Modelo 030: Spanish tax number (NIF) for foreigners, tax census and address change

In short: Modelo 030 for foreigners is the Tax Agency (AEAT) form to ask for a Spanish tax number (NIF) when you have no NIE, to register in the tax census (the register of people with tax obligations) and to report a change of tax address or personal data. If you already have a NIE, that number is your NIF and you do not ask for another. The 030 helps if you have no NIE and will do something with tax effect in Spain (the NIF starts with the letter M), if you move (3 months to report it) or if your tax residence changes. You file online or on paper (at an AEAT office or by post).

In person or by representative? You do not have to go in person. You can file online with Cl@ve Móvil, an electronic certificate or the electronic DNI, or leave it to a social collaborator (a person or entity authorised to file declarations on behalf of others) or to a representative. The paper form also works: it is handed in at the AEAT office that corresponds to your tax address or sent by post to that office. The official procedure sheet also lists the Spanish consular offices abroad among the places of filing, but Orden EHA/3695/2007 only provides for hand delivery at the AEAT or post: if you plan to use a consulate, check with the AEAT first. In-person service at the offices requires a prior appointment, except for handing in documents at the registry (Assistance and appointments). A change of tax address can also be reported by phone (art. 7 of Orden EHA/3695/2007). If you have no NIF or NIE yet, read «How to ask for a NIF without a NIE» below: online access requires you to be identified first.

Who files it? Individuals who have no business or professional activity and do not pay income subject to withholding, for example salaries (art. 2 of the Order). Anyone already in the Census of Entrepreneurs, Professionals and Withholders uses the 030 only for civil status and identifying data; for everything else they use the Modelo 036 (AEAT, who must file the census declaration).

When do you need the Modelo 030?

• NIF without a NIE. If you have no NIE, you ask for the NIF with the 030, either temporarily (you are obliged to have a NIE but do not have it yet) or permanently (you are not obliged to have one). It has 9 characters and the first letter is M (art. 20.2 of RD 1065/2007). You ask for it when you are about to carry out operations of a tax nature or with tax significance, meaning operations with consequences before the tax office. On the form you tick the cause «Solicitud de NIF por persona física que no disponga de DNI/NIE». If it is needed and you do not ask, the AEAT can register you and assign the NIF on its own initiative. The letter L belongs to Spaniards living outside Spain (art. 19.2), not to foreigners.
• Registration in the census. According to the AEAT, registration in the tax census happens when the NIF is assigned. If you already have a DNI or NIE but are not yet identified in the AEAT system, and you will carry out operations with tax effect, you ask for registration with the 030 (AEAT, registration in the census).
• Change of tax address. Your tax address is the place where you habitually live (art. 48.2 of the LGT) and reporting the change is your obligation (art. 48.3). The deadline is below. If you give an address in Spain, the form asks for the cadastral reference of the home (mandatory, unless the property has none assigned). To change only the address there is also the Mis datos censales service, with Cl@ve, a certificate or the electronic DNI.
• Address for notifications. If you want the AEAT to write to another address, you give it in the 030 (section 7 of the form).
• Personal data and alerts. Name, surnames, sex and NIF (for example, when moving from NIE to DNI), civil status, details of your legal or voluntary representative, a new NIF card, and a phone or e-mail for AEAT alerts (AEAT, changing identifying data).
• Tax residence. If your tax residence changes, it is also reported with the 030: on the form you tick «Residente fiscal en España» or «NO residente fiscal en España» and give the effective date. If you move abroad, the AEAT asks for the tax residence certificate of the country where you live. The 030 only reports the change; who is a tax resident is decided by the law: tax residence and the 183 days.

When is it not the Modelo 030?

• You already have a NIE. Your NIF is the NIE (art. 20.1 of RD 1065/2007), so you do not ask for a NIF with M. If you do not have it yet: NIE, what it is and how to apply. If you had a NIF with M and get the NIE, the NIE prevails (art. 21.3) and you must report it within 2 months (art. 21.1).
• You are self-employed or pay income with withholding. You are in the census of entrepreneurs, professionals and withholders: your form is the 036 and to change address you have 1 month (art. 17.1). More in working on your own account.
• You only want to register at the town hall. The padrón is another procedure, at the town hall: empadronamiento.
• You want to live or work here. The NIF only identifies the person before the tax office in tax matters (art. 18.1). It is not a residence or work permit.

How to ask for a NIF without a NIE. There is a dedicated procedure, «Solicitud de NIF de persona física, sin DNI/NIE, no presencial». According to the AEAT tutorial, you download the 030 form as a PDF, tick the cause for a NIF without a DNI/NIE, scan the signed form and the documents, and send them from the online office service, in your own name or representing another person. You must identify yourself with Cl@ve, a certificate or the electronic DNI, and the tutorial says the person filing must have a NIF in the census. If you have neither yet, a representative can file on your behalf, or you hand in the paper form at an AEAT office or send it by post. The notice of your NIF card arrives by post at your tax address or notification address; if you give a mobile number or e-mail, the AEAT alerts you with a verification code (CSV) so that you can view the NIF and print the card.

