Registering a birth in Spain and getting your baby's papers
Updated October 13, 2026 · sources checked October 13, 2026
In short
In Spain, the hospital sends the birth to the Civil Registry within 72 hours using the form you sign on the ward; otherwise parents have 10 days to declare it. Then register your baby on the padrón, get a passport from your consulate and, if you are non-EU residents, apply in person for your baby's residence authorisation within 6 months of the birth.
The five steps, in order
| Step | Where | Deadline or rule |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Birth registration | Hospital, then Civil Registry | Hospital sends it within 72 hours; otherwise 10 days |
| 2. Birth certificate | Civil Registry (electronic) | Issued once the registration is made |
| 3. Padrón | Your town hall | Everyone living in Spain must be registered |
| 4. Passport | Your consulate | Your country's rules |
| 5. Residence (non-EU families) | Oficina de Extranjería, then police | Apply within 6 months of the birth; TIE card within 1 month of the grant |
Step 1: the birth registration happens at the hospital
The Civil Registry law (Ley 20/2011, article 46) requires hospitals and clinics to send each birth to the competent Civil Registry office within 72 hours, electronically. While you are on the ward, a member of staff will ask you to fill in and sign the official declaration form. On it you state:
- your baby's first name;
- the order of the surnames, if both parents' filiation is established;
- the identity and nationality of the declarants;
- the second parent's filiation.
The form is sent together with the medical report signed by the doctor or midwife who attended the birth. Once the registrar has examined the documents, the registration is made immediately and an electronic literal certificate is made available to the declarants (article 44.8).
If the hospital could not send it, or for a home birth
Article 47 gives those obliged to register the birth, including the parents, 10 days to declare it at the Civil Registry office or at a consular registry office. After that, a registry file is required, which takes longer.
Names and surnames
First names are freely chosen, within limits: no more than two simple names or one compound name, and none contrary to dignity or confusing for identification (article 51). When both parents' filiation is established, the parents agree the order in which each passes on their first surname before registration. If they disagree, the registrar gives them three days and then decides in the child's best interests (article 49).
Good to know
Before the birth, ask your consulate how your country forms a child's surname and how it will treat the name recorded in Spain. A mismatch between the Spanish certificate and your country's passport is much easier to prevent than to correct.
Married, unmarried and two-mother families
Article 44.4 of the Civil Registry law sets out how the second parent's filiation is recorded:
- Married parents: the husband's paternity follows the presumptions of civil law; if the birth mother is married to a woman, the other mother's filiation is recorded with the consent of both spouses.
- Unmarried parents: the father or non-gestational mother's filiation is recorded with that parent's consent, if it does not contradict the presumptions of civil law and there is no dispute.
- If the mother is married to someone other than the person named on the declaration, the birth is registered at once with the maternal filiation only, and a file is opened to determine the other filiation.
A child can also be recognised at any time after registration (article 44.6); before the registrar, this needs the birth mother's express consent.
No more Libro de Familia
Since 30 April 2021, Spain no longer issues Libros de Familia (Civil Registry law, transitional provision three); those issued earlier keep their effects. Each person now has an individual electronic record. For consulates and immigration offices, ask for the literal certificate (certificación literal).
Step 2: the padrón
Under the law on local government (Ley 7/1985, article 15), every person who lives in Spain must register on the padrón of the municipality where they habitually live, and that includes your baby. Ask your town hall for an appointment once you have the birth certificate. The padrón certificate is requested by health centres, schools and immigration offices.
Step 3: your consulate and the passport
Your baby's first passport normally comes from your own country. Typical steps:
- Find your consulate's page on births abroad and check whether registration is compulsory, with a deadline.
- Ask which Spanish certificate they need (literal or multilingual), and whether an apostille or translation is required.
- Book an appointment early: some consulates are booked for weeks.
- Prepare both parents' passports, proof of your nationality, your marriage certificate if married, and newborn photos to the consulate's specifications.
- Apply for the passport, or an emergency travel document if the full passport takes long.
If the parents have two nationalities, you may need to register the baby with both consulates.
