NIE: Spanish identification number for foreigners
In 30 seconds
A NIE is the identification number Spain gives any foreigner who needs to bank, pay tax, inherit, register a car or buy property here. A property purchase is simply the most common reason people apply for one.
What is a NIE?
A NIE is a Spanish identification number issued to a foreigner who has an economic, professional or social reason to deal with Spain. Buying a property is one of the standard reasons, and it is the reason most buyers apply under. The number is assigned once, and it stays yours: a letter, seven digits and a closing letter, in that order.What you receive is not a card. It is a single A4 certificate stating the number, your name as it appears on your passport, the office that issued it, and the date. You do not carry it, and it is not photo identification. The notary, the bank and the tax office all want the number rather than the paper. But the paper is how you prove the number, so it is worth scanning it on the day you get it.A NIF is the other number people mean when they say tax number, and it is not the same document. A Spanish national or a Spanish company is filed under a NIF. As a foreign private individual, you are not normally issued one: your NIE already does the tax job, which is exactly why the two get confused.
Foreign Identity Number CertificateMinistry of the Interior · Directorate-General of the Police
- Number (NIE)
- X XXXXXXX L
- Apellidos y nombre
- APELLIDOS, NOMBRE
- Oficina y fecha
- POLICE STATION · DD/MM/YYYY
- Motivo
- ECONÓMICO
- Number (NIE). A letter, seven digits and a closing letter. This exact string goes on the deed.
- Apellidos y nombre. Copied from your passport, so the deed uses the same spelling. Check it before you leave the office.
- Oficina y fecha. The number never expires. The certificate itself can be reissued if you lose it.
- Motivo. For a purchase, the reason is economic, shown by your reservation contract.
Do I need a NIF as well as a NIE?Not as an individual buyer. Your NIE already works as your tax reference for the purchase, the annual property tax, and everything else connected to owning the property. A NIF only becomes relevant if you buy through a Spanish company, which is a different structure with its own tax adviser conversation.
What do you need a NIE for?
Almost everything administrative in Spain runs on this number, and the purchase is only the first of many uses. Once you own a property, people will ask for it several times a year, and most of them have no interest in the property itself.
- The deedYour NIE is printed on the escritura in front of the notary. Completion never happens without it, which is why you should start the application early, not fit it around a signing date.
- TaxThe purchase tax filing, the annual property tax and the non-resident income tax return are all filed against your NIE. This is how Spain knows which taxpayer the property belongs to.
- The bankA Spanish bank will not open an account for you without it, and the mortgage file, if there is one, is built on it.
- Utilities and contractsElectricity, water, the community of owners, insurance, and any rental contract are all signed against the number.
- Selling, laterThe same number follows you to the sale. A seller without a current NIE certificate must reissue it before completing, which is a small delay that arrives at the worst moment.
Do you need a NIE to buy a property in Spain?
Yes, and you need it before the deed, not at some later point in the process. The notary prints your NIE on the escritura, and nobody can sign a deed without the number on it. This is not a formality you can catch up on afterwards: no number means no completion, on the date you have already agreed.You do not need it to reserve a property, and you do not need it to instruct a lawyer. In practice, this means the application should be running from the week you reserve, alongside the legal check rather than after it. This is because the part of the process nobody controls is getting an appointment, and that part starts the clock.It is also one application per person, not one per purchase. Everyone whose name will appear as an owner on the deed needs their own NIE. This includes both spouses if both names go on, and any child named as an owner. Applications are individual and can run at the same time, but each one depends on its own appointment, so a household should start them together. Discovering two weeks before completion that only one of two owners has a number is the most avoidable delay in the whole process.
How much does a NIE cost?
The state charges 9,84 €. That is the entire official cost of a NIE. It is the same figure at a police station and at a consulate, and you pay it on Modelo 790, código 012, before the appointment, not at it.What varies is everything around the fee. If you apply yourself, that fee is all you pay. If somebody applies for you, you pay for their time and for the power of attorney that lets them act. Neither of those has a published price list.
| Government feeModelo 790, código 012 | 9,84 € |
|---|---|
| Representative acting for youonly if you do not attend yourself | ~150 € |
| Power of attorneynotary, plus an apostille (a certification stamp for documents signed abroad) if signed outside Spain | Quoted separately |
Is the fee different at a consulate?The Spanish fee is the same. A consulate collects it in local currency, at its own exchange rate, so the amount that leaves your account can differ slightly. Some consulates also add their own administrative charge for handling the file. Check the fee page of the specific consulate rather than assuming the Spanish figure applies exactly.
