What Is a Lote Number? Your TIE Card Queue Position Explained

You’ve been fingerprinted. You have a receipt. Somewhere on it there’s a number labeled “lote” and nobody at the police station explained what it means.

That number is the single most useful piece of information for answering the question on every immigrant’s mind: how long until my card is ready?

If you haven’t been through the fingerprinting stage yet, start with What Is TIE? for the full picture of the residence card process.

What Is a Lote Number?

At the end of your fingerprinting appointment (toma de huellas), you receive a receipt (resguardo). The lote number on it is your individual position in the card manufacturing and delivery queue for your specific police station.

Your TIE card is manufactured at a central facility and shipped in batches to the police station where you were fingerprinted. The lote number tells you which batch yours belongs to.

Each applicant gets their own lote number. Family members fingerprinted at the same office on the same day will have different numbers — we’ve verified cases with lotes 350, 362, 363, and 385 from one family.

Where to Find It on Your Receipt

Your lote number is printed on the resguardo — the paper receipt you receive after fingerprinting. Look for:

• The word “LOTE” or “Nº LOTE” — usually in the middle or lower section of the receipt
• It may appear near “EXPEDIENTE” (file number) or “NÚMERO DE SOPORTE” (support number) — these are different numbers, don’t confuse them
• The lote is typically a 3-digit number (like 289) or in year/number format (like 2026/289)

Lote format varies by region

Format	Example	Where you’ll see it
Bare number	125	Most provinces
Year/number	2026/289	Valencia and some Mediterranean offices
Number/year	17/2026	Girona-style format

The number itself is what matters. Whether it says 289 or 2026/289, the comparison logic is the same: when the office’s published number reaches yours, your card is ready.

Why Your Receipt Is a Critical Document

Do not lose your resguardo. It is one of the essential documents for picking up your TIE card. At the police station, you may need to present:

1. Your resguardo (the fingerprinting receipt with your lote)
2. Your passport
3. Proof of fee payment (Tasa 790 código 012)
4. Your prev Tie card

Without the resguardo, the pickup process becomes significantly harder — you may need to request a replacement or provide additional identification. Take a photo of it immediately and store it in your phone and cloud.

The lote number on this receipt is also the key to checking your card status online. Without it, you have no way to know whether your card has arrived at the office.

How to Use Your Lote Number

The Spanish immigration system publishes which lote has most recently been received at each office. Here’s how to check:

Step 1. Go to the ICP appointment website: sede.administracionespublicas.gob.es

Step 2. Select your province, then select the specific office where you were fingerprinted.

Step 3. The page displays:

“EL ÚLTIMO LOTE RECIBIDO EN LA OFICINA SELECCIONADA ES EL [number]” “The last lote received at the selected office is [number]”

Step 4. Compare: published lote ≥ your lote → your card is there. Time to pick it up.

Or skip the manual checking — check your status on SCLT → and get an estimated pickup date instantly.

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Related

• Check your TIE card status → — enter your lote, see estimated pickup date
• What Is TIE? — TIE vs NIE, card fields, digital access
• Card Pickup Guide — what to bring, what to expect
• Processing Times — how fast offices process, speed comparison
• Choose Your Office — pick a faster office before fingerprinting
• Live Tracker → — real-time lote data for every office in Spain