How to Register Your Address (Empadronamiento) in Barcelona

Hi everyone! Today I’m going to explain how to register your address (empadronamiento) in Barcelona. We did it just one week after arriving. Luckily, a friend offered to let us register at his place. I’ll share my experience, the steps to register, and the different ways you can do it.

!! Updated March 2025

There are different ways to complete this process in Barcelona, but I know many people who choose this option since it’s usually the easiest. So if you have a friend living here, send them a quick message—maybe they can help you out (and hey, a bottle of wine as a thank-you gift never hurts!). If not, don’t stress—many apartments allow you to register, it’s just a matter of looking around.

First things first: registering means officially telling Spain that you’re going to live here. You need to do it if you’ll be staying longer than 3 months—whether you’re an EU citizen or not. It’s the first step in settling down here since it gives you access to certain rights such as public healthcare, school enrollment for children, and it’s also required for most immigration-related procedures (family reunification, arraigo social/familiar, etc.).

I’ll tell you about my own experience first, and then explain the other ways you can register.

Booking an appointment to register your address (empadronamiento) in Barcelona

Before starting, note that you need a Spanish mobile number to confirm the appointment (and for other processes too). Sometimes the system only asks for an email, but most of the time it will ask for a phone number.

In Facebook groups you’ll find people who have been living here for a while and may lend you their number if you don’t know anyone locally yet. Otherwise, once you arrive in Spain you can call 010 and they’ll give you an appointment for registering. They’re usually super friendly, and often you’ll get an appointment quicker than booking online.

We booked our appointment from Argentina using this website by clicking on “Solicitud de una cita.” We chose whichever office offered the closest date to our arrival. You don’t need to go to the office closest to your address—any office in Barcelona will do.

Here’s a screenshot of what you need to select under “Selección Telemática,” since that section can be confusing. (Updated July 2023)

With just one appointment, both my partner and I registered together. From what I’ve heard, up to 4–5 people can register under the same appointment if they’re family (partners and children). You don’t need an appointment per person, and the process is completely free.

How to Register Your Address (Empadronamiento) in Barcelona: The day of the appointment

Important: the person who allows you to register at their home (whether they own or rent) does not need to come with you. They can, but it’s unnecessary.

We arrived 10 minutes early, they checked our names on the list, and we were called in just a couple of minutes later. Honestly, I was more nervous about this than when we actually entered Spain. Luckily, they were very kind and checked all our documents (see below).

Since we registered at a rented apartment (not in our name), we brought:

• Copy of the rental contract showing the landlord’s information and the tenant who allowed us to register.
• Latest rent payment receipt with the address and name included.
• Copy of the ID of the person who allowed us to register (in our case, a Spanish DNI).
• The authorization form for registration, filled and signed by the person giving us permission.
• Our original IDs (no copies needed). We brought our passports (mine Italian, my partner’s Argentinian).

They also asked us where we lived before Barcelona, our emails and/or phone numbers, and our highest level of education.

That was it! We walked out with the registration completed. They gave each of us two certificates (volantes de empadronamiento). These expire after 3 months, but you can request new ones by calling 010 or online with your digital certificate.

Tip: you can also get copies at the “self-service kiosks” for administrative services located in different parts of the city—citizen service offices (OAC), municipal libraries, civic centers, and even some shopping centers.

They also explained that:

• EU citizens need to confirm they still live in Barcelona every 5 years.
• Non-EU citizens must confirm every 2 years.

And that’s it—first paperwork done!

Note: These certificates are often required for registering as a civil union (pareja de hecho) or applying for your NIE, so make sure you request extra copies.