Deadlines

• General rule: at any time from the moment the cause arises (art. 8 of the Order). For the NIF, when you are about to carry out the operation with tax effect.
• Change of tax address: 3 months from the change (art. 8 of the Order and art. 17.2 of RD 1065/2007). If the deadline for the Renta or another personal-tax return you must file after moving ends sooner, you report it in that form, unless you already did.
• From when it counts: the new address takes effect from the moment you file it (art. 17.3). Until then, the AEAT still treats the old one as valid (art. 48.3 of the LGT).
• NIE after a NIF with M: report it within 2 months to the AEAT and to the other people or entities that must have your new number on record; the previous NIF stays valid until the date of that report (art. 21.1).
• AEAT answer: the official sheet sets no resolution deadline. If you file the 030 online, the change of data is not immediate: it shows in the system once validated. With «Mis datos censales», an address change is immediate.
• Documents provided separately: 10 days from filing, without waiting for the AEAT to ask for them, when the system does not let you attach them in the online filing itself (art. 88.7 of RD 1065/2007, unless a specific rule sets another deadline or place). The article does not say whether they are working days or calendar days.

Cost. The form has no payment section and neither the Order nor the AEAT sheet mentions any fee, so you pay nothing to the AEAT for filing it. If you hire a gestoría or adviser, their fees are separate.

Fines. What the LGT provides, as written:

• Not reporting the tax address or its change, if you have no economic activity: a minor offence, fixed fine of €100 (art. 198.5).
• Filing a census declaration late: €400 (art. 198.1), half of that if you file before the AEAT asks you to (art. 198.2).
• Filing it incomplete, inaccurate or with false data: €250 (art. 199.3).

Which fine applies in a specific case is decided by the AEAT.

Cases that often cause confusion

• Couples. A single form signed by both spouses is valid only if you report the same change of tax address or ask at the same time for registration, the NIF or data changes. Online, each spouse needs their own certificate and one of them a registered power of attorney from the other (AEAT, how and where to file).
• Tax address and notification address. They are two different things: the second is optional and you give it only if you want notifications at another address.
• Documents missing or provided later. If you file online and have to attach documents, they are submitted through the AEAT Electronic Registry, from the online office (AEAT, Modelo 030 frequently asked questions). If documents are missing or incomplete, the AEAT sends you a request to complete them within 10 days from the day after notification; if you do not, the request is treated as withdrawn and closed (art. 89 of RD 1065/2007).

Documents

• The Modelo 030 form, completed and signed (or the online form).
• NIF without a NIE (letter M): a valid passport or other equivalent valid identity document; proof that you applied for the NIE or documents showing you are not obliged to have one; documents proving the operation with tax effect.
• Registration in the census: DNI or NIE card.
• Change of tax address: DNI or NIE card, or a passport if you hold a NIF with M or with L.
• Change of personal data (for example name, surnames, sex or NIF): DNI or NIE card (passport if you hold a NIF with M or L) and the documents proving the change.
• Change of civil status, new NIF card, notification address or alerts: DNI or NIE card (passport if you hold a NIF with M or L).
• Change of tax residence abroad: tax residence certificate issued by the tax authority of the country where you live, and the DNI or NIE card (or a passport if you hold a NIF with M or L).
• Representative, if any: a document proving the representation, and their DNI, NIE card or valid passport.

List based on the AEAT documentation page. The AEAT refers to its «Informador censal» for the detail of each case, so it may not be exhaustive: check it there.

Steps:

1. Look at the diagram to see which case is yours and choose the cause or causes of filing (you can tick several). If in doubt, use the AEAT virtual census assistant and gather the documents on the list.
2. With Cl@ve or a certificate, go to Modelo 030, modification or filing (if you only change address, Mis datos censales also works). If you have no Cl@ve or certificate yet, see Cl@ve and electronic certificate. Without access, there is an online route that needs no Cl@ve or certificate, the «Procedimiento extraordinario de presentación - no presencial», but only if you already have a NIF registered in the census, and it cannot be used to ask for a NIF. You can also download the PDF form; the AEAT asks you to open it with Adobe Reader.
3. Fill in the form: online, the tabs «Datos identificativos», «Domicilios» and «Representante»; on paper, the sections that apply and the signature (electronic filing tutorial).
4. Attach or hand in the documents for your case. For a NIF without a NIE: passport, proof of the NIE application or that you are not obliged, and documents for the operation with tax effect.
5. Sign and send. Online, press «Firmar y Enviar» and keep the response sheet with the CSV (secure verification code). On paper, hand the form in at the AEAT (with a prior appointment or at the registry) or send it by post.
6. Wait for the result. The notice of your NIF card arrives by post at your tax address or notification address; if you gave a mobile number or e-mail, the AEAT alerts you with a verification code (CSV) so that you can view the NIF and print the card.

Official source: AEAT, Modelo 030, Orden EHA/3695/2007, BOE, RD 1065/2007, arts. 17 to 21, BOE and LGT, arts. 48, 198 and 199, BOE.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case. Rules checked against official sources on 2 October 2026.