Line S · Settling in · Stop S1
Empadronamiento in Madrid: your address on the city’s register
You register on the padrón, the empadronamiento, at any Línea Madrid office of the Ayuntamiento, by cita previa, with the signed registration sheet, your identity document and proof that you use the home. The certificate it produces turns up again and again: school places, the health centre, several residence files.
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped and resized.
Where it is done: the Línea Madrid offices
The Ayuntamiento handles the padrón at its Oficinas de Atención a la Ciudadanía, known as Línea Madrid: 23 offices spread over the districts, plus auxiliary offices in Aravaca, Las Tablas and El Pardo. You can use any of them, whatever the address you are registering.
The city’s own cita previa
- New registrations (altas), changes of address and the other padrón procedures need an appointment, booked in the city’s own appointment system
- One appointment per person every 30 days, and one address per appointment
- The booking goes in the name of the adult who takes part in the procedure
- A padrón certificate (certificado de empadronamiento) needs no appointment at most offices, except the auxiliary ones in Aravaca, El Pardo and Las Tablas
Source madrid.es: padrón procedures with cita previaBook the padrón appointment
Papers for the counter
- The hoja padronal, the registration sheet, signed by every adult being registered
- Valid identity documents: foreign nationals bring the originals
- Proof that you use the dwelling, such as a rental contract or a deed, plus any authorisation the case requires
Renewing it as a foreign national
Some foreign residents receive a letter from the city asking them to renew or confirm their registration. That has an appointment of its own: bring the letter and your original, valid identity document.
Other help from the Ayuntamiento
The Ayuntamiento runs two information offices for people arriving from abroad, one in the north at Calle Juan Pantoja 2 and one in the south at Calle Vía Carpetana 99. They advise on the padrón, healthcare and the health card, schooling, housing, training and work, and they offer Spanish classes, document translation and telephone interpreting.
The city also funds free legal guidance on residence and work permits, visas, nationality and other immigration matters, given by lawyers of the Madrid bar association, by appointment, at the social services centres of the districts.
Source madrid.es: information offices for newcomersmadrid.es: legal guidance on immigration
Our part in it
We check that your rental contract or authorisation fits what the office asks for, prepare the sheet with you, and fit the appointment into the rest of your route, so the certificate is ready when another desk wants it.
Information point
Questions about Empadronamiento
Is the padrón the same as residency?
No. It records your address with the city. Your residence status comes from the EU certificate or from your TIE.
Do I need a cita previa for a padrón certificate?
Not at most offices: the city issues certificados de empadronamiento without an appointment, except at the auxiliary offices of Aravaca, El Pardo and Las Tablas.
My name is not on the lease. Can I still register?
The city asks for proof that you use the dwelling and any authorisation that goes with it, so an authorisation from the person who holds the lease is the usual route. Ask us before you book.
Do I update it when I move?
Yes. A change of address within Madrid is a padrón procedure of its own, with its own appointment.
Plan your route
Get this stop prepared
Tell us your situation and dates for “Empadronamiento (padrón)”. We reply by email with your route and what we can take on.
- Tell us where you stand
- We map your route
- Paperwork prepared
Prefer email? desk@nie-madrid.com