Estepona drops padrón appointments and opens three Saturdays in November

Estepona town hall has launched a campaign to get unregistered residents onto the municipal padrón, the town's register of inhabitants. According to the ayuntamiento (town hall), people can now register without booking an appointment, and the offices will open on three Saturday mornings this month.

• Saturday openings: 14, 21 and 28 November, 10:00 to 14:00, at the town hall on Avenida Juan Carlos I.
• No appointment needed: this applies on Saturdays and on weekdays.
• Registered residents: about 85,000, according to the town hall.
• Unregistered residents: an estimated 20,000, based on estimates of service use.

What changes

The town hall said two measures are being introduced. The first is the Saturday-morning opening during November. The second is that appointments are no longer compulsory from Monday to Friday.

On weekdays, residents can choose between booking a slot and being seen at the agreed time, or turning up during public opening hours and waiting their turn. Registration can also be done through the municipal electronic office (sede electrónica) at estepona.sedelectronica.es.

The gap in the register

The council says Estepona has around 85,000 people on the padrón, but that around 20,000 more live in the town without being registered. According to the town hall, that second figure is an estimate drawn from how much people use local services, not a headcount.

Voting link for foreign residents

The town hall is also running an information campaign for residents who are not Spanish, both from the EU and from outside it, on the requirements and deadlines for voting. Euro Weekly News reported that the drive is especially relevant ahead of local elections on 23 May 2027.

Euro Weekly News stressed that being on the padrón does not automatically give non-Spanish nationals a vote. Eligible residents must also complete a separate electoral registration procedure.

According to the same report, EU citizens who have not previously declared their intention to vote in Spanish local elections must do so by 30 December 2026. For British nationals and citizens of other countries with reciprocal agreements, the application window runs from 1 December 2026 to 15 January 2027. Euro Weekly News said British residents must meet conditions including at least three years of uninterrupted legal residence in Spain before applying.

The Estepona town hall's own announcement does not give these dates, so anyone affected should check them with the official sources. Euro Weekly News pointed to the Spanish National Statistics Institute's voting guidance.

Where to check

Euro Weekly News said registration forms and voting information are available on the council's website, and that the town hall can be reached on 952 809 000.