The cadastral reference is a key piece of information used, among other purposes, to determine a property's cadastral value and calculate certain taxes. To help clear up any doubts, here's what it is, how it works and its main characteristics.
What is the cadastral reference?
A cadastral reference is an official and mandatory identifier assigned to all real estate properties. It is an alphanumeric code issued by the Cadastre that functions as a type of identification number for a property.
Each property has a unique cadastral reference consisting of 20 characters. This code is used to locate the property precisely on the cadastral map and to access its associated information.
What is the cadastral reference used for?
The cadastral reference serves several purposes:
- Locating a property: It allows properties to be accurately identified and provides information such as their surface area, use and location within the cadastral map.
- Legal certainty in real estate transactions:
- Knowing the cadastral reference provides greater legal security when signing property contracts, helping to reduce the risk of fraud and avoid confusion in cases of sale, purchase, inheritance or donation.
- Tax purpose: It allows you to check a property's cadastral value, which is used as the basis for calculating local property tax (IBI). It must also be included in income tax returns.
How do I find a property's cadastral reference?
The reference for any property can be searched online using any of these details:
- Cadastral data
- Street name and number
- GPS coordinates
- The idealista map
Where can I find the cadastral reference?
In general, you can find the cadastral reference:
- In the deeds of sale, donation or inheritance of the property
- On IBI receipts
- In the Income Tax Return
- In the "nota simple"
How to find out the cadastral reference of your property step by step?
How to interpret the cadastral reference?
The 20 characters that make up a cadastral reference each have a specific meaning and allow key information about the property to be identified quickly:
- The first seven characters identify the property or plot.
- The following seven characters identify the map sheet on which the property is located.
- The four subsequent characters identify the property within the estate.
- The last two characters are control digits used to verify that the previous 18 characters are correct, helping to prevent or detect errors.
Cadastral reference of a rural property
For rural properties, the meaning of the characters that make up the cadastral reference differs:
- The first two characters identify the province.
- The next three characters identify the municipality.
- The following character corresponds to the sector, indicating the aggregate or land-consolidation area (where applicable).
- The next three characters identify the polygon.
- The following five characters identify each parcel within the corresponding polygon.
- The following four characters identify any existing properties or constructions within the parcel.
- The last two characters are control characters.
