What Is the Padrón, and Why Does It Matter for School Enrollment in Spain?

If you’re moving to Spain with children and planning on enrolling in public school, one of the first and most important steps you must take is registering for the padrón (empadronamiento). This is the local census or registry that proves your address in a municipality. While it may seem like simple paperwork, your padrón certificate is directly tied to your ability to enroll in a public or concertado school.

Why the Padrón Is Essential for School Enrollment

In Spain, eligibility for public and concertado schools is largely based on where you live. Your padrón certificate is proof of residence, and it determines:

Which schools you’re zoned for (your catchment area)
How many points your child receives during the school admission process, which determines priority for enrollment

Without a padrón, you cannot submit a school application for public or concertado schools. For families arriving from abroad, this is often the first and most urgent administrative task.

What You Need to Register for the Padrón

A rental contract (minimum 6 months)
Passport of everyone registering (with photocopies)
NIE of everyone registering
Landlord authorization and proof of residence (you need copies of their DNI cards as well as explicit authorization, often in the contract)
Sometimes a utility bill in your name (though this isn’t always necessary or asked for)
Proof of relationship documents if registering children (birth certificate, family book)
A completed empadronamiento application form (often available online through the municipality)

If you have purchased a home, then in place of the contract you will need to provide your property title deeds or purchase agreement.

Timing: What To Know About Summer Arrivals

Families arriving over the summer will often need to wait until after September 1st to enroll in school. And of course, to even enroll, you must already have applied for your padrón. The catch here is that it can be very hard to find a long-term rental in the summer, especially August. Furthermore, doing any sort of business in August in Spain is at best very trying, and at worst – nearly impossible due to limited hours and closures. A delay in finding long-term housing can of course lead to a delay in being able to enroll in school.

Knowing this, the first thing to do is breathe. Know that there are certain things that are out of your control, the timeline will likely not be your timeline, and everything will eventually fall into place.

From a logical standpoint, if private school is an option, this is one way to ensure a timely start to the school year for your child as a padrón is not required for private school enrollment. If private school is not an option, or simply not preferred, then it’s reasonable to expect that there is a chance your child won’t start school right on the first day as the timeline from securing a contract, to registering for the padrón, to enrolling in school out of the regular enrollment period will be very tight during the most challenging time of year to get anything done.

Breathe! Once September rolls around and everyone is back in the swing of things, these key milestones will fall into place.

Need help navigating school enrollment process in Málaga or the Costa del Sol? Españaula can support you step-by-step to make your move smoother and help your child start school on time.