Spain has launched a new digital ID which can be downloaded onto your mobile phone.

Wednesday, 2 April 2025, 18:15

On Tuesday, the Spanish Government Cabinet approved a Royal Decree allowing citizens of Spain to access their DNI cards via an app named MiDNI for their mobile phones or smart devices. The Minister of Interior Fernando Grande Marlaska has said that the format will be implemented in phases.

The first phase, which began today, Wednesday 2 April, following the publication of the BOE decree, will see the digital ID cards being used to authenticate the identity of their holders before civil servants or police officers, during face-to-face (administrative or legal) procedures, when entering public or private areas, opening bank account or signing documents before a notary. The digital ID card can be used for many other things, such as checking into a hotel or renting a car. It can even be used to pick up a package from the postoffice, attend a concert, and receive a parcel. This digital ID will enable all face-toface identifications that are currently performed with the physical cards.

In the second stage, which will last for a year, it is also intended to certify identities in electronic signature operations or online procedures. Marlaska stated that the application “will be fully operational” and said that “Spain will join the select group European countries who already have systems allowing identity to be accredited via mobile phone.” Digital identification through mobile phones will coexist alongside physical DNI cards. The traditional ID card will remain in place.

To obtain a DNI digital, three steps must be completed. Prior registration is required. This unambiguously ties the citizen’s identification to a phone number which allows the MiDNI application to be downloaded and virtualised, as well as the verification of the DNI process.

Registration can be done online, according to the Interior Ministry www.midni.gob.es The National Police has 290 documentation units and any of their documentation update points (PADs) located in police stations, town halls or at the National Police.

At these places, citizens will be informed about the download and registration process for the app. The DNI associated with the telephone number will be verified using single-use codes, which the user must enter in order to complete the process. There can only be one DNI associated with each mobile number.

The app can show different data depending on the type of data. For example, DNI EDAD shows the photo, the name and the age. DNI SIMPLE shows the name, the surname, the sex, the validity of the DNI and the photograph. DNI COMPLETE will show all the data from the physical document.

The application will generate a QR code which is displayed for a limited time on the DNI holder’s phone. This allows verification. It will then lose validity after this time and you will have to generate a new one.