How to get the Compostela: step by step (official rules)

The Compostela is the certificate Santiago Cathedral gives to those who arrive as pilgrims. Getting it is easy if you prepare at home. Here are the steps.

Information checked on 11/10/2026 on the official websites of the Pilgrim’s Office and the Cathedral. Opening hours change: check before you go.

1. Get your credential before you set off

The credential is your pilgrim passport: it opens the pilgrim hostels and proves your route. It is issued by the Church; the Pilgrim’s Office accepts the official one and others recognised by the Cathedral.

Where to get it:

• At the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago.
• From parishes, confraternities and Friends of the Camino associations (also in your own country).
• At many pilgrim hostels.

Price? It depends on where you get it: ask there.

2. Get it stamped at each stage, with the date

If you only walk the minimum, the official rule is clear: a dated stamp at the start and another at the end of every stage. Stamp the start even if it is the place where you slept.

Stamps from where you sleep, churches, monasteries, town halls and other places on the Camino all count. Always ask for the date.

3. Cover the minimum distance

• On foot or on horseback: at least 100 km in one continuous stretch on a recognised route, finishing in Santiago.
• By bike: at least 200 km, same conditions.
• By boat: 100 nautical miles, then walk from the port where you land to Santiago, stamping those stages.
• If you start outside Spain: at least 70 km continuous inside Spain.
• Mixing routes is not allowed.

Do you reach 100 km from your starting town? Check it with our “Will I get the Compostela?” checker. Sarria, Tui or Ferrol leave a margin; Vigo is tight (about 101 official km).

4. Go to the Pilgrim’s Office

• Address: Rúa Carretas 33, 15705 Santiago de Compostela.
• Opening hours: every day 9:00–19:00; closed 25 December and 1 January.
• Phone: +34 981 568 846.

You must go in person, each pilgrim for their own: you cannot collect it for someone else, by phone or online. On busy days it is not always handed out the same day.

5. Register and take a number

This is how the Office describes it:

1. At the centre you scan a QR code and fill in your details.
2. You receive a code by email or message: write it in your credential.
3. You take a numbered ticket; its QR shows your place in the queue in real time.
4. At the desk they ask for the code, the registration date and your credential.

There is an individual registration on their website; if you want to do it before arriving, ask the Office. Groups have their own registration.

Compostela or Certificate of Distance

• Compostela: free. It is for pilgrims walking with a religious or spiritual meaning.
• Certificate of Distance: €3. It shows your kilometres, dates, starting point and route. You ask for it together with the Compostela.

Walking for another reason? Ask at the Office which document applies to you.

Children who have made their First Communion or understand the meaning of the Camino can receive it. Younger children get a special certificate.

No credential yet? Here is where to get it and how the 100 km work.

Official sources

• The Compostela · Pilgrim’s Office
• The credential · Pilgrim’s Office (Spanish)
• Certificate of Distance · Pilgrim’s Office
• Pilgrimage · Santiago Cathedral (Spanish)