How do you get a NIE?
There are three routes, and which one is right for you depends on where you will physically be, not on preference. All three end with the same certificate, and all three cost the same in state fees.
- Option 1Apply in SpainYou are already making one viewing trip. This route uses that trip.
- Speed
- Set by the appointmentThe decision itself is quick. Getting a slot is not.
- Cost
- 9,84 €
- Hassle
- MediumYou attend in person, at an office you booked online.
- Option 2Apply at a consulateThe route for a buyer who will not be in Spain before a fixed signing date.
- Speed
- Set by the consulateEach consulate runs its own calendar.
- Cost
- 9,84 €Collected in local currency.
- Hassle
- MediumThe document list is set by that consulate, not by Madrid.
- Option 3RecommendedSomeone applies for youA representative files and collects the certificate on your behalf, under a power of attorney.
- Speed
- Runs without youStarts once you sign the power of attorney. If signed abroad, it also needs an apostille.
- Cost
- 9,84 €Plus the power of attorney, quoted separately.
- Hassle
- LowOne appointment left: signing the power of attorney.
Can somebody else apply for my NIE for me?Yes, through a representative acting under a power of attorney. This is the usual route for a buyer who does not plan to be physically in Spain for the application. It is one of the acts a purchase-specific power of attorney is normally drafted to cover.
How long does a NIE take?
The legal deadline is real and it is short: once your application is registered, the authority has 5 pracovních dní to decide. Silence after that counts as a refusal, not a delay. What that deadline does not cover is getting to "registered" in the first place, and that is where each route's real waiting time sits.In Spain, the bottleneck is the cita previa, the online appointment booking that every office requires before it will see you. Offices release slots one by one, with no published schedule, so a slot next week and a five-week wait are both normal, and nothing official guarantees either one. A consulate has the same problem, one level up: each one keeps its own calendar, and a wait of several weeks for a first available slot is common. The power of attorney route removes your own travel, but not the appointment itself, since your representative still has to book one. In practice, that route runs roughly two to four weeks from start to finish, from signing the power of attorney to holding the certificate.
So what is the realistic total, start to finish?There is no single honest number, because the deciding factor, appointment availability, is not published by any of the three routes, and it changes week to week and office to office. The power of attorney route is the most predictable of the three, at roughly two to four weeks from start to finish. This is because it removes the one variable you would otherwise be managing yourself.
What is the procedure, step by step?
This is the sequence for an application made inside Spain, which is the one most buyers use. A consulate uses the same documents, but in a different order, set by its own instructions.
- Pay the Modelo 790 código 012 feeThe fee is 9,84 €, and you pay it before the appointment, at a bank counter or online. An application that arrives unpaid is not processed.
- Where
- A Spanish bank, or the Policía Nacional electronic office.
- Watch out
- The same form also carries the certificado de no residencia, at a different código and a different fee. The wrong código means the application is not processed.
- Book a cita previaNothing moves until there is an appointment, and you book the appointment online, rather than by turning up at the office.
- Where
- sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es
- Watch out
- Appointment availability is what really decides your timeline, and nothing published guarantees it.
- Complete form EX-15 and tick the correct boxOne form requests a NIE, a certificado de no residencia, or both. The box you tick decides which document you get.
- Watch out
- The wrong box asks for the wrong document, and you find that out at the counter, not before.
- Attend with your passport and the reason for the applicationSpain issues a NIE for a reason. For a purchase, that reason is economic, and the reservation contract is the usual proof for it.
- Where
- The office you booked, in person or through your representative.
- Collect the certificateYou leave with one A4 sheet carrying your number. This is the sheet the notary and the bank will ask to see.
- How long
- 5 pracovních dní, once the application is registered.
