To sign up for idCAT Mòbil you must be over 16 and have a mobile and an email. Online, with a DNI or TIE and your health card (TSI) number; if you only have a passport or an EU ID, by video identification. You can also do it at a Generalitat Oficina de Atención Ciudadana. It is free and does not expire.
Living in Barcelona for a few months sooner or later means doing something online with the authorities, and the way of identifying yourself that keeps coming up on Generalitat and City Council websites has a name: idCAT Mòbil. It is not an app or a certificate to install, but a digital identity that works with your mobile. This is what the Administració Oberta de Catalunya (AOC), whose website handles sign-ups, the Generalitat and Barcelona City Council explain.
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What it is
The AOC describes it as a simple digital identification system you can use from any mobile, tablet or computer. It works like this: when a procedure asks you to identify yourself, you enter your details, receive a code on your mobile and type it in to prove it is you.
Barcelona City Council adds what newcomers appreciate most: it is used to identify yourself and to sign, there are no passwords to remember and no app to install, it is free and it does not expire with time.
What it is for if you live here for a few months
According to the AOC, it works for most procedures with Catalan public authorities, whether town councils or the Generalitat. Barcelona City Council speaks of most Generalitat procedures and more than 800 Catalan town councils, and warns that some municipal services and grants applied for online require it.
For someone who has just arrived, the clearest uses are already covered on the blog: registering on the padrón online through the City Council's Oficina Virtual, or logging into La Meva Salut to book a GP appointment. In both cases idCAT Mòbil is one of the accepted ways to identify yourself.
What you always need
To sign up online you must be over 16 and have a mobile phone and an email address for notifications. The mobile can be foreign: when you enter the number you choose the country code, for example +39 for Italy or +33 for France. The rest depends on which document you have, and there are three routes.
Online with a DNI or TIE and a health card
This is the most direct route. It asks for a DNI or a TIE, the foreigner's identity card, and the number of your individual health card (TSI) or MUFACE card. That is why many newcomers are better off getting the health card first, which is explained in the guide to the TSI for foreigners.
You go to the AOC's idCAT Mòbil page and press the sign-up button. An assistant asks which document you have (Spanish DNI, TIE, passport or another country's ID) and recommends a method. Then you fill in your personal details, check them, accept the terms of service and enter the one-time password sent by SMS. At the end a confirmation message appears on screen and a second SMS announces that you are registered.
With a passport or EU ID: video identification
If you have neither a DNI nor a TIE, for example because you are European and only carry your passport or your national ID card, the route is sign-up by selfie or video identification. A DNI, TIE, passport or ID card from a European Union country is valid, plus your mobile. The steps are the same as for the previous route.
The AOC sums it up: anyone in the world over 16 can obtain this digital identity with a mobile and a passport or ID card, without leaving home.
In person or with a digital certificate
You can also do it at a Generalitat Oficina de Atención Ciudadana or at an idCAT Mòbil registration office. There you show your DNI, NIE, TIE or passport, bring the mobile you will use and fill in and sign the sign-up form. The AOC recommends contacting the office first to check opening hours and whether you need an appointment. According to the Generalitat, if you have a DNI and give its expiry date, at the office you can get idCAT Mòbil+, the reinforced version.
If you already have a personal digital certificate, you can sign up with it online: you only add what the certificate does not include, namely your mobile, date of birth and email, and confirm with the password sent by SMS. All the steps are on the Generalitat's sign-up page.
After signing up
If you change documents, for example from an NIE to a DNI, idCAT Mòbil does not update itself: you have to cancel it in person at a registration office and sign up again with the new one. If you lose your mobile or it is stolen, the AOC advises cancelling the SIM card first and then requesting the suspension of your idCAT Mòbil, so nobody can carry out procedures in your name.
For help signing up, Barcelona City Council refers you to 010 and, for specific questions during the process, to 900 90 50 90. The Generalitat answers on 012.
Checked
Checked on 18 October 2026 on the Administració Oberta de Catalunya's idCAT Mòbil website (what it is, who can apply, in-person sign-up, changes and suspension), on the Generalitat's page on how to sign up for idCAT Mòbil and on Barcelona City Council's page on signing up for idCAT Móvil.
Quick questions
Can I sign up for idCAT Mòbil without a health card?
Yes. The DNI or TIE route asks for a TSI or MUFACE card, but video identification works with a passport or an ID card from a European Union country, and you can also do it in person.
Can I use a foreign mobile?
Yes. When you enter the number you choose the country code, for example +39 for Italy or +33 for France.
What happens if I change from an NIE to a DNI?
idCAT Mòbil does not update itself: you have to cancel it in person at a registration office and sign up again with the new document.