Good to know · Family
Register a birth in Spain
Every birth in Spain must be registered in the Registro Civil. Hospitals send the declaration within 72 hours; if they don’t, or the baby was born outside a hospital, the parents must declare it within ten days.
- Why it matters
- The Spanish birth entry is the child’s first official record in Spain and is needed for the child’s other paperwork, whatever the parents' nationality.
- When
- A baby is born in Spain.
- How long it takes
- Hospitals: within 72 hours of the birth. Parents, when the hospital has not sent it: within ten days (Ley 20/2011, arts. 46-47).
- Official page
- Inscripción de Nacimiento (sede electrónica)
- Last checked
- 20 Oct 2026
In the guide: the 3 steps, what to bring (4 items), the office with addresses and hours, and 2 Easy to miss lines, with every official source.
One Easy to miss, on us
For a birth outside a health center, or if the hospital’s paperwork wasn’t sent in time, the people obliged (including the parents) have ten days to declare it at a Registro Civil or consular office.