How to fill in the EX-17 form (TIE card, Spain)

What the form is for

The TIE (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) is the card that identifies you as a foreigner and proves your legal situation in Spain. It is valid for as long as the authorisation it documents. The EX-17 is the form you fill in to have it issued: the first card, a new card after a renewal, or a duplicate after loss, theft, damage or a change of data.

You hand the EX-17 in in person at a Foreigners' Office (Oficina de Extranjería) or a police station (Comisaría de Policía), together with proof that you paid the fee with form 790 code 012. The form itself says it can only be handed in personally at the competent National Police unit: not online and not through public registry offices.

The current form follows the 2024 regulation ("RD 1155/2024" at the top). Older copies that say "RD 557/2011" still circulate online: use the current one from the official link above.

Who needs it

The regulation (RD 1155/2024, article 209) and the National Police page set these rules:

• Every foreigner who has been given a visa or an authorisation to stay in Spain for more than six months has the right and the duty to get a TIE.
• You must ask for it personally within one month of entering Spain, or of the authorisation being granted or taking effect (for some authorisations that depends on your registration with Social Security).
• When your residence authorisation is renewed, you ask for a new card once the favourable decision has been notified. The ministry's information sheets give one month from that notification.
• If the card is lost, destroyed or damaged, you ask for a new one. It does not count as a renewal and is valid only for the time the old card had left.
• Changes to your legal or work situation, including renewals, mean a new card adapted to the change.
• Citizens of other EU/EEA countries and Switzerland, and their family members, use EX-18 / EX-19, not the EX-17. Family members of Spanish citizens are not in this group.
• The fee (form 790 code 012) is €16.08 for the card of a first temporary residence, stay or cross-border worker authorisation, €19.30 for the card after a renewal, €21.87 for long-term residence and €12 for the temporary residence of family members of Spanish nationals (Orden PJC/617/2025 and the police fee table, checked on the date above). You pay at a bank; you don't need an account there.

Before you start

• The EX-17, filled in and signed. The form asks for the original and a copy.
• Proof that you paid the fee: form 790 code 012, generated on the National Police website and paid at a bank.
• Your passport or travel document: the police must check that you are the person the card is for.
• An appointment (cita previa) for your province, booked before you go on the Spanish administration's online Cita Previa de Extranjería service.

Section by section

Here is what each part asks, in plain words, in the order it appears.

1. 1

   Espacios para sellos de registro

   The box at the top right is for the office's registration stamp. Leave it empty.

2. 2

   1) Pasaporte, N.I.E., names

   Passport number, then your NIE split into three boxes: the first letter (X, Y or Z), the 7 digits, and the last letter. Then first surname (1er Apellido), second surname (2º Apellido) only if you have one, and first name (Nombre), as in your passport. Write in capital letters: the form asks for block capitals.

3. 3

   Sexo

   Three boxes: X*, H (hombre, man) and M (mujer, woman). Tick only one. The form says X can only be ticked by people who have it recognised in their country of origin. The letter is printed to the left of each box.

4. 4

   Fecha de nacimiento, Lugar, País, Nacionalidad

   Date of birth in three boxes: day, month, year (dd/mm/aaaa, 2 + 2 + 4 digits). Then place and country of birth, and your nationality.

5. 5

   Estado civil

   S = soltero/a (single), C = casado/a (married), V = viudo/a (widowed), D = divorciado/a (divorced), Sp = separado/a (separated). Tick one.

6. 6

   Nombre del padre, Nombre de la madre

   Your father's and mother's names.

7. 7

   Domicilio en España, Nº, Piso, Localidad, C.P., Provincia, teléfono, e-mail

   Your address in Spain (street, number, floor), town, postcode and province, then your mobile phone and e-mail. The form suggests giving a phone or e-mail so you can be told when a notification is waiting.

8. 8

   Representante legal, en su caso

   Only for applicants who have a legal representative, such as a minor's parent or a guardian: their name, their own DNI/NIE/passport number and the title of representation (for example "Padre", "Tutor"). Adults applying for themselves leave this line empty.

9. 9

   2) Datos del representante a efectos de presentación de la solicitud

   The form says to fill this in only if the person handing in the application is not the applicant. Otherwise leave the whole section empty.

10. 10

    3) Domicilio a efectos de notificaciones, and Dehú

    Where letters about this request should go, if different from your address. The box "CONSIENTO…" asks to receive notifications electronically through the Dehú; you then need a digital certificate or Cl@ve to read them. If you tick nothing, you are notified this way only if you belong to a group that is obliged to (for example companies).

11. 11

    4.1 Tipo de documento

    Tick one: TARJETA INICIAL (your first card), RENOVACIÓN DE TARJETA (new card after your authorisation was renewed) or DUPLICADO POR PÉRDIDA, SUSTRACCIÓN, DETERIORO O CAMBIO DE DATOS (duplicate after loss, theft, damage or a change of data).

12. 12

    Place, date, signature, Dirigida a

    Town and date ("…, a … de … de …"), your signature (or your legal representative's). "DIRIGIDA A", "Código DIR3" and "PROVINCIA" at the bottom of page 2 name the office you hand it in to; if you don't know the DIR3 code, ask that office.

Common mistakes

• Waiting too long

  The card must be requested within one month of entering Spain or of the authorisation being granted. Not meeting the TIE obligations can lead to a sanction.

• Ticking the wrong type in 4.1

  A new card after your authorisation was renewed is RENOVACIÓN DE TARJETA, not DUPLICADO. The duplicate is for a lost, stolen or damaged card or a change of data.

• Writing the whole NIE in one box

  The N.I.E. has three boxes: first letter, 7 digits, last letter. Y1234567Z is written Y / 1234567 / Z.

• Ticking the box to the left of the letter (it belongs to the previous letter)

  Each letter (X, H, M and S, C, V, D, Sp) is printed to the left of its box. Check the preview before you print.

• Trying to hand it in online or by post

  The form says it can only be handed in personally at the competent National Police unit, not online or through public registry offices.

• Arriving without the fee paid

  Pay the fee at a bank with form 790 code 012 before your appointment, and bring the stamped receipt.

• Bringing a single copy

  The form says to hand in the original and a copy. Print it twice.