Your credencial (pilgrim passport): where to get it and how stamps work

What is a credencial (pilgrim passport)?

**A fold-out booklet (called a *Credencial* in Spanish) where you collect stamps along the way to prove you walked the route.** The official version is a 16-page accordion-folded card booklet.

According to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago, it serves two practical purposes:

1. Checking into pilgrim albergues. Many albergues only accept people carrying a credencial.
2. Proving your journey when applying for the Compostela. The stamps inside are the record of where you have walked.

Where do you get one?

Getting one before you leave is the safest bet. According to the Pilgrim's Office, you can pick one up at:

• Institutions authorized by the Cathedral: parish churches, local Friends of the Camino de Santiago associations, pilgrim albergues, and confraternities.
• Authorized pilgrim associations in Spain and abroad, some of which issue their own versions of the credencial.
• The Pilgrim's Office in Santiago (in person).

You can usually get one at churches and albergues in popular starting towns, though smaller places may not have them. If you plan to stay at an albergue on your first night, the reception desk will usually ask to see your credencial before checking you in.

Where do you get stamps?

Most commonly, at the place where you stay the night. Parish churches, monasteries, cathedrals, hotels, and town halls have stamps too, and many cafés and bars have their own along the trail. Write the date next to each stamp.

How many stamps do you need a day?

At least two a day over the last 100 km. The Pilgrim's Office rule is that anyone covering only the minimum distance (100 km on foot or horseback, 200 km by bike) must get a stamp and date it at both the start and end of each stage.

Before the last 100 km, there is no rule on how many stamps you need per day—most people get one at their lodging each night and add a few more along the way whenever they spot a stamp they like.

Key points

• Your credencial gets you into albergues and is required to apply for the Compostela.
• Get one before you start from a pilgrim association or parish church; albergues and churches at major starting points usually have them too.
• Date every stamp; for the last 100 km, get at least two a day—one where you start and one where you finish.

In CaminoGO

The “Stamp Book” in CaminoGO is not an official credencial and cannot be used to apply for a Compostela. It is a way to snap photos of the stamps in your paper credencial, log the location and date, and build a digital keepsake of your walk. See Walk tracking and the Stamp Book for details.