A Spanish cadastral certificate can be authentic while its parcel geometry no longer matches current cadastral mapping. CSV verification checks the integrity and authenticity of the electronic document. Graphical-validity checking compares the geometry included in a certificate with the current map. Catastro documents these as separate functions s1, s2.
This guide is for a buyer sent an existing certificate by a seller or agent. It explains how to organise the checks without treating an old PDF as a current purchase clearance. Official sources checked on 2 November 2026.
Establish what you received
Save the original attachment and record when you received it. Identify the document title, property reference, issue date and Código Seguro de Verificación (CSV), where present. Ask for the complete file if you have only a cropped photograph.
The CSV identifies a route for verifying a document. It is not the referencia catastral identifying the property. The official certificate guide explains the certificate's verification system. A public consultation PDF is a different output; the existence of a map does not make every attachment a certificate.
For an English-speaking buyer, retain the original Spanish document name in your file index. “Certified survey” is an unhelpful translation if the attachment is actually a cadastral certificate. Ask your adviser to confirm its purpose before paying to replace a document that may simply have been mislabelled.
Check the document through the issuing service
Catastro describes Cotejo de documentos as a free-access function using a document's CSV to check its electronic records s1.
- Open the Sede Electrónica del Catastro directly.
- Find the document-verification or download function using a CSV.
- Enter the code as printed on the document.
- If the service retrieves it, compare the retrieved document with the attachment: property, date, content and pages.
- Record the date and outcome of the comparison, retaining any different versions.
Do not replace this comparison with a visual judgement that the PDF “looks official”. Equally, a failed retrieval is not enough to conclude that a file is forged. Check the code, issuing body and document type before requesting help or a replacement.
Avoid circulating the code in public screenshots. Its function is to retrieve or verify a document, so handle the attachment and code through the channel agreed with your adviser.
Check current geometry separately
The official CDyG guide describes a public function that checks whether the parcel-vertex coordinates included in a certificate agree with current cadastral mapping. The Catastro-Registry assistant discusses that check when the certificate was not obtained on the transaction date.
From the Sede, look for comprobación de la vigencia gráfica de las certificaciones catastrales and follow the requested inputs. Keep this result separately from the CSV comparison. When reporting back to a lawyer, state which test was carried out and what the service actually returned.
The independently reproducible finding is the distinction in the authority's two documents: the help describes authenticity verification s1, while the certificate guide describes a geometry comparison s2. Recovering an authentic file therefore does not answer whether the geometry remains unchanged.
To compare the identified parcel with available territorial map layers, open the TerrenoCheck map. A report costs €29 in one language or €39 in two; read the sample report first.
Use precise outcomes in your purchase file
A useful record has separate fields for document retrieval, attachment comparison, graphical check and unresolved questions. “Passed Catastro” is too vague: it hides the difference between recovering an issued document and reviewing the land offered for sale.
| What happened | What to do next |
|---|---|
| The issuing service retrieves the same document | Check its purpose, date and whether a current geometry check is needed |
| The retrieved document differs from the attachment | Keep both and request a documented explanation |
| The code does not retrieve a document | Check transcription and service, then request official help or a new copy |
| The graphical check reports a discrepancy | Obtain current documents and ask the relevant adviser to explain the change |
Article 3 of the cadastral law distinguishes cadastral information from the Property Registry's legal findings. Neither test should be described as a complete ownership check. Nor is a geometry comparison a planning assessment.
Calculate a discrepancy without inventing its cause
Consider an expressly hypothetical comparison: an earlier file states 2,400 m² and a current consultation shows 2,280 m². The difference is 120 m², equal to 5% of the earlier figure. That calculation compares two areas. It does not show which boundary changed or whether the two files describe the same transaction object.
Keep the files, dates and identifiers together. Ask the seller for the explanation and supporting documents. Have the technical adviser identify any geometrical change and the legal adviser establish whether it affects the property being transferred.
Do not treat a small percentage as permission to ignore the matter. A narrow strip can matter to the intended purchase even when its area is small; the required response depends on what the evidence shows, rather than your spreadsheet threshold.
Request an updated document through the right person
The official certificate-access page describes holders obtaining certificates for their properties. If you are not the holder, ask the seller to supply the document or your authorised representative to establish the appropriate access route.
For a remote purchase, send one clear request: identify the old document, describe the failed or conflicting check, and ask which current document will resolve the issue. Ask your adviser what must be settled before you pay a deposit or proceed to signing. This article deliberately supplies no universal processing-time promise.
Once you have the correct parcel, select it on the TerrenoCheck map for an initial review of available territorial information. The sample report shows its scope. This is preliminary screening and does not replace legal advice or a survey.