Request your Certificado Urbanístico at your ayuntamiento

What you need to have to hand

1. Cl@ve, certificado digital or DNIe working. Without one, you can't do much online.
2. Referencia catastral of the property/plot. You can get it at https://www1.sedecatastro.gob.es using the address or the map.
3. Location plan: mark the plot/premises on official cartography and, if possible, add UTM coordinates.
4. Owner details (if it's not you) and a signed authorization to request it on their behalf.
5. If asking for compatibilidad urbanística for an activity, a brief memoria del uso previsto (what it is, area, opening hours, capacity… the basics).

Documentation

• DNI/NIE or NIF of the applicant. If acting for someone else, add authorization and their DNI.
• Referencia catastral and exact address.
• Plan/croquis de situación in PDF, ideally over Catastro or the municipal SIG.
• Proof of payment of the fee, if your ayuntamiento requires it.
• Nota simple or escritura (recommended to avoid back-and-forth).
• Memoria de uso if you ask for compatibilidad urbanística for an activity.

Step by step

1. Find the trámite on your ayuntamiento's sede electrónica. If there's no specific form, use the Instancia General and title it: “Solicitud de Certificado de Información Urbanística/Compatibilidad Urbanística”.
2. ID yourself with Cl@ve/certificado and fill in the form: referencia catastral, address, type of certificate and reason.
3. Attach the location plan, authorization (if applicable) and the memoria de uso for compatibility. Add phone and email for notifications.
4. If there's a fee, create the autoliquidación in the Tasas/Autoliquidaciones area of the sede, pay (card/banking) and save the receipt as PDF.
5. Submit in the Registro Electrónico and download the resguardo with the registration number and CSV. If your ayuntamiento has no specific trámite, you can use the REG: https://rec.redsara.es/registro/action/are/acceso.do directed to your ayuntamiento.
6. Wait for the resolution. You'll get a notice by email/SMS and you can download it from your Carpeta Ciudadana: https://carpetaciudadana.gob.es or from the municipal sede.
7. Check the certificate: conditions, afecciones (protections, easements), and validity. Keep it with the CSV.

Tricks that save you time

• Nail the referencia catastral and attach a screenshot from Catastro with the parcel highlighted. Avoid silly requests.
• Keep PDFs light: under 10 MB per file. If not, the portal often throws an error at the worst moment.
• If asking for compatibilidad urbanística, add four lines in the memoria de uso. You may avoid them asking for it later.
• Pay the fee before registering if your municipality requires it. If you don't attach the receipt, the file will be incomplete.
• If there's no specific form, the Instancia General works. Put the referencia catastral and the type of certificate in the subject.

Common mistakes that can derail the process

1. Wrong referencia catastral or one for another property: they will request correction and you'll lose weeks.
2. Not proving authorization if you're not the owner: the file will be halted.
3. Plan without location or coordinates: urbanismo won't know which parcel to check and will return it.
4. Not paying the fee when it is required beforehand: inadmissión or a subsanación that stops the clock.
5. Requesting the wrong certificate: for activities, ask for compatibilidad urbanística; the generic information certificate won't suffice.