Cl@ve in Spain: how to get it and log in to Mi Carpeta Ciudadana

What Cl@ve is and how it differs from Mi Carpeta Ciudadana and the digital certificate

Cl@ve unifies and simplifies citizens’ electronic access to public services: you identify yourself with keys issued in advance instead of keeping a different password for each portal. It complements login with DNI-e and a digital certificate rather than replacing them [1]. Mi Carpeta Ciudadana (MCC) is the account area itself, a personal space that brings together data and cases from different authorities; you can only enter it with electronic identification [7][8]. DEHú (Dirección Electrónica Habilitada Única) is the single point where electronic notifications are received [7][9].

The Cl@ve login methods differ. Cl@ve Móvil: you scan a QR code or confirm a push request in the Cl@ve app, with no password needed [20]. Cl@ve Permanente: a user code (your DNI or NIE number) and a password you set on activation; for higher-security services a one-time SMS code is added [19]. Cl@ve PIN: a code you choose plus a PIN sent to the app or by SMS, valid for a limited time [17]. Separately there is Cl@ve Firma, an electronic signature with a cloud certificate [1]. For PIN, Permanente and Móvil you must first register in the system [17][19][20].

How a foreigner gets Cl@ve: registration methods and levels

Cl@ve is issued after registration, which has two levels. The basic level opens many services, but not all, and does not let you use Cl@ve Firma (the cloud signature). Procedures with enhanced security require the advanced level [2]. Services that require registration in person, with a certificate or with DNIe are marked on the portal with a special icon [6].

Without an NIE you cannot order the invitation letter, while the FNMT certificate is issued free of charge to foreign nationals and citizens over 18 with a DNI or NIE; identity is verified at an office, with a document showing the NIE and your passport [18]. So the NIE is the first link in the chain. We covered it in our article on the NIE in Barcelona.

In-person registration offices belong to the networks of the AEAT, Seguridad Social, SEPE, Delegaciones del Gobierno, the autonomous communities and local authorities; you can find the nearest one in the Punto de Acceso General using the “Cl@ve” filter. Many require an appointment, and attending in person is mandatory [5]. The page on in-person registration refers to the DNI and does not describe documents for foreign nationals, so check with the office before your visit what they accept with an NIE or TIE. Once any registration is complete, you receive a notification on your mobile device and a welcome SMS to the number you gave [2].

How to get Cl@ve with an NIE via an invitation letter: steps and pitfalls

For a foreign national with an NIE, this is the most accessible route without a certificate. The steps as described on clave.gob.es [3]:

1. Have ready your NIE and the document support number (número de soporte), your mobile phone number and your email.
2. Check that the Agencia Tributaria has your current address on file: the letter is sent by post to your domicilio fiscal.
3. Request the letter through the Cl@ve portal. It will contain a Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV) of 16 digits and capital letters.
4. When the letter arrives, complete the registration by entering the code, your mobile number and your email. The page does not state how long the code is valid.
5. Install the Cl@ve app or activate Cl@ve Permanente by setting a password [19][20].

This is the basic level: it opens many services, but not all, and Cl@ve Firma is not available with it [2]. What to know in advance:

First: if you are not in the Agencia Tributaria database or your address is out of date, the page does not explain how the letter will reach you, and we have not confirmed this. Second: one phone number is linked to only one DNI or NIE; if someone else registers with your number, you will be left without a phone in your registration [6].

Third: a foreign number is allowed; you enter the country code without the plus sign, and your operator must accept SMS from other countries [6]. Fourth: the phone number can only be changed through the Agencia Tributaria website or the Cl@ve app with DNIe or a certificate, or at a registration office [6]. Fifth: the Cl@ve Permanente activation code is needed to manage your password; a lost code is reissued under “Otras gestiones” on the Agencia Tributaria website [6].

How to use Mi Carpeta Ciudadana

Mi Carpeta Ciudadana (carpetaciudadana.gob.es) is a personal space created by the Administración General del Estado together with other administrations. In it you can receive alerts and view your personal data, documents, appointments, notifications and open cases from different authorities in one place. There is a website, an iOS and Android app and a virtual assistant, Ada, which for now works only on the website [8].

You can only log in after identifying yourself: with Cl@ve, DNIe, any recognised electronic certificate, or the Cl@ve PIN and Permanente systems [7]. Useful things to know when using the account area:

• The account area works as an intermediary. It stores almost no data on cases or people itself; requests are forwarded to the authorities that manage that data [7].
• If data is shown incorrectly, it has to be corrected with the data owner, not in the account area; each page of the section gives the authority’s sede or phone number [7].
• If a case or service is not displayed, it may be temporarily unavailable; while that lasts, check the case on the authority’s sede [7].
• Calendar appointments are updated automatically about once a day, and you can refresh them manually a limited number of times; an appointment with an organisation not yet connected to the account area will not appear there [7].
• In the account area you can view notifications and find out about them, but you cannot manage them: that is what DEHú is for. Announcements in the Tablón Edictal Único linked to your NIF or NIE are also visible [7].

