The EX-15 form explained, section by section

Every Spanish NIE application runs through one document: form EX-15, officially the Solicitud de Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) y Certificados. It is two pages, entirely in Spanish, and it looks simpler than it is. The tick boxes in section 4 in particular decide what you are actually applying for, and getting them wrong is one of the most common reasons an application comes back.

Here is what each part asks for.

Where to download it

The only version you should use is the one published by the Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones, on inclusion.gob.es under "Modelos de solicitud". The file is named 15-Formulario_NIE_y_certificados.pdf.

Copies circulate on blogs and agency websites, sometimes years out of date. The official form carries no version number, so you cannot tell an old copy from a current one by looking at it. Download it fresh each time.

One thing worth knowing: the form still cites Ley Orgánica 4/2000 and Real Decreto 557/2011 as its legal basis, even though the new Reglamento de Extranjería, Real Decreto 1155/2024, came into force on 20 May 2025. That reform did not change the NIE assignment procedure, so the form remains valid.

Section 1: your details

Headed DATOS DEL EXTRANJERO/A. This is you, the applicant. It asks for passport or NIE number, first surname, second surname, first name, sex, date and place of birth, country, nationality, marital status, your father's name, your mother's name, your home address with number and floor, town, postcode, province, mobile number and email.

Two fields catch people out. Second surname is standard in Spain and usually blank for British, Dutch or American applicants; leave it empty rather than repeating your surname. Marital status uses Spanish initials: S for soltero (single), C for casado (married), V for viudo (widowed), D for divorciado, Sp for separado. Sex is marked H for hombre or M for mujer.

Within this section there is also a small block for a representante legal: a legal guardian. Fill this in only for a minor or someone under guardianship, not for a lawyer acting on your behalf.

Section 2: your representative

Headed DATOS DEL REPRESENTANTE A EFECTOS DE PRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOLICITUD. This is where the lawyer, gestor or other person filing the application on your behalf goes: name, ID number, address, phone and email.

This is a different thing from the guardian block in section 1, and confusing the two is common. Section 1 is about who is legally responsible for the applicant. Section 2 is about who is physically handing in the paperwork.

Section 3: notification address

Headed DOMICILIO A EFECTOS DE NOTIFICACIONES, the address where you want official correspondence sent. It can differ from your home address in section 1, which is useful if you are between countries. There is also a box to consent to electronic notification.

Section 4: what you are actually applying for

Headed DATOS RELATIVOS A LA SOLICITUD. This is the section that determines the outcome, and it has four parts.

4.1 Tipo de documento. For a first NIE, tick Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE). The alternative, Certificado, with its sub-options de residente and de no residente, is for people who already have a NIE and need a certificate proving it. Ticking Certificado when you have never had a NIE is a guaranteed rejection.

4.2 Motivos. Three boxes: por intereses económicos, por intereses profesionales, por intereses sociales. Tick the one that matches your situation. This links directly to the supporting evidence you must provide, so tick the box your document actually proves. A purchase contract is an economic interest; an employment contract is a professional one.

4.3 Lugar de presentación. Where you are filing: Oficina de Extranjería, Comisaría de Policía or Oficina Consular. Pick the one you are actually going to.

4.4 Situación en España. Estancia for a stay of up to three months, residencia for longer. If you are applying at a consulate abroad, this should be estancia, because consulates only handle applications from people not relocating for more than three months.

Signature

The form ends with FIRMA DEL SOLICITANTE (o representante legal, en su caso), above a line for place and date in the Spanish format: town, then a, then day, month and year. Sign by hand. An unsigned form is refused at the counter without further discussion.

EX-15, EX-18 or EX-17?

Three forms sit close together and are regularly mixed up.

• EX-15 assigns a NIE, or issues a certificate to someone who already has one. This is the form for non-residents and anyone who simply needs the number.
• EX-18 is the Certificado de registro de ciudadano de la Unión: for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens moving to Spain for more than three months. It must be filed in person in Spain within three months of arrival, and it produces both the NIE and the green registration certificate. If you are relocating from within the EU, this is your form, not the EX-15.
• EX-17 applies for the TIE, the physical residence card for non-EU nationals. It comes after a residence permit has been granted, never as a first NIE application.

The fee: modelo 790, código 012

The EX-15 travels with a second form, modelo 790 código 012, which is how you pay the state fee. Generate it on the Policía Nacional's sede electrónica, tick the line asignación de Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) a instancia del interesado, and print it.

The fee is €9.84. You will still see €12 quoted on plenty of websites; that figure belongs to a different item on the same form, the EU registration certificate. For the NIE assignment itself, €9.84 is the correct amount under Orden PJC/617/2025.

You can pay at most Spanish banks, without holding an account there, or online if you have a digital certificate or Cl@ve. If you pay online, download the receipt showing the NRC reference; without it the payment cannot be matched to your application.

What gets applications refused

• Thin evidence of the motivo. The most common cause by a distance. Tick a box in 4.2 and you must be able to prove it.
• The wrong tick in 4.1. Requesting a certificate instead of an assignment.
• Details that do not match the passport. A missing accent or a transposed date is enough.
• An unsigned or undated form.
• Fee problems. Unpaid, wrong tariff line, or a receipt without a readable barcode or NRC.
• Filing at the wrong office. Section 4.3 has to match reality.

Can someone else file it for you?

Yes, and section 2 exists for exactly that. At a Spanish consulate abroad, representation is accepted only with a poder notarial, a notarial power of attorney. Inside Spain there is more flexibility, including apud acta authorisation registered directly with the administration, but a notarial power of attorney remains the safest route and the one most offices expect.

If the power of attorney is signed outside Spain, it will normally need an apostille and a sworn translation.

Why Buenaley

The EX-15 is not a difficult form. It is an unforgiving one: two pages in Spanish where a wrong tick box or a thin supporting document costs you an appointment you waited weeks for.

Buenaley is a Spanish law firm that files these applications for internationals every week, alongside property purchases, tax and residency work. We complete the form, choose the right motivo for your evidence, handle the fee, and where it is faster we file the whole thing in Spain under power of attorney.

• The form completed correctly the first time, in the right category.
• Advice on your evidence before the appointment, not after a refusal.
• A clear price upfront, with the state fee shown separately.

Would you rather not deal with the form at all? We can handle your NIE application from start to finish. Get in touch and we will tell you what we need from you.

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