Register in the municipal companion animal census

What you need at hand

1. DNI/NIE of the owner. 2) Domicilio in the municipality (certificado de empadronamiento or a bill with your address). 3) Microchip number and certificado del veterinario. 4) Cartilla or passport with dates and vaccines (rabies if your CCAA requires it). 5) If applicable, justificante del registro autonómico that the vet usually issues. 6) Card to pay the municipal fee if there is one.

Documentation

• DNI/NIE (both sides).
• Empadronamiento or a bill with the municipality address (many ayuntamientos ask for this).
• Certificado de microchip and animal details (species, breed, sex, birth date).
• Cartilla or European passport of the animal; rabies up to date where required by your CCAA.
• Justificante autonómico de identificación (if your community manages it separately) or authorisation to the vet to register.
• Documento de adopción/compra/cesión if you change the owner.
• Justificante de pago of the municipal fee (if applicable).

Step by step

1. Put the microchip at your vet. They give you the number and the certificate with your details.
2. If your CCAA works via vets, authorise the autonómico alta and ask for the justificante. They’ll email it or print it.
3. Go to the sede electrónica of your ayuntamiento and find the trámite “Censo de animales de compañía”. Fill in the animal and chip data.
4. Attach DNI/NIE, proof of address, cartilla/pasaporte and, if applicable, the justificante autonómico. PDFs are safer so they don’t reject them as “illegible”.
5. Pay the fee if your ayuntamiento charges (TPV with card) and download the receipt.
6. Submit the request and keep the resguardo/expediente. If they ask you to subsanar, upload the missing docs from the “Aportar documentos” option in the sede.

Time-savers

• Do the autonómico alta at the clinic the same day you get the microchip and leave with the justificante.
• Many sedes choke on big files. PDF 1–3 MB solves most issues. If it breaks on Safari/mobile, try Chrome or Firefox.
• If you can’t find the trámite, search “censo animal” or “censo canino” in the sede. It’s often buried.
• Save the microchip number and the resguardo on your phone. Those ten minutes matter if the animal goes missing.
• Moving house or changing phone? Add update the censo to your moving checklist. You avoid letters and hassle.

Typical mistakes that can derail the process

• Thinking the microchip alone is enough: you also need the censo municipal (and sometimes the autonómico).
• Duplicating the registration (autonómico and municipal) or paying twice because you didn’t read the trámite.
• Uploading a photo of the dog instead of the certificado del chip. Yes, it happens a lot.
• Not attaching the cartilla with rabies where your CCAA requires it: they’ll return it for subsanación.
• Moving and not updating the ayuntamiento in the census. Then fines or letters keep going to the old address.