Madrid’s Transport-Card Padrón Rule: What Applicants Need

The CRTM application says your registered municipality must be in the Comunidad de Madrid or covered by an agreement with the transport authority. Living, working or studying in the city does not by itself establish that registration.

The document on CRTM’s checklist is a certificate or volante de empadronamiento: proof of your municipal address registration. People registered in a Madrid-region municipality can instead authorise the digital residence lookup where offered.

From 15 June to 1 September 2026, CRTM issued 183,583 personal cards, according to data obtained by El País through Spain’s transparency law.

That was:

• 35,798 fewer than in the same period of 2023;
• 41,188 fewer than in 2024;
• 92,578 fewer than in 2025; and
• 23.5% below the average for those three comparison years.

These are cards issued, not applications refused. CRTM told El País the figures cannot establish causation. The comparison also includes unusually high issuance in 2025, when a free title for children aged 7–14 prompted families to obtain cards.

The residence check matters particularly for:

• new arrivals who have not completed empadronamiento;
• students registered at a family home in another region;
• workers who commute into Madrid from a municipality without a qualifying agreement;
• people replacing a lost, stolen or damaged card—or renewing an expiring card—while their registered residence is elsewhere; and
• residents whose real address and padrón record no longer match.

The Comunidad announced in June that it would promote agreements with other autonomous communities so students could access the transport pass without moving their padrón. The official announcement described future agreements, not a blanket student exemption.

Students registered elsewhere should check the current municipality rules and any applicable agreement before applying.

If you already have a working personal card, this story is not a reason to replace it. But the current CRTM FAQ says a renewal requires a current padrón certificate or an authorized digital residence check. The same page states that members of a familia numerosa (a recognised large family) do not have to prove the padrón requirement for duplicate and renewal procedures.

If you need a card now:

1. Check that your current padrón is in a qualifying municipality.
2. During the application, authorize CRTM to verify residence electronically where that option is offered.
3. If the lookup may fail—or your registration is recent—bring a current certificate or volante.
4. For a first card at a management office, book an appointment and bring accepted original identification. CRTM lists a €4 card fee and takes your photograph at the office. A recent passport-format photograph is required for channels where CRTM does not take it.

For renewal, CRTM directs applicants to a management office without an appointment, with identification, the expiring card and the required residence evidence; the listed fee is €4. The online application landing page could not be opened during this check, so online availability remains unverified.

The personal card is necessary for person-specific products such as 30-day passes and age or status discounts. It can also hold some non-personal tickets, but that does not make a non-personal card a substitute for a subsidised monthly pass.

If you have moved to Madrid and still need to register your address, our Madrid padrón guide explains the documents by housing situation.

For the wider system—Metro, EMT buses, Cercanías and route planning—use our Madrid public transport guide.