Applying for your Empadronamiento in Madrid is one of the most important steps to take when moving to Madrid (or Spain) or if you are willing to stay in the country for more than 6 months. 

Among the documents you will more likely need which require an Empadronamiento certificate are: TIE (identification number for non European citizens) and Social Security Number (Seguridad Social).

Those who need to apply for their NIE card (identification number for European citizens), don’t have to compulsory get their Empadronamiento in Madrid. In any case, if you are planning to stay longer than 6 months here, we recommend you apply for it in order to have many long term benefits...you will see! 

Important notice: 

The information below has been collected by the helpHousing team. Please, keep in mind that we are not directly related to any legal or government office and the information may change. Moreover, take into account that the procedure for Empadronamiento could be different in any city in Spain, since it is handled by each municipality (Ayuntamiento de Madrid).

More information about the Empadronamiento certificate

Empadronamiento in Spain stands for “Padrón Municipal de Habitantes” and is a document for the census record of the inhabitants in the city. This registration system helps the local government to keep track of the number of inhabitants, density and distribution of people in each area. 

Beside the case where the Empadronamiento in Madrid is obligatory, this certificate turns out to be quite important from a long term perspective. You may need it to obtain some legal papers, to register or apply for anything, or just prove for how long you have been living in Spain. The Empadronamiento in Madrid, among others, will definitely help you! 

In which case is the Empadronamiento certificate needed?

• To Apply/renew the TIE (identification number for non-EU citizens).
• To have access to the National Healthcare System (with the local insurance card) and choose a general doctor.
• To buy/sell a private vehicle.
• To obtain a driver’s license in Spain.
• To register a marriage certificate or a domestic partnership (Pareja de Hecho).
• To perform other administrative procedures.

Who has to apply for Empadronamiento in Madrid (or Spain)?

If you are an Erasmus student moving to Madrid for a brief time, or you are a tourist visiting for no longer than 90 days, you won’t need to apply for Empadronamiento in Madrid.

On the other end, both EU and non-EU citizens planning on staying more than 6 months need to apply for the Empadronamiento certificate. For non European citizens this registration certificate is even more important, in order to get their Residence permit in Spain and their TIE.

Get the documents ready to obtain your Empadronamiento in Madrid

Which are the documents you need to submit and to bring with you on the day of your appointment in the office?

• ID / Passport / Spanish DNI or NIE for EU citizens or Spanish citizens
• Passport and Residency card for non-EU citizens.
• Spanish telephone number (in order to proceed with the online application).
• Registration form (hoja padronal).
• Contract of the property in case you are the owner (original + copy).
• Current rental agreement in case you are a lessee of the house/room. Moreover you need to provide the last utilities bill or bank transfer.
• In case the rental contract is not in your name (e.g you are living with your partner), the person who’s in charge of the contract has to sign an authorisation paper. Moreover, on the day of the appointment you will have to provide his/her original passport or ID and the copy

Please note that all the documents must be in Spanish.

For more information about the required documents, check out the official Ayuntamiento page here.

Steps to obtain your Empadronamiento in Madrid

Here we will explain the most important things to do in order to obtain your Empadronamiento in Madrid: how to carry out the online application, to fill the forms, which documents to submit etc.

“Cita previa”: Empadronamiento Madrid online appointment

What does “Cita previa” mean? You will read these two Spanish words on many occasions. It means that you have to make an online appointment before going to the office for whichever service you need. 

Where to start to obtain your Empadronamiento in Madrid? 

Here are the steps you need to follow to get this document:

1. Go on the Ayuntamiento the Madrid website and click on “Pedir cita previa”.

2. It will take you to this page with 3 dropdowns. 

• Tipo de servicio: here you have to select “Padrón”
• Gestión: here select “Certificado de Empadronamiento”
• Oficina: here you can choose the office that suits you better (it should be in your neighbourhood).
• Fecha: select the date and time of your appointment according to the availability.

3. Once you select your appointment, the page will lead you to a form you will have to fill with your personal details and then click on “Continue”: 

• First and last name
• Type of document and number of document (ID/Passport)
• Mobile number. Make sure you have a Spanish sim card (+34), since the system automatically accepts only the 9 characters without the country code.
• Email
  

4. Go to the appointment with all the required documents (original + copies)

Keep in mind that there’s the chance that office staff at the "oficina de atención" do not speak English. Therefore, if you are not confident with your Spanish skills, we suggest you go with someone that would help you or simply make sure to have all your documents ready to be handed over. So you won’t need any further negotiations.

Click here if you need professional support to obtain your Empadronamiento in Madrid, but also other legal documents such as TIE or NIE.

And for further information, do not hesitate to contact us, we will be glad to help you.