We could not find on the official pages which extranjería procedures, and yours in particular, are shown in the account area. The Madrid FAQ only says that the office’s notification is placed in DEHú or Carpeta Ciudadana [11]. Check this with your own case: after filing, see whether the case appears and what it is called.

Notifications from extranjería: DEHú, Mi Carpeta and the digital certificate

Electronic notifications are accepted through DEHú or the account area, and logging in requires electronic identification: a certificate or Cl@ve [9]. The law sets out the procedure as follows: a notification is deemed served at the moment you or your duly identified representative access its content. If the electronic form is mandatory or you chose it yourself, and ten calendar days pass without it being opened, the notification is deemed rejected [10].

The Delegación del Gobierno en Madrid guide dated 20.08.2026 describes that office’s practice. If the application has “consiento” ticked for electronic notifications, the document is posted to DEHú or Carpeta Ciudadana for ten calendar days and does not arrive by post. It can be opened with a certificate linked to the DNI or NIE of the person named in “domicilio a efecto de notificaciones”; an email address alone is not enough.

If you or that person has no certificate, the box is left unticked and notifications are sent by post [11]. The guide says nothing here about Cl@ve, so ask the office whether the notification will open with Cl@ve before relying on it. More on the sede and time limits: sede electrónica; what happens if you miss one: desistimiento and caducidad.

Where Cl@ve works during your move and where you need a digital certificate

Cl@ve covers the account area, paying fees, certificates and the Seguridad Social number, while applications and signatures are more reliably done with a certificate. More: how to get a Seguridad Social number and how to pay the modelo 790 fee. If you are setting up access from scratch, a sensible order is: NIE, then the certificate (FNMT [18]; the Delegación office in Barcelona names idCAT and FNMT as places to obtain one [16]), then Cl@ve. On the certificate and access for a representative, see the article certificado digital and representatives. For the documents you will need later, see the document checklist, and for the DNV filing procedure, the DNV route card.

Security and access for a representative

Registration in Cl@ve cannot be done through a representative: you must attend an office in person with your document. This is how the portal makes sure the access credentials belong to one person [5][6]. A gestor or lawyer cannot obtain Cl@ve for you, but they can act under a power of attorney. For UGE permits, the sede page names an electronic power of attorney through the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos [14]; for other procedures, the process is described in the article on gestors and lawyers.

One simple rule of our own, not from official documents: do not give your Cl@ve password, QR confirmations or SMS codes to someone who will “file for you faster”. If a service provider asks for your whole certificate or password, discuss instead a formal authorisation (poder) limited to specific actions. Use the official addresses, clave.gob.es and carpetaciudadana.gob.es, not links from emails or messaging apps.

Common mistakes

• Counting on video identification. For now it is only offered to Spanish citizens with a DNI; a foreign national is left with the letter, a certificate or an office visit [4].
• Ordering the letter without the NIE support number or with an out-of-date address at the Agencia Tributaria: the letter goes to your domicilio fiscal [3].
• Assuming the basic level opens everything. The portal itself says it is not valid for all services and does not give access to Cl@ve Firma [2].
• Setting up Cl@ve on a phone number already linked to another person: registrations “take over” the number, and the previous holder is left without a phone [6].
• Confusing seeing a notification with accepting it. In Mi Carpeta you see that a notification exists, but it is accepted in DEHú; for deadlines, the moment it is opened is what counts [7][10].
• Consenting to electronic notifications when the person in the address field has no certificate: the document will be placed in DEHú and will be inaccessible [11].
• Losing the Cl@ve Permanente activation code. Without it you cannot recover your password; a new code is issued through the Agencia Tributaria website [6].

When you need an individual review

A review is needed if you have no address registered with the Agencia Tributaria and the invitation letter does not arrive, if you plan to file through a representative, if your application already has consent to electronic notifications ticked but you have no access to them, or if a response deadline is running and you are not sure whether you have received a notification. These are questions for a gestor or lawyer based on your documents: the deadline depends on the date the notification was opened.

How we can help

The ReloVictory team in Barcelona explains which access your specific procedure requires and helps you go from NIE to certificate and Cl@ve. We set up who receives notifications on the case, arrange representation where it is allowed, and check that you open documents on time. The first 15 minutes of a consultation are free, and a full 45-minute consultation costs €121; fees are paid separately, and we are not responsible for how long authorities take to respond. Book: consultation. Service: documents and appointments with authorities.

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ReloVictory · Sources reviewed 02.10.2026 · Not a substitute for individual legal advice.