The NIE, the number without which you cannot buy in Spain
It costs 9.84 € and never expires, yet without it no deed can be registered in your name. Here are the 3 ways to get one, and the text that changed in May 2025 with almost nobody noticing.
Published · 7 minute read
A number, not a residence permit
The NIE is an identification number given to any foreigner with an economic interest in Spain. Buying a house is one. It is not a residence permit, not a card, and not proof that you live here.
The most common confusion mixes up 3 different things. The NIE is a number. The certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión is registration in the foreigners' register, for EU nationals living here more than 3 months. The TIE is a physical card, for non-EU nationals allowed to stay more than 6 months. If you are buying a second home, only the first one concerns you.
The governing text changed recently, and many pages have not caught up. Real Decreto 557/2011 was repealed on 20 May 2025 and replaced by Real Decreto 1155/2024. The NIE article is no longer 206 but 205. The official EX-15 form itself, and the NIE page of the Spanish consulate in London, still cite the repealed text today.
The text in force defines the NIE as « un número personal, único y exclusivo, de carácter secuencial », given among others to those who « por sus intereses económicos, profesionales, sociales o de cualquier otra índole, se relacionen con España ».
In short
The NIE is an identification number, not a residence permit. It costs 9.84 € and does not expire: what lasts 3 months is the non-residence certificate. It is required to sign before a notary, to pay ITP and to file the modelo 210. The governing text is Real Decreto 1155/2024, article 205, since 20 May 2025.
3 figures to know before you start
They are the only ones that drive the timetable and the budget.
the exact amount of the 790 code 012 fee for assigning a NIE, set by Orden PJC/617/2025 of June 2025
the legal maximum for a decision when the application is filed in Spain. If nothing comes back within that time, it counts as refused
the expiry date of the number. A NIE does not expire. It is the non-residence certificate that is valid for 3 months
The 5 day limit is what the text says. In practice the slow part is not the decision, it is getting the appointment. From a consulate, the stated turnaround is around 2 weeks from the appointment date.
3 ways to get one, and how to choose
They do not involve the same travel or the same waiting time.
In Spain, in person
You file form EX-15 together with proof of payment of fee 790 code 012 at a police station or a foreigners' office, by appointment. You need your passport, original and copy, and a written explanation of the economic reason, here the purchase of a property.
At the Spanish consulate in your country
The simplest route if you are not here yet. The applicant or their representative must still attend in person. The consulate charges the fee in local currency and the NIE comes back by email. Note that this NIE « no es válido para residir ni acredita la residencia en España », which matters not at all to a non-resident owner.
Through a representative
A lawyer, a gestor or anyone you trust can file for you, under a power of attorney that says so expressly. A power signed before a foreign notary must be legalised or apostilled. That is where applications most often fail.
The purchase case
Many notaries and gestors include this in their conveyancing service. Ask before signing: without a NIE the deed cannot be registered in your name.
Where a NIE is required, and where it is not
The underlying rule is simple: for an individual without Spanish nationality, the tax identification number is the NIE. Everything with a tax dimension follows from that.
| Step | NIE required? | What the text says |
|---|---|---|
| Signing the purchase deed | yes | the NIF must appear in the deed, and the notary must report it to the tax office |
| Paying ITP or AJD | yes | general duty to carry the NIF on any document with tax effect |
| Filing the modelo 210 | yes | whoever files must hold a NIF and be registered beforehand |
| Opening a bank account | in principle yes | to be provided within 15 days, but accounts of accredited non-residents are expressly excluded |
| Signing up for water and electricity | no text found | no official rule requires it. Utility companies ask for it in practice |
This table does not say what counters ask for, it says what the law requires. The gap is real, especially for water and electricity: nothing obliges it, and nobody will connect you without it.
A NIE does not expire, and this is the question we get most
2 things get mixed up constantly, and the text is clear on both.
The number does not expire. Article 205 describes it as personal, unique and exclusive, and provides no validity period, no lapse and no renewal. By contrast the same regulation expressly sets a duration for the TIE card, at article 209.7. The silence about the NIE is not an oversight.
What lasts 3 months is the non-residence certificate. The official Policía Nacional page carries, for that document and only that one, the line « Periodo de validez: 3 meses desde su expedición ». A bank or a notary asking for «a NIE less than 3 months old» is really asking for that certificate, not the number.
If your name is misspelled on the document, correction falls under article 109.2 of Ley 39/2015, which lets the administration fix a clerical error at any time. There is no dedicated form: you file another EX-15 flagging the error.
What we do, and what we do not do
We are not gestors or lawyers, and we will not apply for your NIE. What we do is what comes after: opening the house for the technician who fits the meter, taking in the registered letter from the authorities, and photographing the documents that arrive while you are away. See what the report looks like
A question about your home?
The check visit is free, with no commitment. We come, we check the 38 points and we send you the report. You see what you are buying before you pay.
4 questions that keep coming up about the NIE
My NIE is from 2015. Do I have to redo it?
No. The number is issued once and does not expire. If someone insists on a recent document, what they want is the non-residence certificate, and that one is valid for 3 months.
Can I buy without a NIE and apply afterwards?
No. The tax identification number must appear in the deed, and the notary is required to report it. Without a NIE the deed cannot be registered in your name at the Land Registry.
There are 2 of us buying. Do we need 2 NIEs?
Yes. The NIE is personal. Every buyer named in the deed needs their own, and each will later file their own modelo 210 on their share.
How long does it really take?
The text sets 5 days for a decision on an application filed in Spain, and consulates quote around 2 weeks from the appointment. What throws the timetable out is getting the appointment, which has no regulated deadline.
Sources: articles 205 and 209 of Real Decreto 1155/2024, which repealed Real Decreto 557/2011 on 20 May 2025; articles 20, 27 and 28 of Real Decreto 1065/2007; sixth additional provision of Ley 58/2003; article 109.2 of Ley 39/2015; fee amount in the ANEXO of Orden PJC/617/2025 of 13 June; the NIE and non-residence certificate pages of the Policía Nacional; form EX-15 from the Spanish Migration Ministry. All opened on 7 August 2026.
What to remember
- The NIE is a personal number that never expires. The non-residence certificate is the one that lasts 3 months.
- Fee 790 code 012 costs 9.84 €, and the legal decision deadline in Spain is 5 days.
- Without a NIE the deed cannot be registered in your name at the Land Registry.
- The governing text since 20 May 2025 is Real Decreto 1155/2024, article 205, no longer 557/2011.
Written by Fabrizio and Krystel, Domivaro, Busot. Updated 7 August 2026.
This article gives general information, checked against the sources cited on the date shown. It replaces neither your contract nor the advice of your tax adviser, your insurer or a legal professional. Domivaro provides maintenance and condition reporting, not a private security or tax advisory service.
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