The National Police, through the Ministry of Interior, has announced that starting this Thursday, April 2, any citizen with a DNI will be able to use its digital version using their mobile phone. In this way, the MiDNI application becomes a valid means of legal identification.
From then on, public and private entities will be obliged to accept MiDNI, after the twelve-month period set out in the Third Transitional Provision of Royal Decree 255/2025, of April 1, to adopt the necessary measures for the proper functioning of the digital version of the DNI.
The digital format, through the MiDNI application, allows for the in-person accreditation of Spanish citizens, with the maximum security guarantees, as well as verifying the authenticity of the credentials of other citizens.
What can I use it for?
With the DNI on the mobile, among other things, it will be possible to physically prove identity (as long as there is a data connection), establish any type of legal relationship, prove identity in in-person procedures before notaries, before the administration or carry out administrative procedures in universities and educational centers (both public and private), prove legal age, formalize insurance of any type, register at a hotel, rent a vehicle, buy tickets or nominative tickets that require identifying the interested holder, carry out in-person commercial transactions in which a valid DNI is required or prove the identity of the interested party, perform access control to buildings, access different entertainment venues (cinemas, theaters, concerts, etc.), parcel collection (Correos, courier services, …) or withdraw medicines from pharmacies.
How to obtain the digital DNI?
To obtain the digital DNI it is necessary to have a valid physical DNI, register and activate it. Registration can be done online through the website, at the Document Update Points installed in National Police Stations, in Documentation Units and in the more than 300 town halls that have a PAD. To activate the digital DNI it is necessary to download the application, enter the DNI and support numbers, create a password and enter the verification code received via SMS.
After registering and downloading the application, it will be possible to virtualize the DNI. MiDNI does not store the citizen's identity data, but rather through it the DNI management unit is consulted in real time. In case the document is lost or has been stolen, the citizen can cancel the digital version by reporting it to the National Police.
MiDNI offers three options depending on the data that we need to show:
- DNI AGE, which will show the photograph, the name and the age of majority;
- DNI SIMPLE, which will reflect the photograph, the name, surnames, the sex and DNI validity,
- DNI COMPLETE, which shows all the data of the physical document.
Once the requested information level is chosen, the application generates a QR code that is displayed on the ID card holder's phone screen. It is a code generated by the National Police, which ensures that the data is authentic at that very moment, and will remain visible for a short period of time to facilitate verification. After this period, it will lose its validity and it will be necessary to generate a new code.
The generated QR code can be scanned by any other device on which the MiDNI application has been installed or from the QR verifier available on the website www.midni.gob.es. When scanned, the citizen's data will appear on the verifier user's screen depending on the chosen option. This data will remain on screen for a short period of time to allow verification and will not be stored on the verifier's phone.
20 years of one of the greatest advances in the history of the DNI
This month of March marks the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the electronic DNI, which meant the integration of the National Identity Document into the digital transformation of the Spanish Administration. The new DNI model incorporated a cryptographic chip that allowed to accredit the citizen's digital identity, sign documents electronically with full legal validity and access electronic services of the Public Administration.
It was one of the most important advances in the history of the DNI, and numerous international experts argued at the time that the new electronic signature system offered the maximum guarantees. At the same time, they placed the Spanish identification document at the global forefront of technological security. It became operational in its pilot phase during March 2006 in the city of Burgos, and was subsequently progressively implemented in the other Spanish provinces.
Its origins date back to the 19th century
It was from the year 1800 when security letters, identity cards, and internal passports began to be created. The first editions did not carry a photograph, so they included a physical description of their holder, and the price paid by the bearer was stated. On occasion, they authorized their holder to travel within Spanish territory, but above all they had a fiscal character.
However, the National Identity Document in Spain was officially established by means of the Decree of March 2, 1944. Although the regulation was born that year to centralize the identification of citizens and improve census control, its physical implementation was not immediate. The first DNI was issued on March 20, 1951 in the city of Valencia.
Initially it was mandatory for certain groups (men in certain professions and areas) and progressively its mandatory nature was extended to the entire population. This first DNI model, valid until 1961, was green and included data such as employment and profession, and distinguished between four categories depending on the holder's economic situation.
Generalization and modernization (1962–1989)
The second DNI model was blue. During these decades, it consolidated as a mandatory document for all adult Spaniards. Improvements were introduced in the format and security measures, including the incorporation of the laminated photograph and more secure printing systems.
A relevant milestone was the evolution in the treatment of women's identity, which stopped appearing linked to the husband's name, reflecting social and legal changes towards legal equality.
Computerized DNI (1990)
In 1990 the computerized DNI was introduced, with the modernization of issuance processes and data digitalization, improving administrative management and reducing errors. No fingerprint impression was included and OCR character lines were included.
After the advances of 2006 with the creation of the electronic DNI, in 2015 the DNI 3.0 was launched, which incorporated NFC technology (short-range wireless communication), allowing its use with mobile devices and facilitating identity verification in a more agile way.
DNI 4.0, adaptation to European standards (2021)
The DNIe 4.0, European format, was born five years ago to comply with EU Regulation 2019/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on strengthening the security of identity documents of Union citizens and of their family members exercising their right to free movement.
In Spain, it had its presentation on June 2, 2021, by the Minister of the Interior at the National Police Station in Móstoles (Madrid). Apart from the security measures incorporated into DNI 3.0, the flag of the European Union was added to it with the acronym of the country issuing the document and the indication of the title of National Identity Document in at least one other official language of the Union.
App MiDNI (2025)
Within the framework of the digital transformation process of electronic identity promoted by the Public Administration and, in particular, within the National Police's Digital Identity Plan, on April 2, 2025, the MiDNI application was officially launched. This tool allows for the secure generation of a temporary QR code on a mobile phone which, after being read, displays identity data and facilitates the in-person accreditation of digital identity with full legal validity in Spain.
The user can select the level of data they wish to share based on each situation, thus reinforcing the protection of their privacy, while their identity is reliably accredited through the generation of secure QR codes signed by the National Police.
