How do I get a huella (fingerprint) appointment for the TIE in Barcelona?

Only through the state’s own cita previa site, and it costs nothing. The fingerprint appointment — “toma de huellas” — is the visit where the Policía Nacional takes your fingerprints and your file for a first, renewed or duplicate TIE. In Barcelona province the slots are scarce, and that scarcity is exactly what the people selling appointments on WhatsApp and Facebook are exploiting. Checked 15 September 2026 against the sede electrónica’s “Cita previa de extranjería” page, the Ministry of Inclusion’s TIE sheet HI92, and Policía Nacional press releases on appointment fraud.

Does this apply to me

Yes, if you have a granted authorisation, a granted renewal, or a police report for a lost card, and now need the card itself. It does not apply before that: the card documents a permission, so nothing is granted at a huella appointment. If you are waiting on a decision, the appointment to chase is at the Oficina de Extranjería, and that is a different queue.

Where to go, and how to book

Start on the sede electrónica de las Administraciones Públicas page “Cita previa de extranjería” and enter the procedure from the bottom of the page — it is a button, not a link, and the question on which office books which appointment walks through it. Choose the province of Barcelona, then the police procedure for fingerprinting and card issue; the university guides that describe the form quote its name as beginning “POLICÍA-TOMA DE HUELLAS (EXPEDICIÓN DE TARJETA)”, and it covers initial, renewal and duplicate cards. HI92 says the card is applied for in person at the Oficina Única de Extranjeros or a police Unidad de Documentación in the province where you live, and links to the same icp.administracionelectronica.gob.es site for the booking.

The system asks for your passport or NIE number to book. Type it yourself, on that site only. Nobody needs a photo of your passport or TIE to “get you a slot”.

What it costs

Nothing. The sede page has no charge anywhere on it, and the Policía Nacional’s own press releases describe the appointment as “un trámite gratuito” — a free procedure. The only money you pay is the tasa 790 código 012 for the card, at a bank.

What to bring on the day

From HI92: form EX-17 completed and signed; your passport, original and in force; the stamped proof of payment of the tasa, printed in full; a recent colour photo on a white background; a volant d’empadronament under three months old if your address changed; and, for a duplicate, the denuncia. Bring the decision granting your authorisation or renewal as well, and the appointment confirmation.

What happens next

Your fingerprints and file are taken, and you are told when to collect the card. Collection is in person: HI92 says the person collecting must prove they are the holder.

The people selling appointments

The Policía Nacional has arrested resellers more than once. In one case two people used a bot to grab almost every slot nationally and sold them through a messaging app and a social network for €50 to €90 by bank transfer — and many buyers arrived to find the appointment did not exist. In another, 69 people were arrested in a network renting the bot out, charging between €30 and €200. The victims the police describe are exactly this readership: people who could not get a slot the official way and paid for a public service that is free. If you have already paid, that is a fraud you can report.

What goes wrong

• Trying once and giving up. Slots are released in batches; the same public university guides suggest trying at different times of day. Keep it on the official site.
• Booking in the wrong province. Book in the province where you are registered on the padrón.
• Turning up with a screenshot but no printed tasa, or with the tasa printout cut off at the bottom. HI92 says the incomplete printout is not accepted.

Useful words

Read next

• Which office books which appointment (cita previa)?
• NIE or TIE: which one do I need, and how do I get it?
• My TIE is about to expire. How do I renew it?

Official source

Sede electrónica de las Administraciones Públicas, “Cita previa de extranjería”, which splits the queues between the Delegaciones del Gobierno and the Policía Nacional; Ministerio de Inclusión, hoja informativa HI92, for the document list and the booking link; Policía Nacional press releases at policia.es on the dismantling of appointment-resale groups, which state the procedure is free.