In Spain, people identify themselves to the authorities and the Administration using the National identity document or simply ID. And the buildings, houses and various constructions, have their equivalent known as cadastral reference. Both are unique alphanumeric codes used to make a list. In one case, of people. In the other, housing.
If you are looking for what is cadastral referenceit will be because you are busy with the statement of incomeyou are in the process of buy or rent a flat or house to live in and you need to put certain things in order tax procedures and/or bureaucratic. Or maybe you have inherited a house. whatever your situation, know the cadastral reference of a home is essential for any “legal transaction” or to indicate to the Treasury where do you reside with complete accuracy.
The cadastral reference applies to all types of buildings or, as they are usually named, property. It can be a house, a flat, an apartment, a local, a garage, a farm, a warehouse, a storage room… Any of these constructions or real estate is assigned a 20 digit code which serves to classify it in a list known as Cadastre. There appears a whole series of data and information about said property.
What is the cadastral reference?
As we have seen, the cadastral reference It is an alphanumeric code that officially identifies any property in Spain. This code is more important, if possible, than the postal address, since it is used to find the file of that property in the Cadastre. And thus know all the data about it or update it.
What is the cadastral reference used for?
With the cadastral reference you can consult the data of a real estate in the Cadastre. If you are the owner, you will be able to access all of them. Although you will need to identify yourself, either through digital certificateif it is in the Electronic Headquarters, or with the necessary documentation when we go to one of the offices of the Cadastre. If not, you will have access to a part of them, the one that is public. The Cadastre file includes data of vital importance such as the year of constructionthe postal address, the habitable meters…
In addition to this consultation, the cadastral reference is essential in administrative tasks such as the IBI (Property Tax) or to make the annual income statement. In the latter case, as a general rule, the Tax Agency crosses its databases with those of the Cadastre, so that when consulting the draftyou only have to dump the data that is suggested to us.
What is the Cadastre?
The Cadastre or Real Estate Cadastre “is a administrative record under the Ministry of Finance in which real estate is described rustic, urban and with special characteristics”. This description “includes its physical, economic and legal characteristics, among which are its location, cadastral reference, surface, use, cultivation, graphic representation, cadastral value and cadastral owner.”
As with other public bodies, the Cadastre has a headquarters or Central Services and offices distributed throughout the Spanish territory. The calls Territorial Services, “constituted by the Regional and Territorial Managements. There are also more than 3,500 cadastral information points (PIC), located mainly in municipalities and councils distributed throughout the territory, where information, certificates and other cadastral services can be obtained”.
Precisely, the importance of the Cadastre is that for any legal, economic or administrative management we will need consult the file of real estate or get a certificate to verify that information.




How do I find the cadastral reference?
There are different ways to find the 20-digit alphanumeric code that we know as cadastral reference. To begin with, you will find it in the IBI receiptsif you have access to them, in income statements of previous years and/or in deeds of sale of the corresponding real estate. If the house in which you live is rented, you will find the cadastral reference in the rental contract. It doesn’t always show up though.
If you do not have official documents that include the cadastral reference, there is no problem. As we saw before, one of the functions of the Cadastre is supply information on the registered properties. In addition, today you can contact the Cadastre in different ways.
The traditional. In person at one of the many Cadastre Management or in a Cadastral Information Point. In the links you can check your location Depending on where you live and the hours. Keep in mind that it is very likely that you have to make an appointmenta questionable practice that has spread to most government agencies.
By phone. calling the Cadastre Hotline. With hours from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. You can call 902373635 or its free equivalent 913874550.
By Internet. The most recommended method if you only need the cadastral reference. The Electronic Office of the Cadastre has a handy seeker that offers the necessary information for most of the procedures that you must carry out. And among them is included obtaining the cadastral reference.
This real estate search engine allows you to search based on the cadastral reference, the street, the plot number or its GPS coordinates. Come on, entering that data you will easily obtain the cadastral reference. And some more data.




What information will you find in the Cadastre?
From the property search engine of the Electronic Office of the Cadastre, you will obtain the public data available of real estate registered in the Cadastre. The one you will need for various procedures is the cadastral reference. But you will also be interested in knowing the year of constructionwhat classification it receives (urban, rustic or other), the surface in square meters, its primary use (housing, business), etc.
In addition to this information, you can also obtain graphic information from it thanks to its 3D viewer that virtually rebuild the propertya map of the built parcel and its surroundings and other maps and cartographic resources.
To obtain other data, which are private and therefore they are protected, you will need to carry out another type of management. Data like the property ownership or the cadastral value it is something that only the owner knows about. If you do not have this information, which is sometimes provided by the Tax Agency itself when consulting the draft of the rent, you can request it through the Cadastral Information Points or by filling in the discharge form of the Electronic Headquarters of the Cadastre.