The Spanish nationality oath and registration at the Registro Civil

It is the act by which, once nationality has been granted, you declare before the registrar of the Registro Civil (or before a notario, a Spanish notary) your loyalty to the King and your obedience to the Constitution and the laws. It is a validity requirement set out in article 23 of the Código Civil (the Spanish Civil Code).

Without this act, and without the subsequent entry in the Registro Civil, nationality does not take effect. The decision granting nationality does not, on its own, make you Spanish.

You can choose between swearing (a formula with religious connotations) or pledging (a secular formula). Both formulas have exactly the same legal value.

Article 12 of Real Decreto 1004/2015 gives you 180 days from notification of the decision granting nationality to swear or pledge and to apply for the entry in the Registro Civil.

If you let the deadline pass without acting, the grant lapses and loses its effect: you would have to start the whole nationality application again.

The deadline can be interrupted. Under the Circular of the Dirección General de los Registros y del Notariado (the Spanish directorate general for registries and notaries) of 9 October 2019, the receipt for your appointment request stops the clock. That is why it is best to request the appointment as soon as possible.

The administration adds a margin for the notification: the 180 days plus 10, up to 190, counted from the day after the date of the decision.

The competent Registro Civil is the one for the address shown in the decision granting nationality. There is an exception if you provide an empadronamiento (registration on the padrón, the municipal register of residents) at another address with a start date earlier than the date of the decision.

You can take the oath before the competent Registro Civil or before a notario, and in both cases the act has the same value. The Juzgado de Paz (the local justice of the peace court) only takes part when it is the competent Registro Civil office in that municipality: if your town only has a Juzgado de Paz, you will usually have to request an appointment at the Registro Civil of the main town of the judicial district. It is therefore not a freely available alternative comparable to a notary's office, but depends on the territorial jurisdiction of that office. Managora checks which office is competent in your case.

The exact documents depend on the number of your file (see the table): in some cases the decision and the birth certificate that comes with it are enough; in others you must provide the originals of the birth certificate and of the criminal record certificate from your country of origin.

Also bring your valid identity document or passport and your residence card. Managora reviews and prepares all the documentation before the appointment so that nothing is missing.

After the oath, the Registro Civil enters your nationality. From the moment of that entry you are Spanish for all purposes.

The registry issues the certificado literal de nacimiento (the full birth certificate), with the specific note for obtaining the DNI. It can take from the same day to several weeks, depending on the office.

With that full birth certificate and your empadronamiento you request an appointment with the Policía Nacional (the Spanish national police) for the DNI. It is advisable to apply for the DNI and the passport at the same appointment.

Managora coordinates the registration and tells you how to obtain the full birth certificate and the DNI appointment, without you having to look for help on your own.

Article 23 of the Código Civil requires you to declare that you renounce your previous nationality. It is a formal declaration made in the same act as the oath or pledge.

Nationals of Ibero-American countries, Andorra, the Philippines, Equatorial Guinea and Portugal, and Sephardic Jews originating from Spain, are exempt from that renunciation: they keep dual nationality. The exemption is set out in article 23.b of the Código Civil, which refers to article 24.1 for the list of countries and adds Sephardic Jews originating from Spain (who do not appear in article 24.1 itself).

For everyone else, the real effect on your nationality of origin depends on the law of that country, since many States do not recognise a renunciation declared in Spain. Managora explains how it affects you in your specific case.

The new Registro Civil model under Ley 20/2011 (the Spanish Civil Registry Act) is based on the DICIREG platform: a single, free, electronic and interoperable registry, organised by person and not by books.

Roll-out is gradual, judicial district by judicial district. The Oficina Central del Registro Civil (the central civil registry office) went into service on 19 May 2025 (Resolution of the DGSJFP of 22 April 2025).

With DICIREG, many registries contact the applicant by telephone or by email to assign the oath appointment, instead of the classic in-person appointment.

As at 16 July 2026 there are still offices with and without DICIREG, so it is worth checking how your particular registry assigns appointments. Managora checks this for you.