Registering with your local council

Registering with your local council is the process of confirming your habitual place of residence in Spain. You must register with the local council of the municipality in which you live.

Generally, you can request your census registration certificate by submitting:

• Your ID card or passport
• And a tenancy agreement (which allows you to register), authorisation from the property owner, or authorisation from the person holding the tenancy agreement.

Consult these links for further information on the requirements for registering in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and Donostia/San Sebastián.

Important:

• Any non-EU foreign national who does not have a permanent residence permit must re-register with their local council every 2 years.
• Foreign nationals with permanent residence permits must confirm their registration every 2 or 5 years, as applicable.

Please contact your local council to find out how and when you should complete this procedure. Please note that if you do not complete this procedure, your local council may initiate proceedings to remove you from its register of inhabitants. Consult these links for further information on this procedure in the local councils of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Bilbao and Donostia/San Sebastián.