Digital Certificate (Certificado Digital): Complete Setup Guide

Last checked: 17 August 2026.

Cl@ve can log you in. It cannot sign. On Mercurio, for the types it lists, renewing a TIE-related authorization (sign, then submit) uses eIdentifier, which calls this digital certificate from FNMT, plus AutoFirma. No card reader for this file. ICP is appointments and lote. Comparison: eIdentifier vs Cl@ve.

It’s a software certificate issued by the FNMT (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre — Spain’s national mint) that lives on your computer. Once installed, it lets you authenticate, sign documents, and use the government services that accept a qualified certificate — without carrying your TIE card or needing your phone.

If you have a NIE, you can apply — student stay, temporary residence, long-term, family reunion, EU registration certificate. At the office you show TIE (or the NIE grant letter / EU certificate) plus passport. You must be 18 or an emancipated minor.

What Can You Do with It?

Everything Cl@ve does, plus:

• Sign documents legally — contracts, declarations, power of attorney
• Submit immigration applications online via Mercurio — sign with this certificate and AutoFirma
• Pay TASA 790-052 online via the administration payment gateway when the procedure offers it
• Request refunds for incorrect TASA payments — submit electronically
• Book fingerprint appointments for other people — some ICP flows allow this when you log in with a certificate; you are still acting in your own name
• Download empadronamiento instantly — no waiting for postal delivery
• File taxes, check social security, access DGT — same as Cl@ve but without phone dependency

How to Get It: 4 Steps

Step 1: Download FNMT software

Go to the FNMT website (sede.fnmt.gob.es) and download the Configurador FNMT software. Install it on the computer where you’ll use the certificate.

Critical: the certificate will only be installable on this same computer. Don’t use a shared or temporary machine.

Step 2: Submit application online

On the FNMT website, select Certificado de persona física → Solicitar certificado. Official form fields are:

• Your NIE (9 characters; pad with zeros if needed)
• Your first surname only (primer apellido), as on the TIE
• Your email address

You’ll receive a request code (código de solicitud) by email. Save it.

Step 3: In-person identity verification

Visit one of these offices in person with your TIE (or NIE grant letter) + passport and the request code. FNMT does not publish a 10-day deadline; it recommends getting the code the same day you go. AEAT, Social Security, and other offices require cita previa — check with the office. This certificate cannot be requested at Correos.

• Tax office (AEAT) — usually the easiest cita
• Social Security office — cita previa
• Some other accreditation offices — use FNMT’s office locator

The officer verifies your identity. FNMT says the download is available about one hour later; download it as soon as you can, on the same computer.

Step 4: Download and install

After identity verification, return to the FNMT website on the same computer. Enter your request code and download the certificate. FNMT: about one hour after the office accreditation.

During installation, you must set a password. This password is:

• Required every time you install or export the certificate
• Not recoverable — if you forget it, you must start over from Step 1
• Should be stored securely (password manager recommended)

Export and Transfer

Once installed, you can export the certificate unlimited times and transfer it between computers:

Export: Browser settings → Privacy & Security → Manage certificates → Export → Select “export private key” → Enter your password → Save the .p12 file

Import on another computer: Double-click the .p12 file → Enter password → Installed.

A certificate exported without a password is invalid. Always include the private key and password.

Mobile Access

The official FNMT app allows certificate installation on mobile phones. However, most government websites are difficult to use on mobile — a computer is still needed for practical purposes.

For mobile-friendly government access, Cl@ve works better.

When It Expires

FNMT persona-física software certificates are valid 4 years. AEAT: you may renew once online in the 2 months before expiry. After that, or if it has already expired, start from Step 1 again.

When you need it

• Must have: Mercurio extranjería filing that asks you to sign, then submit — eIdentifier uses this certificate. Install AutoFirma.
• Phone-only login: Cl@ve is enough until you have to sign.

Lote / pickup is not the certificate. Check here: https://sclt.es/tie/consultar/ (what lote means). SCLT is the check page; data follows official sources.

#NIE #TIE #lote

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Related: eIdentifier vs Cl@ve · Mercurio · eIdentifier · Cl@ve · What is TIE? · Check lote