Step 4: your baby's residence (non-EU families)
The immigration regulation approved by Royal Decree 1155/2024, in force since 20 May 2025, covers babies born in Spain to foreign residents in article 159. As of October 2026:
- Who: children born in Spain to foreign parents who hold one of the residence authorisations in the regulation.
- No visa is required.
- Length: 5 years from the date of the decision.
- Who applies: the father or the mother, in person.
- Deadline: within 6 months of the birth, or of the date a parent obtains residence if that is later.
- Documents: full copy of the passport, travel document or registration card of the baby and of the applying parent, and a copy of the Spanish birth certificate.
- Decision: within one month; if nothing is notified, the application is considered refused.
- Card: within one month of being notified of the grant, the child, accompanied by the parent, must apply in person for the TIE card at the police.
The article also asks that the child has stayed in Spain since the birth. In a judgment of 8 July 2026, the Supreme Court annulled part of the article; the consolidated text now notes that this must be read as the child having kept effective habitual residence in Spain, and that temporary, justified absences do not by themselves rule it out. If you need to travel before the authorisation is granted, ask the Oficina de Extranjería or a qualified immigration lawyer first.
Students: if a parent holds a long-stay authorisation for studies, article 52 says the baby automatically acquires a family long-stay authorisation with the same validity, but a parent must apply for it in person within 6 months of the birth.
EU, EEA and Swiss families follow their own rules. Ask the office that handled your own registration which document your baby needs.
Your baby's NIE (foreigner's identity number) comes with this procedure and appears on the TIE card.
Is my baby Spanish?
Birth in Spain alone does not make a child Spanish. Under article 17.1 of the Civil Code, a child is Spanish by origin if:
- a parent is Spanish;
- the child is born in Spain to foreign parents, one of whom was also born in Spain (except children of accredited diplomats and consular officials);
- the child is born in Spain to foreign parents who are both stateless, or whose laws give the child no nationality;
- the child is born in Spain and filiation is not determined.
Otherwise, a child born in Spain can apply for nationality by residence after one year of legal, continuous residence immediately before the application (article 22.2.a and 22.3), instead of the general ten years, subject to good civic conduct and integration. If you are not sure your own country gives your baby its nationality, ask your consulate during the pregnancy.
Next: what both parents are entitled to at work, in maternity and paternity leave in Spain, and the full overview of having a baby in Spain as an expat.
Questions parents ask
How long do I have to register a birth in Spain?
The hospital must send the birth to the Civil Registry within 72 hours. If the birth took place outside a hospital or the hospital did not send it, the parents have 10 days to declare it at the Civil Registry or a consular registry office.
Does Spain still issue the Libro de Familia?
No. Since the Civil Registry law came into force on 30 April 2021, no new Libros de Familia are issued. The birth is proved with a certificate, usually the literal certificate.
Does my baby need a residence permit in Spain?
If you are non-EU residents and your baby is not Spanish, yes. One parent applies in person within 6 months of the birth for a 5-year residence authorisation for the baby, without a visa.
Is a baby born in Spain a Spanish citizen?
Only in the cases listed in article 17 of the Civil Code, for example if a parent is Spanish, if one foreign parent was also born in Spain, or if neither parent's law gives the child a nationality.
Can unmarried parents both be on the birth certificate?
Yes. When parents are not married, the father or non-gestational mother's filiation is recorded with that parent's consent, if it does not contradict legal presumptions and there is no dispute.
Sources
- BOE — Ley 20/2011 del Registro Civil (artículos 44 a 51, disposición transitoria tercera) checked October 13, 2026
- BOE — Real Decreto 1155/2024, Reglamento de extranjería (artículos 52 y 159, texto consolidado) checked October 13, 2026
- BOE — Código Civil, artículos 17 y 22 checked October 13, 2026
- BOE — Ley 7/1985 de Bases del Régimen Local, artículo 15 (padrón) checked October 13, 2026
Mamavela explains; it does not replace your midwife, doctor or pediatrician, who know your situation. If something worries you, call them. In an emergency, call 911 (US), 999 (UK) or 112.