eIdentifier vs Cl@ve: Two Ways to Log In to Spanish Government Sites

Spain. Nationwide government login: immigration, tax, town hall, traffic. For people with a NIE and usually a TIE.

Last checked: 17 August 2026. Names and steps follow official Cl@ve, FNMT, Mercurio, and Migraciones pages on that date.

#NIE #TIE #lote

Electronic certificate, Cl@ve, eIdentifier, card reader, QR code, verification code — they sound like six systems. Online, you only need two roads. Both usually sit on the same Cl@ve page.

The two roads

Same Cl@ve page, four buttons. For NIE/TIE holders the two roads are Cl@ve (Móvil or Permanente) and eIdentifier (the certificate). EU Citizens is eIDAS for other EU logins — not a third Spanish method. Screenshot 17 August 2026.

	Cl@ve	eIdentifier
What it does	Proves who you are (login)	Proves who you are — and can sign
Mercurio extranjería filing: sign, then submit	Cannot	Can — it calls the digital certificate already on your PC
ICP (cita / lote)	Often enough, or not needed	Not required to book; useful if the site offers a certificate login
How you use it	Phone: scan the QR, match the 3-digit code, confirm in the app. Or username + password	Click eIdentifier (English) or DNI-e / certificado electrónico (Spanish); the PC offers the certificate you installed
How you get it	Register Cl@ve	Get the FNMT certificate and install it. You do not apply for a separate “eIdentifier”
When	Phone, another computer, or you only need to look something up	Your own PC, certificate already installed, especially a signed Mercurio filing
Who	You have no certificate yet, or you are not on your PC	You must file a signed extranjería renewal yourself, or you already use that PC every day

The other words are not extra systems:

• Digital certificate — the file on your computer that eIdentifier uses. For most people with a NIE, that file is the FNMT software certificate. Install once.
• Card reader — for a Spanish DNI chip. The usual FNMT certificate for foreigners does not need one.
• QR code and 3-digit code — how Cl@ve Móvil checks that the website and the phone are the same login.

The one job Cl@ve cannot do

For the types it lists, renewing the authorization (residence or stay) online is Mercurio, on sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es — not ICP.

That step is sign first, then submit. Official Mercurio: a recognised digital certificate or DNIe, plus AutoFirma. Migraciones says the same: electronic renewals need a digital certificate or DNIe.

That signature is eIdentifier calling the FNMT digital certificate. Cl@ve Móvil / Permanente has no signature for this step. If you only have Cl@ve, you can log in to many pages — you cannot complete that Mercurio packet.

Official line: agreed-key Cl@ve identifies you; it does not electronically sign (except a rare Cl@ve Firma that almost no TIE procedure uses). administración.gob.es

ICP is the appointment and lote site. Booking a fingerprint slot there is not the signed renewal packet.

A granted authorization is still not the plastic card. Fingerprints stay in person. Then check lote.

How to choose

1. Filing on Mercurio (sign + submit): Mercurio guide — get the digital certificate, install AutoFirma, then click eIdentifier.
2. Only checking or booking, on your phone: Cl@ve. ICP cita often works without either.
3. Do not buy a card reader to “turn on eIdentifier” if you already use the FNMT file on the PC.

Check the card (#lote)

Login is not lote. NIE is the number, TIE is the card, lote is the queue after fingerprints.

Check lote here: https://sclt.es/tie/consultar/

The ICP site can go down for maintenance. SCLT is the check page; numbers and meanings still follow official data.

#NIE #TIE #lote

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How-to: Mercurio · eIdentifier · Cl@ve · Digital certificate · What is TIE? · What is lote? · Check lote