Spanish NIE Application Cost: Full Price Breakdown for 2026

The Spanish NIE application has a single fixed government fee — Tasa 790-012 — currently set at 9,84 € for 2026, verified against the official Sede Electrónica de la Policía Nacional in May 2026. The total cost of obtaining your NIE depends on which of the three application routes you use: in person in Spain, through a Spanish consulate abroad, or remotely via a notarised Power of Attorney. Real total costs range from around 10 € (in-person, no third party) up to several hundred euros once apostille, sworn translation, notary, and a legal representative are added. The official process for the application itself is covered in the full how-to-apply guide. If you are not yet sure whether you need the number at all, start with what an NIE is in Spain.

At a Glance

Every Spanish NIE application has up to three cost layers. Only the first is fixed by the Spanish government.

All three layers are explained below. For timing rather than cost, see the NIE application timeline guide.

The Three Cost Components

Every NIE application has three cost layers. The first is unavoidable. The second and third depend on the route you choose and where you start from.

Government fee — Tasa 790-012

The Tasa 790-012 is the only fee paid to the Spanish government for the NIE itself. It is set annually through the Ley de Presupuestos Generales del Estado (the State General Budget Law).

• Current amount (2026): 9,84 € — Asignación de Número de Identidad de Extranjero a instancia del interesado.
• Official source: Sede Electrónica de la Policía Nacional — sede.policia.gob.es/portalCiudadano/_es/tramites_extranjeria_tasas.php (verified May 2026).
• Form used to pay: Modelo 790-012, generated on the police portal sede.policia.gob.es/Tasa790_012/.
• Where to pay: At any bank that accepts treasury payments in Spain (with or without an account), or online with a Cl@ve digital certificate or Spanish bank card.
• What it covers: Issuance of the NIE certificate (NIE blanco). Nothing else. Apostille, translation, and any third-party services are not included.

The amount changes only when the State General Budget Law changes the rate — usually once per year, but not every year. Always verify against the police portal at the moment of application.

Service fee (gestor or lawyer)

A service fee is what you pay a Spanish gestor, lawyer, or legal representative if you do not handle the application yourself. It is optional — and only relevant for the consulate route and the Power of Attorney route. If you attend an Oficina de Extranjería in person in Spain, no service fee is required.

• Gestor (administrative agent): typically €100–€200 for handling form completion, Tasa generation, and appointment booking. Most useful when you are in Spain but do not speak Spanish.
• Lawyer (abogado / abogada de extranjería): typically €200–€500 for the full Power of Attorney route, including drafting the POA, coordinating apostille reception, submitting the EX-15, and returning the NIE certificate. The wider range reflects firm size, city, and whether translation is included.
• What a service fee usually includes: document review, Modelo EX-15 completion, Tasa 790-012 payment instructions, cita previa booking (in-person route), or full file submission and collection (POA route).
• What it usually does not include: apostille in your home country, sworn translation into Spanish, notary fees, and courier costs. These are charged separately.

Ancillary costs

Ancillary costs are document-preparation expenses that depend on your country of residence and on whether you apply in person or remotely. They are the most variable and the most easily forgotten part of the budget.

• Apostille (Hague Convention 1961): required for foreign documents used in any NIE-adjacent procedure where the document originates abroad. Cost depends on country. In the United Kingdom: standard postal apostille via the FCDO Legalisation Office is around £30 per document; premium same-day is higher. In the United States: state-level apostille typically ranges $20–$50 per document.
• Sworn translation (traducción jurada): required when foreign documents need to be in Spanish for a Spanish administrative procedure. Only translators certified by the Spanish Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores can provide a sworn translation. Market rates: €30–€80 per page.
• Notary fees: required for the Power of Attorney route. Notarising a POA in your home country usually costs €50–€150 depending on jurisdiction. The notary act itself plus apostille on the POA is the main fixed cost for the POA route.
• Courier or recorded delivery: for posting the original POA from your country to your Spanish representative. Tracked international postage typically £15–£40 from the UK; $25–$60 from the US.
• Spanish bank fees: paying the Tasa 790-012 without a Spanish bank account is possible but a non-customer commission may be added at the bank counter. Online payment via Cl@ve or a Spanish card avoids this.

