Register on the padron at your town hall
Get on the municipal register (empadronamiento) of the town where you live, then ask for the volante or certificado that other offices ask for.
For: Anyone living in Spain, EU or non-EU, who has just moved to a town or changed address and needs to be on the padron.
Last checked
What you need
Steps
Decide which town to register in: the one where you live most of the year.
If you live in several municipalities, you register in only one.
Find your own town hall (ayuntamiento) page or office for the padron and check how it takes applications.
The padron is run by each town hall, so booking, forms and online options differ.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Get the registration form (hoja padronal) from the town hall and fill it in.
Only the data the law lists as obligatory is compulsory; other fields are voluntary.
Write the town or country you moved from in the application.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Make sure every adult whose data is on the form signs it.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Hand in the form with your ID and your proof of address at the town hall.
The town hall may check the documents before it registers you.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Ask for the volante de empadronamiento, or the certificado if the office that wants it names that one.
A volante is enough for many procedures, but not where the certificado is specifically required.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Ask whether your town hall also sends volantes by post or online, for the next time you need one.
INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
Done when: You are registered at your address and hold a volante or certificado de empadronamiento from your town hall.
Common mistakes
- Bringing an expired ID. It is refused unless you also bring the renewal application. INE technical instructions to town halls on the padron (BOE)
- Forgetting the renewal: non-EU foreigners without long-term residence must renew their registration every two years. Ley 7/1985, arts. 15 and 16 (BOE)
What varies
Each town hall runs its own padron: how you book, which form it uses, whether you can apply online or by post, how fast the volante comes and which extra proof it accepts instead of a lease (the law lets it accept other documents such as utility bills). Check the page of your own ayuntamiento. The Madrid and Valencia town hall pages could not be read automatically, so this recipe uses only the national rules.
Who can do this for you
This page is general information, not legal advice.