Other ways to Register Your Address (Empadronamiento) in Barcelona

• **Registering at a friend/family member’s home (owner):**If your friend or family owns the property, you may need either a rental contract or the property deed. You’ll also need the authorization form and a copy of their ID.
• **Registering at your own rented place:**If your name is on the lease, bring the original rental contract signed by all parties, a copy of the landlord’s ID, your passports, and ideally a utility bill in your name. Update 2022: When we re-registered at our current apartment, they didn’t ask for the utility bill since our lease was months old. But maybe we were lucky. It’s always better to bring it just in case.Update Dec 2024: If you use a utility bill to prove the address, they may require proof of payment. Since most bills are paid by direct debit, you might need a bank statement showing the charge or a “zero debt” certificate from the utility company.
• **Without a rental contract (staying with the property owner):**If you don’t make a rental contract, then you must bring the property deed along with your IDs, the owner’s ID, and the authorization form signed by them.

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Registering without a fixed address

If you don’t have a permanent address, you can still register in Barcelona, but first you’ll need an ICR report (Informe de Conocimiento de Residencia) issued by Social Services.

Key points:

1. The ICR is valid for 3 months from the date of issue.
2. You’ll be registered at a municipal Social Services Center address.

The process starts the same way: request an appointment online or by phone. On that day, you must bring the ICR form filled in (one per person). If you’re registering a child, the legal guardian must complete the request.

You’ll need to list the address where you’re currently staying (Airbnb, friend’s place, etc.), since that’s where notifications will be sent. Bring your original passport/ID.

Once Social Services approves, you can use the ICR to complete the registration. However, I don’t recommend this route unless it’s your only option since it can take a long time.

The Municipal Institute of Social Services issues the certified notifications approving the issuance of the ICR, which specify the deadline, place, and time for collecting the report. I don’t have information yet on how long this process actually takes, but I’ll update the blog as soon as I do 🙂

What I can tell you is that the Institute has up to three months to respond to the request. If no response is given, the application is considered rejected. For this reason, I don’t recommend this option, since the waiting times are usually too long for someone arriving from Argentina eager to settle down and likely needing to start working.

In any case, you can check the status of your ICR application through the “La OAC te llama” service, by filling out the form in this section:

Once the Institute notifies you that you can collect your ICR, as I mentioned earlier, you then have 3 months to complete your registration (empadronamiento). You’ll need to book another appointment and, on that day, go with your passport ready to register.

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Changing your registered address (empadronamiento) in Barcelona

If you move, you need to update your registration. The process is similar: book an appointment and bring the same documents as the first time, depending on your housing situation.

If you can’t go in person, someone else can do it for you with this authorization form and this other one, copies of your IDs, and their own ID in original.

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Here’s another scenario: you emigrated, registered (empadronaste) during your first days in Spain using your passport, and later applied for residency (CUE or TIE, doesn’t matter). Shortly after receiving these documents, you suddenly need an updated registration certificate (volante de empadronamiento) for some procedure—for example, exchanging your driver’s license.

If you have a digital certificate, you can request a copy of your «volante» online. But here’s the issue: when you first registered, you did it with your passport, and the digital certificate is linked to your NIE number (the one on your CUE or TIE). Matching this information (“Mike has THIS passport and also THIS NIE, therefore she’s the same person”) takes a little while to update in the system.

The same happens if you stop being a resident (with a TIE) and later become a Spanish citizen. If you want to update that detail (or any other), you can:

• Call 010 (it takes about a month to update),
• Do it in person (it updates immediately),
• Or simply wait—usually less than 3 months—and the system updates automatically.

The fastest way to make sure your information is matched correctly is to go back to the same office where you first registered (after booking an appointment) and show them your IDs to prove you’re the same person. Easy.

NOW, if you can’t go and need someone else to do it for you, that’s also possible! You’ll need to give them this authorization form with your details and theirs, signed. Then, give your friend who’s helping you (along with a hug and maybe some chocolate 😉 ) a copy of your IDs (passport + CUE / DNI / TIE, whichever applies), and they’ll need to bring their own ID in original.

And that’s it—the process is automatic! 😀
That’s our full experience! Hope this post helps you. If you have questions about this or any other process, or if you’re thinking about moving to Barcelona, a need personalized help, feel free to email me at viajandoasesorado@gmail.com—we can chat about the paperwork you need, and even set up a video call if you’d like one-on-one guidance.

See you soon! 😀