Change your GP (Primary Care)

What you need to have to hand

1. Cl@ve, digital certificate or DNIe to enter your comunidad’s health portal.
2. Tarjeta Sanitaria Individual (TSI) and DNI/NIE.
3. Certificado de empadronamiento if you’re changing centre or you’re outside your zone.
4. Proof of shifts/studies/care responsibilities if your CCAA requires a reason to skip minimum permanence or zone rules.

Documentation

• TSI de tu CCAA (or SIP/TIS number if you come from another comunidad).
• DNI/NIE (and passport if they ask for it in person).
• Certificado de empadronamiento vigente (they often ask it to be less than 3 months old) when you change centre or zona básica de salud.
• Justificante de necesidad (work hours, studies, care duties) if you want a change outside the zone or before the minimum permanence.
• Documento de desplazado temporal if you request assignment in another CCAA for a short period.

Step by step

1. Identify yourself online on your health service portal. Official examples: Madrid (libre elección): https://www.comunidad.madrid/servicios/salud/libre-eleccion-medico-enfermero-y-pediatra; Andalucía (ClicSalud+, libre elección): https://www.sspa.juntadeandalucia.es/servicioandaluzdesalud/ciudadania/libre-eleccion; Catalunya (Tria de metge): https://catsalut.gencat.cat/ca/ciutadania/tria-metge/.
2. In Atención Primaria, go to “Libre elección” or “Cambio de profesional”. Select centre and filter by shift (morning/afternoon) if that matters to you.
3. Choose an available professional. If it shows cupo completo, try another or change centre. If you change centre, the system may ask for empadronamiento.
4. Attach documents when requested (empadronamiento, proof of shifts). Check details and confirm.
5. Save the receipt (PDF or registration number). Same-centre changes are usually quick (24–72 h). Centre changes can take 1–4 weeks.
6. No online access? Go to administración of your health centre with DNI/NIE and TSI. They’ll make the change in the system and give you a receipt.
7. If your CCAA has a tarjeta sanitaria digital, check your health folder to confirm your new doctor appears.

Time-savers

• Do it weekday mornings: more professionals and visible shifts, and sites are less overloaded.
• If you care about shift, filter or check the agenda before confirming. Minimum permanence can bind you for months.
• Moving soon? Get empadronamiento now at the town hall; without it many centres outside your zone won’t accept you.
• If you’re on sick leave or waiting tests, consider waiting so referrals and electronic prescriptions don’t get messed up.
• Always keep the PDF confirmation. It saves time if something goes wrong at the desk.

Common mistakes that can derail your request

1. Trying to change to a professional with a closed quota and thinking the site is wrong. It isn’t: the professional can’t take more patients.
2. Forgetting your CCAA’s minimum permanence and getting the change denied for doing it too soon.
3. Not providing empadronamiento when changing centre and getting rejected for being outside the zone.
4. Changing in the middle of an IT and having prescriptions, appointments or sick notes get out of sync.
5. Browser incompatibility: some portals work better in Chrome or with the certificate loaded. If Cl@ve fails, try another browser or DNIe.