Empadronamiento: Unlike the census in the U.S. or Canada which is done every handful of years, Spaniards update their living situation immediately. Registering in the padrón is a requirement when living in Spain.
When getting your first apartment or switching apartments in Spain, you must apply for empadronamiento. Additionally, Non-EU citizens on a visa need to renew their empadronamiento every 2 years. EU citizens and permanent residents need to update it every 5 years.
After finding an apartment and signing a lease, you can now register yourself at your apartment’s address at any district office (Oficina de Distrito) in your area. This can be a requirement* for applying for a residency card, so make sure to get this taken care of immediately after getting an apartment.
*Sometimes your Empadronamiento is not requested when applying for a TIE. In my experience it was requested about 50% of the time. Regardless, it can be useful for many other bureaucratic steps in Spain.
Getting empadronado is a straightforward process. First, request an appointment online at your oficina de distrito. Second, make sure you have your ID, application form, and proof of residence.
When you turn in your documents at the district office, they will either stamp a copy of your application form or provide you with a separate paper including your application details. These are both considered a Volante de Empadronamiento. For the TIE appointment, the Volante should be sufficient, but some bureaucrats will require the official padron. In about a month, you can apply for the more official Certificado de Empadronamiento if you so need. Again, this can be done at the district office.
How to Empadronarse
Getting an Appointment
There is no website for all of Spain to schedule an appointment. You need to find the website that corresponds with your city/town to request an appointment online.
Sometimes, especially in smaller towns, an appointment is not needed. You can just walk in with your documents and register your address.
Making an appointment is very simple. Just google “Cita Previa (My Region) Padrón“. The first result in my experience has always been the correct website.
Here are some examples below:
**If you are unable to make an appointment online, you can always go in person to your district office. There, you will either be able to get information on making an appointment or present your documents.
Find your city/town’s cita previa website, click the link, and search for “Solicitud de cita previa”, “Trámite”, or “Altas, bajas y cambio de domicilio en Padrón”. Each region has a slightly different website and process, but your goal will be to make an appointment at an Oficina de Distrito for Padrón – Altas, bajas y cambio de domicilio.
Once you request an appointment, they will ask for your personal information. Afterwards, you can request an appointment time, date, and location. It is always preferable to choose an office close to you, but if there are no appointments available, you can choose any office within your region. Once you complete all of these steps, you will be sent an appointment confirmation via email.
Required Documents
For your appointment, you need to bring the original and copy of your ID (passport + copy of the data page), the application form, and proof of residence (rental contract or a utility bill in your name).
(generally, they accept utility bills over everything else, so try to get a utility bill in your name or the rental contract alongside a utility bill in your landlord’s name)
In addition to your rental contract, they may request proof of rental payments, a utility bill at the apartment’s address under the name of your landlord or yourself, and/or a copy of your landlord’s ID and their signature. If you have roommates who are already empadronado in the apartment, they may ask for their signatures and a copy of their IDs as well (below in the webpage, you can find an example of the type of letter you can write to include their signature and ID).
Each region, office, and bureaucrat may ask for different things. The back of your hoja padronal will typically provide specific instructions for your region.
ID: Passport + copy of the data page.
Application Form: each region has their own application form. This can usually be found at the Cita Previa website.
If you are having trouble finding it, you can also google “Hoja Padronal – (region)“.
The application forms in general are very similar. They ask for your apartment’s address, your personal information, and a signature. I will give an example with the form from Sevilla.
To fill out the address section, copy the address written down in your rental contract. You do not have fill out all of the boxes to complete the address section. Many individual boxes may be irrelevant for you. My current apartment has blocks, floors, and alphabetically labelled doors, so I would only include bloque, piso, and puerta information along with the street name, street #, and ZIP code.
Interestingly, the application form usually asks for your level of studies. At the bottom of the page, they offer a key with codes for different levels of education. Enter the corresponding code into the “Nivel de estudios” box above.
Finally, it usually asks for your reason for the change in address – change in residency, change in home, birth, or omission.
At the bottom of the first page, you might find a section where either the owner or another individual who is empadronado at the property authorizes you to empadronarse at the address.
“This section must be completed when there are other residents registered at the address.
The authorization must be signed by a person of legal age who is empadronado at the address. They must have the title accrediting their effective possession of the property.
In the event that none of the registered persons has the title to the property, the property owner must sign the authorization…”
Previously, when I registered my address, there were no other residents empadronado there. The landlord lived elsewhere, and my roommate and I were registering together at the same time, so it was not necessary to complete this section.
Another time, my roommate registered after me, so I should have completed the section granting authorization. Because I didn’t, they later on requested that I provide a copy of my TIE and a short statement granting authorization.
In the event that you need and are unable to get authorization from your landlord (for example, they are trying to receive tax free rent income), you can still present the documents you do have. I recommend avoiding these situations, but depending on your luck, you may find a bureaucrat that will accept you. Providing extra documents such as utility bills in your name will also help.
Make sure to read the entirety of the instructions found at the bottom of the page. Follow the instructions carefully to complete the application form, and sign it after printing out the form. Bring an extra copy.
Proof of Residence: Rental contract, utility bill in your name, or other.
Ideal situation: you have your name on the official rental contract and it has been dutifully signed by the landlord and yourself. Additionally, you have a utility bill in your name or the owner’s name.
Bring your rental contract, a copy, and the utility bill.
Another good situation: you don’t have an official rental contract with your name on it, but you are paying for the utilities, and they are under your name.
Print out the paid utility bill showing your name and the corresponding address of your apartment. Make sure to bring an extra copy.
Not a great situation: the rental contract and/or utility bills are under the name of a roommate.
Bring the rental contract and/or utility bills along with a letter from your roommate stating that you are living at the stated address. Alongside the letter, bring a scanned copy of their ID (or better yet, ask them to come to the padrón appointment with their ID). Make sure to bring extra copies.
Letter:
“Yo, Roommate’s Full name, con DNI ____________ certifico que Your Full name, con pasaporte _________ reside conmigo en la siguiente dirección ______
(Signature)”
Receiving Your Volante
Head to your appointment at the scheduled time. There is usually a kiosk where you can enter you passport number to receive a waiting ticket with a number. Wait for your turn, and approach the counter when your number is called. Turn in all of your documents and request an alta de padrón.
After processing your documents, you will be given the Volante de Empadronamiento mentioned before. It will either be a stamped application form or a separate sheet printed out with your empadronamiento information. This should be sufficient for your Toma de Huellas appointment when applying for a TIE.
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Now, back to the guide.
Certificado de Empadronamiento
About a month following your appointment, you will be able to request a Certificado de Empadronamiento at any office in the region. Make sure to bring your ID with you alongside your appointment. You can apply for an appointment exactly the same way you did previously. No extra application forms are needed because you should be already registered. Regardless, it’s a good idea to bring your volante de empadronamiento as well.
For certain bureaucratic processes in Spain, the Certificado de Empadronamiento must not be more than three months old to be considered valid proof of address. It is a very simple process to request a current dated Certificado de Empadronamiento, and it can be done whenever you might need it.
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