If you live in Mexico, as at September 2026 you cannot renew your Spanish DNI from there: it is processed in person and by prior appointment, and the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico states that it is currently issued only at police stations in Spain. The passport, by contrast, can be renewed at the consulate. Whether these are in force decides any signing you have pending before a notary in Spain.
The DNI requires you to be there in person
Many Spaniards living in Mexico assume the DNI is renewed at the consulate just like the passport. It is not. Royal Decree 255/2025, which has governed the National Identity Document since April 2025 and replaces the 2005 decree, provides in article 6.2.a) that processing takes place with the person physically present and through the prior appointment systems.
The rule opens a possibility, but with conditions. Its fourth additional provision allows the DNI to be issued at embassies and consulates where the Directorate-General of Police has the necessary technical and human resources, on terms to be set by agreement between the Ministries of the Interior and of Foreign Affairs. Today, according to the information published by the Consulate General of Spain in Mexico, the DNI is issued in Spain, at authorised police stations. In practice, renewing it means travelling.
How long the DNI and the passport last
The validity periods essentially match. Under article 7 of Royal Decree 255/2025, the DNI is issued for five years where the holder is between five and thirty years old, and for ten years where they are between thirty and seventy. Article 5.1 of Royal Decree 896/2003 sets the passport at five years where the holder has not turned thirty and ten years where they have.
A useful point for planning: article 8.2 of Royal Decree 255/2025 allows the DNI to be renewed within the last 180 days of its validity. If you have a trip to Spain coming up, it is worth checking whether the date falls inside that window and making use of it.
The passport is renewed at the consulate
Article 3.2.b) of Royal Decree 896/2003 gives the issuing of passports abroad to Spain's diplomatic and consular missions. And article 4.3 solves a common problem: for those resident abroad, the DNI may be replaced by any of these documents:
- a passport in force;
- a passport awaiting renewal;
- a full birth certificate, issued no more than six months earlier.
In other words, even if your DNI has expired, you can renew the passport at the consulate by producing one of these.
Why this matters before a notary
Whether these documents are in force is no small matter when something has to be signed in Spain. Notaries are obliged parties under anti-money-laundering rules, and the Regulation implementing that law (Royal Decree 304/2014) sets the DNI, in article 6.1.a), as the identification document for Spanish nationals. Article 6.4 adds that identification documents must be in force at the time the business relationship is established or the transaction carried out.
The practical consequence is direct: a power of attorney, an inheritance or the incorporation of a company can come to a halt if the person appearing does not hold a valid identity document. So the dates are worth checking before fixing any signing, not afterwards.
If you travel to Spain to renew the DNI
Where the renewal involves changing the address shown on the DNI (article 8.3 of Royal Decree 255/2025), a person resident abroad proves it with a certificate from the consular office where they are registered as a resident, issued no more than three months earlier (article 6.2.d).3). Two checks follow from this:
- Request the consular residence certificate before travelling, and work out that it will still be within the three months on the day of your appointment in Spain.
- Check that you are registered as a resident at the consulate. Without that registration you will not be able to obtain the certificate.
Common mistakes
- Booking an appointment at the consulate to renew the DNI.
- Discovering the DNI has expired once the signing before a notary in Spain is already scheduled.
- Believing that without a valid DNI the passport cannot be renewed at the consulate.
- Travelling to Spain without the consular residence certificate, or with one more than three months old.
- Not being registered as a resident at the consulate and finding out when requesting the certificate.
Sources
- Royal Decree 255/2025, of 1 April, regulating the National Identity Document, articles 6.2.a), 6.2.d), 7 and 8.2 and fourth additional provision (consolidated text from the BOE, consulted in September 2026)
- Royal Decree 896/2003, of 11 July, on the ordinary passport, articles 3.2.b), 4.3 and 5.1 (consolidated text from the BOE, consulted in September 2026)
- Royal Decree 304/2014, of 5 May, Regulation implementing Law 10/2010 on the prevention of money laundering, article 6, paragraphs 1.a) and 4 (consolidated text from the BOE, consulted in September 2026)
- Consulate General of Spain in Mexico, information on the issuing of the DNI (consulted in September 2026)
- Law 10/2010, on the prevention of money laundering, article 2.1.n (consolidated text from the BOE, consulted in September 2026)