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Getting your Spanish social security number (NUSS)

What the social security number is, when you need it, how to request it online through Import@ss with a selfie and your ID if you have no digital certificate, the difference between the number and being registered (alta), and how it connects to your health card.

Checked 8 Oct 2026
Applies to
Anyone who will work in Spain as an employee or self-employed person, including international teleworkers registered in Spain, and anyone who needs to be added to the public health system. Students who will not work usually do not need it straight away.
Effort
Low effort
Time needed
About 20 minutes online; requests without a digital certificate need identity verification first
Cost
Free of charge.
When
You can request the number at any time. Employees need it before their first day, because the employer must register them with Social Security before work starts.
On this page
  1. Overview
  2. Before you start
  3. Documents you need
  4. Step by step
  5. Watch out
  6. Common mistakes
  7. Tips
  8. Frequently asked questions
  9. Official links
  10. In your plan
  11. Sources
  12. Related guides

The social security number (Número de la Seguridad Social, NUSS, also called número de afiliación, NAF) identifies you with the Spanish Social Security system for life. The General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS) assigns it. You need it:

  • to be registered (dado de alta) when you start a job or become self-employed;
  • to access pensions, benefits and allowances;
  • for your autonomous community's health service, which uses it to issue your health card.

Having the number is not the same as being registered. Registration (alta) is what makes you insured: your employer files it for employees, and self-employed people file it themselves in the self-employed scheme (RETA). Barcelona International Welcome stresses that registration is compulsory before you start working.

Before you start

  • A DNI, NIE or passport
  • An email address and a phone or computer with a camera

Documents you need

  • NIE (on your TIE

    required

  • Form TA.1 (request for a social security number)

    Needed for minors and some in-person requests.

    optional

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Check whether you already have a number

    If you have worked in Spain before or were covered by student insurance (Seguro Escolar), you may already have a number. You can check in your personal area on Import@ss if you have a digital identity.

  2. Step 2: Request the number online on Import@ss

    Go to the Import@ss service Solicitar el Número de la Seguridad Social.

    • With Cl@ve or a digital certificate: identify yourself and complete the form.
    • Without electronic identification: submit the request in your name, fill in your personal details, take a selfie and attach a photo of both sides of your DNI, NIE or passport. Social Security verifies your identity before assigning the number.

    Without a social security number you cannot log in by SMS, so the selfie route is the usual one for newcomers.

  3. Step 3: For children, attach form TA.1

    A parent or guardian applies with their own details and selfie, a photo of their ID, form TA.1 completed with the child's details, a photo of the child's ID document and the family book or another document proving parental responsibility.

  4. Step 4: Let your employer register you, or register as self-employed

    • Employees: give your number to your employer before your start date. If you do not have one yet, the employer can request it as part of your registration.
    • Self-employed: register in RETA and with the Tax Agency before starting. The UGE notes that Business Start-up Points (Puntos de Atención al Emprendimiento, PAE) can file both registrations for you free of charge.
    • International teleworkers must be registered in Spain: foreign employers register as non-resident entities, and self-employed teleworkers join RETA.

  5. Step 5: Use the number for your health card

    Once you are registered as a worker, you are entitled to public health care without a separate application. Request your health card from your autonomous community's health service (in Catalonia, CatSalut; see Your health card in Barcelona).

Watch out

Working without being registered with Social Security is illegal for the employer and leaves you without cover for illness, accidents or unemployment.

Your social security number is personal data; give it only to your employer, the health service and public bodies that need it.

Common mistakes

  • Thinking the NIE and the social security number are the same thing.
  • Assuming you are registered because you have a number. Check your employment history report (*informe de vida laboral*) on Import@ss.
  • Starting freelance work before registering in RETA.

Tips

  • Download an accreditation of your social security number from Import@ss once assigned; HR departments often ask for it.
  • Request your *informe de vida laboral* each year to check that every job has been registered correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Editorial answers written by our team, based on the sources below.

Can I get the number before I have my TIE?

Yes. The online request accepts a passport, and the number can be requested at any time. Some work-based procedures expect you to have it before you apply for the TIE.

I am an EU citizen insured in another country. Do I need a Spanish number?

If you work for an employer in Spain or are self-employed here, you are normally insured in Spain and need one. Workers posted by an employer in another EU country can stay insured at home and show an A1 certificate of cover; check your situation with your employer.

In your plan

  • Get your social security number
  • Register as self-employed with Social Security and the Tax Agency
  • Check the international telework (digital nomad) permit requirements
  • Request your Madrid health card and choose a family doctor

Sources

Written and checked by HomiStart editorial against the official sources below. Next scheduled check: 6 Apr 2027.

  1. Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social – Import@ssOfficial source
    Solicitar el Número de la Seguridad Social (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Who needs it, selfie route without electronic ID, TA.1 for minors, health card link.

  2. Ajuntament de Barcelona – Barcelona International WelcomeOfficial source
    Start working (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026
  3. Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones – Unidad de Grandes EmpresasOfficial source
    Preguntas frecuentes. Autorizaciones de residencia y trabajo de teletrabajadores internacionales (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Compulsory registration for teleworkers; PAE points can file RETA and tax registrations.

  4. Servei Català de la Salut (CatSalut)Official source
    Obtenció de la primera Targeta Sanitària Individual (TSI) (Opens {{site}} in a new tab)
    Accessed 8 Oct 2026

    Workers registered with Social Security have their health care entitlement recognised without a prior application.

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