Step · City hall

Register at your town hall (padrón)

The padrón is your town council’s register of the people who live in the municipality. By law everyone who lives in Spain must be on the padrón of the municipality where they usually live, and you become a resident of the municipality from the moment you are registered. Each council sets its own office, booking, form and document list.

Why it matters

The law applies to foreigners as well as Spaniards. The padrón certificate is a public document valid for all administrative purposes. Registering does not by itself prove legal residence in Spain.

When

You start living in a municipality, or you move to a different one.

Last checked

21 Oct 2026

What you need

• An identity document. The regulation says the council may ask for the foreigner identity card, the passport, the family book or a birth certificate (Reglamento de Población, art. 59.2)
• Proof that you live at the address. The 2020 technical instructions refer to the title that legitimizes occupying the home, such as a current rental contract for a main residence, and say the council may accept other documents after checks it considers appropriate
• If you register at a home where other people are already registered, the 2020 instructions say the council asks for written authorization from an adult registered there instead of a housing title
• The registration form (hoja padronal) signed by every resident whose data is on it, or by their legal representative (art. 59.1)
• The exact list of documents is published by your own council: check its padrón page

Steps

1. Find your council’s padrón page
   The council manages the padrón (Ley 7/1985, art. 17) and must give residents registration forms in paper or electronic format (Reglamento, art. 58.1). Look for the padrón page on your council’s website or sede electrónica to see how it takes registrations.
2. Book an appointment if your council asks for one
   Whether you need an appointment, can register online or can walk in is decided by your council. This guide cannot confirm it for every municipality.
3. Bring your documents and the signed form
   Bring an identity document, proof of the address in one of the forms your council accepts, and the registration form signed by everyone listed on it. The council checks the data you give (Resolución de 17 de febrero de 2020).
4. Ask for your certificate or volante
   A certificate (certificación) is a public document valid for all administrative purposes and is issued by the council’s secretary. A volante is a purely informational document that councils may issue (Reglamento, arts. 53 and 61). Ask your council which one it gives you and how to request later copies.
5. Renew every two years if this applies to you
   If you are a non-EU foreigner without a long-term residence authorization, your entry must be renewed every two years, and the renewal needs an express act. Otherwise it can lapse without a prior hearing (Ley 7/1985, art. 16; 2020 instructions). Ask your council how it takes renewals.
6. Tell the council when you move
   If you change municipality, you must ask for registration in the municipality you are moving to (Reglamento, art. 70).

Tips

• If you live in more than one municipality during the year, the law says to register only in the one where you live for the longest time each year (Ley 7/1985, art. 15).
• Your padrón data may be passed to other public administrations that ask for it, without your prior consent, when they need it for their own duties (Ley 7/1985, art. 16).

Official sources

• Ley 7/1985, de 2 de abril, Reguladora de las Bases del Régimen Local (arts. 15-18)
• Resolución de 17 de febrero de 2020, instrucciones técnicas a los Ayuntamientos sobre gestión del padrón municipal
• Real Decreto 1690/1986, Reglamento de Población y Demarcación Territorial de las Entidades Locales