- Watch out
- Getting to registered is the unpublished part. The deadline is real, but it starts later than most readers expect.
Position as of 17 August 2026, taken from the Spanish National Police electronic office. No route publishes how long it takes to reach the point where an application is registered. This depends on appointment availability and differs between offices and consulates. The legal deadline above applies only once an application is registered, which is a separate and later moment.
Is the five-day legal deadline the same as how long the whole application takes?No, and this distinction is worth remembering. The five working days is the maximum time the authority has to decide, once your file is already registered. Reaching that registered starting point depends on an appointment. No route publishes a timeframe for this, and it varies between offices and consulates. The published deadline is real; it just is not the whole answer to "how long will this take?"
What goes wrong with a NIE application?
Almost nothing goes wrong at the counter. What goes wrong is timing: an application that starts late, stalls on an unmentioned detail, or covers only one owner, while an agreed completion date keeps getting closer regardless.
- Matters mostThe application has not started yet, weeks into the purchase.Nothing speeds up an appointment once completion is close, so a late start becomes the whole timeline.What to do insteadFile in the week you reserve, alongside the legal check, not around a signing date.
- Costs an appointmentThe Modelo 790 fee is paid under the wrong código, the one for the certificado de no residencia instead of the NIE.The application is simply not processed, and you lose both the appointment and the fee.What to do insteadConfirm código 012 for the NIE itself before paying, not after.
- Costs an appointmentThe wrong box is ticked on form EX-15, requesting the other document.You find out at the counter, not before, and the correction costs another appointment.What to do insteadCheck the box against the reason for applying before the appointment, not during it.
- Costs a redraftA power of attorney was drafted for the purchase but never names the NIE application.A representative can only act on what the document names. So it is refused for the NIE, and has to be redrafted, and re-apostilled if it was signed abroad.What to do insteadHave the NIE application named clearly in the power of attorney before it is signed.
- Matters mostOnly one of two future owners has started a NIE application.Every name on the deed needs its own number, and people usually discover this with no time left to fix it.What to do insteadStart every named owner’s application together, from day one.
The real consequence sits in your purchase contract, not in anything the police do. A private purchase contract sets a completion date, and its deadlines are binding. So a missed date is a contractual matter between you and the seller, not an administrative one. That is a separate subject with its own page, and it is the reason to start this application early rather than fit it in later.
Does a NIE make you a Spanish resident?
No. A NIE is an identification number, and it carries no permission to live in Spain, no residency status, and no effect on where you pay tax. Buying a property does not put you on a path to either one, and holding the number does not change that.The confusion is real, and it has a cause: a document that carries the same number proves residency in Spain. An EU citizen who decides to stay longer than three months registers separately and receives a small green certificate. This is why people talk about a "green NIE" as though it were a different number. It is the same number on a different piece of paper, and it is a separate application you make for a separate reason.
- NIEForeigner Identity Number
- Who it is for
- Any foreigner with an economic reason to deal with Spain. Buying a property is one.
- What it proves
- Nothing about residency. It identifies you, and it is your tax reference.
- What you hold
- One A4 certificate. Not a card, not photo identification.
- Green certificateCertificado de registro de ciudadano de la UE, form EX-18
- Who it is for
- An EU citizen who stays in Spain longer than three months and registers.
- What it proves
- That you are legally resident. Name, nationality, address and registration date.
- What you hold
- A small green paper certificate, carrying the NIE you already hold.
- TIEForeigner identity card
- Who it is for
- A non-EU national holding a Spanish residence permit. An EU citizen never gets one.
- What it proves
- A residence permit that buying a property does not produce.
- What you hold
- A plastic card with a photograph. Nothing in the NIE process leads to one.
What is the difference between the NIE and the "green NIE" certificate?They share the same underlying number. Spain issues the green certificate to an EU citizen who registers as resident after deciding to stay more than three months, and it is a residency document. Most buyers only ever hold the plain NIE, which is an identification number, not a residency status.
Do you need a NIE to open a Spanish bank account?
