering from temporary housing.
  4. Choose online or in person. Online needs a digital certificate or Cl@ve; otherwise you book a cita previa: how town halls differ.
  5. Register. Hand in the signed form, your ID and the proof. The town hall has three months at most, and many register you the same day: how to register.
  6. Register your partner, children and anyone else at the address at the same visit: registering your household.
  7. Ask for your certificate and use it for the TIE, the health card and school.
  8. If you worry about your immigration status, registering does not expose you: does it put your status at risk.
  9. Renew your registration if you are a non-EU foreigner without permanent residence authorisation: the renewal rule.

Documents you may need

Identity

  • Passport; an NIE or TIE is also accepted — how to register
  • The signed registration form (hoja padronal) — how to register

Proof of the home

  • Rental contract for a home or a room — proof of address
  • Title deed, nota simple or latest IBI receipt, if you own the home — proof of address
  • The owner's or main tenant's signed authorisation with a copy of their ID, on your town hall's form if it has one — proof of address; the letter template is in when your landlord will not let you register
  • A social services report, or a police or municipal check, if nobody will sign — registering without a contract

Household and online

  • Documents for children and other household members — registering your household
  • A digital certificate or Cl@ve, only for online registration — how town halls differ

Explore places

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