Home › Guide › The cadastral reference: the key to a Spanish property
The cadastral reference: the key to a Spanish property
Twenty characters identify any property in Spain more precisely than its address. With them you can check, for free, the floor area, the year of construction, the use, the parcel plan and the units a building contains. It is the first thing any serious check asks for — and the thing fewest people know how to read.
How to read it
The reference has 20 characters, for example 9872023VH5797S0001WX. The first 7 identify the parcel within the map sheet, the next 7 the sheet (VH5797S), the next 4 the unit within the parcel (0001 = the first; a 30-flat block has 30) and the last 2 are check digits. The first 14 already identify the parcel; all 20 identify the specific flat.
Where it is
- On the IBI (property tax) bill, always.
- In the purchase deed: since 2004 the law requires it.
- In the nota simple from the Land Registry (it can be missing on old properties).
- In the listing, rarely. Ask the agent for it: if they do not have it, that is a signal.
- At the Sede Electrónica del Catastro: search by address or click on the map.
What it unlocks
At the Sede del Catastro, without a digital certificate, the reference shows: official address, built and parcel area, year of construction, main use, the units that make up the parcel with their area and use (dwelling, garage, storeroom, commercial), and the mapping with the parcel outline. With a digital certificate the owner also sees the cadastral value.
Compare what the cadastre says with what the listing says: advertised area against built area, year of construction against "renovated", number of units against "whole building for sale". Differences are not necessarily deceit, but they are questions.
The Basque foral cadastre
In Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa and Álava the cadastre is run by the provincial Diputaciones Forales, with their own references (in Bizkaia, polygon-parcel within the municipality; Gipuzkoa and Álava have their own formats) and their own portals. The national Sede del Catastro does not cover them. GeoEuskadi shows the parcels of all three territories in one viewer. A PropVer report accepts foral references and resolves them to the parcel.
What the reference does not tell you
Who owns it, what charges it carries, whether there is an embargo, what the planning says, whether it is in a flood zone. For title and charges, the nota simple from the Land Registry (about €10). For the rest, the records in the guide.
Check your property in two minutes
Address, cadastral reference, coordinates or a click on the map. If it is in the service area, the report is free during the beta.
Updated 2026-10-23.