Cost by Route

The three NIE routes carry sharply different totals. The Tasa stays the same; everything around it changes.

For an explanation of which route fits which situation, see the how to apply guide. For how long each route takes, see the NIE timeline guide.

Hidden Costs

Costs that applicants routinely underestimate or forget:

• Sworn translation per page, not per document. A multi-page background document can quickly reach €100–€200 in translation alone.
• Apostille on every foreign-issued document, not only on the POA. Some consulates and Oficinas de Extranjería require apostille on background documents used as justification.
• Travel to a specific consulate. UK applicants outside the London / Manchester / Edinburgh jurisdictions need to travel to one of these three — honorary consulates do not process NIE applications.
• Bank counter commission. Paying the Tasa as a non-customer at a Spanish bank can add a small commission per transaction.
• Reissue of a lost or stolen certificate. A duplicate NIE certificate requires a fresh Tasa 790-012 payment and a new EX-15 submission. The NIE number itself does not change — see the lost or stolen NIE guide.
• Courier return of the original NIE certificate. If you applied via POA from abroad, the lawyer may charge separately for tracked return of the physical certificate.

Real Cost Examples

Three realistic scenarios with full breakdowns. Figures are illustrative and based on May 2026 market rates.

Example 1 — UK property buyer via Power of Attorney

A buyer in Manchester needs an NIE for a Marbella property purchase. They cannot travel to Spain and prefer to handle everything remotely.

• Tasa 790-012: 9,84 €.
• Lawyer service fee (POA route): €350.
• UK notary for POA: £80.
• FCDO postal apostille on POA: £30.
• Tracked international courier (Royal Mail Special Delivery to Madrid): £25.
• Sworn translation of passport scan (one page): €40.
• Estimated total: around €560 (figures vary by lawyer and apostille speed).

Example 2 — Madrid in-person, self-managed

An applicant already in Madrid for a tech-sector job offer, comfortable with Spanish, books their own cita previa and attends with all documents.

• Tasa 790-012: 9,84 €.
• Service fee: 0 € (self-managed).
• Ancillary: 0 € (employer-issued contract used as justification, no foreign documents).
• Estimated total: 9,84 €. This is the absolute floor of NIE cost.

Example 3 — US applicant via Spanish consulate

A US citizen in California applies through the Spanish Consulate General in Los Angeles for an NIE linked to an inheritance procedure.

• Tasa 790-012: 9,84 € (paid in USD at consulate rate).
• Service fee: 0 € (no gestor, direct consulate appointment).
• California Secretary of State apostille on death certificate: $20.
• Sworn translation of death certificate (two pages): €100.
• Travel to LA consulate: $80 in fuel and parking.
• Estimated total: around €200 plus travel.

Common Cost Mistakes

Mistakes that change the budget at the last moment:

• Assuming the Tasa is the only cost. It rarely is, unless you are physically in Spain and have a clean Spanish-issued justification.
• Paying the Tasa before checking the form. A rejected EX-15 sometimes means a fresh Tasa, fresh appointment, and double the document cost.
• Translating documents that do not need translation. Consulates typically accept original documents in English; check the specific consulate before paying for sworn translation.
• Using a notarial translation instead of a sworn one. Spanish administration accepts only sworn (jurada) translations from translators on the Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores register. Notarial translations from other countries are rejected — the cost is wasted.
• Forgetting return courier on POA. The original NIE certificate must reach you in some way. If your representative does not include return courier, factor it in separately.
• Treating gestor and lawyer as the same thing. A gestor handles paperwork; a lawyer (abogado) takes legal responsibility. For POA you need a lawyer or a gestor authorised to act under the POA.