How to Get Your Spanish Digital Certificate (FNMT): Steps and Routes

To get a Spanish digital certificate from the FNMT, install the official Configurador FNMT-RCM software, submit an online request on the FNMT website, verify your identity (in person at a registration office, remotely by video, or with an electronic DNI), and then download the certificate on the same computer and browser you used to make the request.¹²³

Who Can Apply

You need to be at least 18 and hold a Spanish DNI, a NIE, or a NIF. Spanish nationals apply with their DNI; foreigners apply with a NIE or NIF.² Residency in Spain isn’t required. Non-residents with a NIE go through the same process, and Spaniards living abroad can verify their identity at a consulate.

The Four Ways to Obtain It

The FNMT offers four routes to a downloadable software certificate for individuals:¹

In-person verification at a registration office. Free, and the most common route.
Video identification. Fully remote, €2.99 plus taxes.
Electronic DNI (DNIe). Instant online verification if your Spanish ID card has an activated chip.
The official “Certificado digital FNMT” Android app, which can also read your DNIe by NFC.

The sections below walk through the in-person and video routes, which cover most applicants.

What to Set Up Before You Start

Install the Configurador FNMT-RCM

Download and install the Configurador FNMT-RCM from the official FNMT site before you open the request form.⁴ It generates the cryptographic keys your browser needs to create the certificate and later retrieve it. Chrome, Firefox, and Edge all work.

One rule matters more than any other. Use the same computer, the same browser, and the same user account from the moment you submit the request until you download the finished certificate. Switching browsers, reinstalling the operating system, or resetting the machine between steps will break the key pairing and force you to start over.

Have the Right ID Ready

Which documents you need depends on your nationality:

Spanish citizens: a valid, original DNI.
EU citizens: an EU Registry Certificate together with a valid passport from your home country.
Non-EU foreigners: a valid Foreigner Identity Card (Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero) showing your photo and NIE.

Expired documents get rejected on the spot, so check the dates before your appointment.⁵

The In-Person Route, Step by Step

1. Submit the Online Request

With the Configurador installed, open the FNMT portal and go to the certificate request page for natural persons. Enter your identification number (DNI or NIE), your first surname, and your email. Accept the terms and submit. The system emails you a unique application code. Save it. You’ll need it twice more: at the office and at download.⁶ The FNMT charges no issuance fee for the standard individual certificate.²

2. Verify Your Identity at a Registration Office

Book a Cita Previa (appointment) at an authorized registration office. Agencia Tributaria branches are the most common option, and Social Security offices and many town halls also qualify. Bring your original ID and the application code from your email. The official checks your identity against the data you submitted online and authorizes your certificate in the system.

3. Download the Certificate

About an hour after your identity is verified, go back to the same computer and browser you used for the request.⁶ Open the FNMT download section, enter your identification number and application code, and the certificate installs into your browser’s security store.

Back it up right away. Export the certificate as a .pfx or .p12 file, because those formats include the private key that makes the backup usable. A .cer file does not include the private key and cannot sign anything.⁷ You’ll set an export password. Lose it and the backup is worthless. Store the file on an external drive or a secure cloud location.

The Video Identification Route

If you’d rather skip the appointment, video identification handles verification remotely. The opening steps match the in-person route: install the Configurador, submit the request, and receive the application code by email. During the request the Configurador prompts you to set a password protecting your certificate keys.⁸

Enter the code on the FNMT website with your mobile number and confirm by SMS. The site shows a QR code. Scan it with your phone, show both sides of your ID to the camera, and record a short selfie video for a biometric proof-of-life check. Once the FNMT reviews and approves the submission, you get a download email. Use the same computer and browser and the password you created earlier.

The service costs €2.99 plus applicable taxes.⁹ One limitation: a certificate obtained by video cannot later be used to request a company representative certificate online. If you’ll need to represent a business, use the in-person route for your personal certificate instead.

Applying From Outside Spain

Spanish consulates abroad act as registration offices for the identity step. The three stages are the same (online request, in-person verification, later download), with a few extras. Bring your valid ID, a photocopy of it, a printout of the email with your application code, and two unsigned copies of the Natural Person FNMT Application Form. You sign the form in front of the consular officer, not in advance.²

The consulate forwards your application to the FNMT within five working days, and the download email typically arrives about ten working days after that. The same-computer-and-browser rule holds across the whole timeline, so avoid updates or resets while you wait.

After You Have the Certificate

Move It or Back It Up

The certificate lives inside your browser’s security store. To use it on another machine or browser, import the .pfx or .p12 export into the new browser’s certificate manager. After importing, check that it appears under the Personal tab. If it lands under Other persons, the import didn’t carry the private key and you’ll need to re-export with the key included.¹⁰

Renewal

An FNMT certificate is valid for 36 months.³ You can renew online during the 60 days before it expires, as long as the certificate still works and you authenticate the renewal with that same certificate.¹¹ There are limits. If the current certificate was originally issued after identifying yourself with a different digital certificate (rather than in person), or if you’ve already renewed once, the system won’t let you renew online again. Let it expire and no online renewal is possible either. In any of those cases, you go through the full application process from the start.

Revocation If Something Goes Wrong

If your computer is stolen, you suspect someone has copied the certificate, or your private key password may be exposed, revoke it right away. The FNMT provides three paths:¹²

Online, if you still have a working copy on another device.
By phone, on the 24/7 revocation lines at 917 406 848 or 913 878 337, using your original application code.
In person at a registration office with your ID, if the certificate is lost and you don’t have the code.

Only the certificate holder can request revocation, and revocation is permanent. To use the FNMT again after that, you apply for a new certificate.

1
Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Cert. Electronico Ciudadano
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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation. Digital Certificate
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Firma Electrónica. Electronic Certificates
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Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Descarga de Software
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Ayuntamiento de Granada. Digital Certificate of the FNMT
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Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Obtener Certificado con Acreditacion Presencial
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Agencia Tributaria. Installation of the Certificate on Another Computer or Browser
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Agencia Tributaria. Obtaining a Certificate From the FNMT With Video Identification
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Agencia Tributaria. Information Notes – FNMT Electronic Certificate With Video Identification
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Agencia Tributaria. Possible Errors When Using the Electronic Certificate
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Agencia Tributaria. How to Renew Your Electronic Certificate
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Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre. Anular o Revocar Certificado