• Procedures How to request an appointment for the DNI
  • Management How much does it cost to renew the DNI

The DNI is the identity document used in Spain. Every citizen currently has an eight-digit number and a letter in his/her own. This method of identification was born following a decree on March 2, 1944.

The DNI with the number 1 was given to Francisco Franco in 1951. The 2nd was for his wife, Carmen Polo, and the 3rd was assigned to their daughter, Carmen Franco. Numbers between 4 and 9 were released, while those between 10 and 99 are reserved for the Spanish royal family.

In this way, the DNI with the number 10 belongs to King Emeritus Juan Carlos I and 11 to his wife Sofia. The 12th belongs to the Infanta Elena and the 14th to the Infanta Cristina. The 13th was vacated by the superstition around this number. King Felipe VI, who at that time was a prince, was later assigned the number 15. His daughters, Infantas Leonor and Sofia, have the numbers 16 and 17, respectively.

Image of the DNI of number 1, belonging to Francisco FrancoEL MUNDO

Curiosities of the first DNI

The first design of the DNI was created by Aquilino Rieusset Planchón, who won a public competition and received a prize of 30,000 pesetas. It was green and included data on the profession and position of the citizen. He also had a box that classified him according to his economic status in different categories.

Zaragoza was the first Spanish provincial capital where the DNI was issued, but it took years for this document to be extended to the entire population. The first people forced to formalize it were prisoners and those who remained on probation. They were followed by men who, because of their profession, frequently changed their address.

In third place were males living in cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and fourth were those residing in towns with a population between 25,000 and 100,000. Women traveling for work were next on this priority list.

  • HBPR
  • Ministry of the Interior

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