Yes. A Spanish bank will not open an account for a foreign individual without one, and for a purchase you will want the account anyway: the notary, the utilities, and the community of owners all expect payment from a Spanish account.The bank will usually ask for a second document at the same time, and this is where a genuinely costly mix-up can start. The certificado de no residencia is a police certificate confirming that you are not a Spanish resident. You request it on the SAME form as the NIE, form EX-15, at a different fee, and it is a different document doing a different job.The two are not interchangeable, and neither are their validity periods. The police certificate is valid for three months from the day it is issued. The document that is valid for two years is the bank's own non-residency tax declaration, under Orden EHA/3202/2008. You sign this at the bank, and it is not a police document at all. Presenting a three-month police certificate as though it were the two-year bank declaration is exactly the mistake worth avoiding, and we explain it in full on the bank account guide.Your NIE, by contrast, does not expire. The fee for the certificado de no residencia is 7,31 €, against 9,84 € for the NIE itself. This is the other reason people assume they are the same transaction.
Do I need the certificado de no residencia to buy a property?Not for the purchase itself. You need it if a Spanish bank asks for it when opening or maintaining a non-resident account. This is a common requirement, but it is separate from the property transaction.
What do you need to bring to the application?
This is the paperwork side, and it is the same list whichever of the three routes applies to you.- Your passport, valid and in dateThe document that confirms your identity and nationality. A passport close to its expiry date is what gets declined. Offices apply this rule more or less strictly.
- Completed form EX-15The application itself. It also carries the check-box for whether you are requesting a NIE, a certificado de no residencia, or both. The wrong box is the usual mistake. It asks for the wrong document, not the one you came for.
- Proof of the economic, professional or social reason for the applicationSpain issues a NIE for a reason, and buying a property is a standard and accepted one. For a purchase, this is typically the reservation contract, or an equivalent document showing a transaction in progress.
- The Modelo 790 código 012 fee, paidSpain does not process the application unless you have paid the fee beforehand, at a bank or online. Paying the wrong código on the same form is the trap: one code is for the NIE fee, and another is for the certificado de no residencia.
- A power of attorney, if someone else is applying on your behalfNeeded for a representative to file and collect the certificate for you. A power of attorney that does not clearly name the NIE application will not be accepted for it.
Where the NIE sits in the purchase
The full purchase has fifteen steps, from the first call to the keys. The NIE is step ten, and it runs alongside the legal check rather than after it.Step 10 of 15
- NIE, and the rest of the paperworkAt the same time as the legal due diligenceYou file the NIE while the legal check is still running, not after it. This is because the deed needs the number, and completion never happens without it.
What a NIE is not
This is general information about the NIE, current as of 17 August 2026 and read from official sources rather than copied from a relocation blog. It is not immigration advice. A NIE and Spanish residency are two entirely different questions with two different answers. Buying a property does not put you on a path to either residency or Spanish tax residency on its own.We will not give a firm number for how long it takes to receive a NIE. This is because the part that determines it, getting an application registered, is not published by either official route, and it varies by office and by consulate. Anyone who gives you a confident date for the whole process is guessing about the part that is not in their control.None of this is an offer to file your application. An independent lawyer does that, and where the timing needs coordinating around a purchase, that is covered in a separate guide.
The most common questions about NIE
- Can I get a NIE before I have found a property?
- Yes. A NIE is not tied to a specific property, only to having a genuine economic, professional or social reason for it, and an active property search is generally accepted for that purpose. Getting it early removes it as a bottleneck later.
- Does a NIE expire?
- The number itself, once assigned, does not expire. What can need renewing is the physical certificate that confirms it, if you lose it or need a fresh copy for a new purpose.
- Can I use my NIE for anything other than buying property?
- Yes. Once assigned, you use it for tax filings, for opening certain accounts, for signing contracts, and for connecting utilities. It becomes the number Spain administratively knows you by, well beyond the purchase itself.
- What happens at completion if my NIE has not come through yet?
- The number must be on the deed, so completion cannot proceed without it. This is exactly why you should start the application early and run it in parallel with the legal check, rather than leaving it until a signing date is already fixed.
- Does every buyer in a couple need their own NIE?
- Yes, if both names go on the deed. Spain issues a NIE to a person, not to a purchase, so two owners means two applications. They can run at the same time, but each depends on its own appointment, which is why a household should start them together and early.
