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Agencia Tributaria
Registered Collaborator
The NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal) is the number the Spanish Tax Agency uses to identify you. Without one, a foreign company cannot buy property, invoice with Spanish VAT, lease premises or register for EPR in Spain. We apply for it on your behalf, 100% remotely, and send it to you within 1 to 2 business days. No documents to upload, no notary, no trip to Spain.
There are two different services behind the word "NIF", and they do not cost the same. Find your case below and go straight to the right one.
A Dutch BV, German GmbH, French SARL or UK Ltd doing business in Spain must identify itself with the Agencia Tributaria through its own NIF. This applies to property purchases, commercial leases, local invoicing and hiring staff.
Selling physical products in Spain brings EPR obligations for packaging, electronics, batteries or textiles. Registering with a waste management organisation is only possible with a Spanish NIF. So start with the NIF.
NIF stands for Número de Identificación Fiscal. It is a single identifier that follows you through every tax procedure in Spain: filing returns, paying tax, signing a notarial deed, opening a business bank account, issuing invoices.
It is not a permit and it is not a residence document. It is purely a tax identifier, it does not expire, and it stays with you for life.
And the CIF? The CIF (Código de Identificación Fiscal) was the old company tax number. It was replaced by the NIF for legal entities in 2008. Spanish accountants and suppliers still say "CIF" out of habit, but if someone asks your company for its CIF today, they are asking for its NIF. There is nothing extra to apply for.
Do you have a NIE number? Then you do not need a separate NIF. Your NIE doubles as your NIF, but only once it is registered with the A.E.A.T. (Spanish Tax Agency). If it is not registered yet, we can take care of that for you. A foreign company is a different case entirely: it needs its own NIF before it can buy, sell, lease or hire in Spain.
The NIF number is required for anyone who needs to manage tax-related matters in Spain, whether you are a natural person, legal entity, or non-legal entity.
A common example of when a NIF number is needed is when a foreign entity, such as a UK Ltd or a German GmbH, wants to purchase property in Spain.
You may need a NIF to comply with packaging and EPR obligations or to sell products in Spain.
Product Sales: To sell goods in the Spanish market, a NIF number is required for tax purposes and legal compliance.
Packaging Regulations and EPR: When importing and packaging products in Spain, you must have a NIF to comply with local packaging standards and EPR requirements for waste management. This includes obligations such as registering packaging materials, contributing to recycling programs, and adhering to environmental legislation.
Waste Management Programs: For companies involved in the production and sale of packaged goods, a NIF is needed to participate in packaging and waste management programs. This may involve being responsible for collecting, recycling, or otherwise sustainably managing packaging waste.
It may happen that you need to register your NIE with the A.E.A.T. (Spanish Tax Agency), which will also make it your NIF. We can register your NIE for you.
A foreign entity, such as a UK Ltd or a German GmbH, needs to apply for a NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal). This number is necessary for all tax-related transactions in Spain, such as property purchases.
Registering your NIE number with the A.E.A.T. (Spanish Tax Agency) costs €84. This is equivalent to obtaining a NIF number.
Applying for a NIF number for a foreign entity, such as a UK Ltd or a German GmbH, costs €572.
You fill in one form. We handle the rest with the Agencia Tributaria. Here is exactly what happens.
Company name, registration number, registered address, VAT number if you have one, date of incorporation and your contact details. That is all we need to start. Nothing to scan, nothing to upload.
We complete the censal declaration and the supporting paperwork on behalf of your entity. Notarised, legalised or sworn-translated documents are not required. This is the part that usually costs foreign companies weeks of back and forth, and it is the part we absorb.
As a registered collaborator of the Spanish Tax Agency, we submit the application directly. You do not need a digital certificate, and you do not need to be in Spain at any point.
Within 1 to 2 business days your NIF is issued and sent to you, ready to give to your notary, your bank, your accountant or your waste management organisation.
This is the question we get most often, and the answer surprises people: you do not send us a single document. We only need information, all of which you already know or can read off your register extract.
Here you will find answers to frequently asked questions about the NIF number. If your question is not listed here, you can chat with us, and we will assist you as quickly as possible.
If you are a foreigner living or working in Spain, you typically only need a NIE. The NIE also serves as your NIF for tax purposes, so you do not need to apply for a separate NIF.
The NIE (Número de Identidad de Extranjero) is an identification number for foreigners in Spain and is used for various administrative and legal procedures. The NIF (Número de Identificación Fiscal) is a tax identification number for tax purposes.
Start your application at the bottom of this page. Once we receive your request, we will submit it on behalf of the foreign entity to the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria). Within 1 to 2 business days, the NIF will be ready and sent to you via email.
All NIF applications are processed within 1 to 2 business days.
A foreign entity needs a NIF if it intends to conduct business activities in Spain, such as opening a bank account, purchasing real estate, hiring employees, or conducting other financial and tax transactions.
If your company is registered in the ONE-STOP-SHOP (OSS) system, a NIF has already been assigned automatically. Please contact the OSS system in your country to verify this.
Your NIE number may not be registered with the A.E.A.T. (Spanish Tax Agency). We can help register it for you.
The NIF you receive through us starts with N98 (also called NIF-N). This type of NIF is intended for foreign companies or organizations without a permanent establishment in Spain, but that are still subject to taxation.
By default, this NIF cannot be used for:
- Filing VAT returns in Spain (IVA),
- Acting as a shareholder of an S.L.
- Applying for a NIF certificate issued by the AEAT.
Would you still like to use the NIF for one of these purposes? Please contact us first.
The Agencia Tributaria offers a NIF verification service in its Sede Electrónica, but you need a digital certificate or Cl@ve to access it. For intra-EU VAT numbers, the European Commission's VIES database is the public alternative. Note that a NIF type N is not automatically listed in VIES: that only happens if the entity has been registered for intra-EU transactions.
No. The CIF was replaced by the NIF for legal entities in 2008. The word survives in everyday Spanish business language, but there is no separate number to request. When a client, supplier or platform asks for your CIF, give them your NIF.
If you hold stock in Spain or invoice with Spanish VAT, yes. Marketplaces also increasingly ask sellers to prove EPR registration for packaging and other waste streams, and waste management organisations will only register you with a Spanish NIF. In practice the NIF is the first domino.
Rejections almost always come from a mismatch between the details you gave us and your official register entry. We check your file before filing and come back to you if something does not line up. If the Tax Agency asks for clarification, we handle the exchange with them directly.
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Agencia Tributaria
Registered Collaborator
We work together with various partners like EPR Spain / AuthoriseMe / Circular Pro / Interzero / Lizenzero. They offer you a convenient and reliable way to ensure that your product and packaging comply with European regulations, including the specific requirements for Spain.
One form, two minutes, and your NIF lands in your inbox within 1 to 2 business days. No documents, no notary, no trip to Spain.
