Other · Spain
Anuncio de notificación por comparecencia: how mail becomes a BOE announcement
This is what happens to official mail when Spain cannot find you: after failed delivery attempts, the agency publishes a summons in the Boletín Oficial del Estado inviting you to appear and collect the notification. Fifteen calendar days later, you are legally deemed notified — of whatever it was.
How serious: enforcement closeAlso called: notificación edictal, notificación por comparecencia, anuncio en el BOE, citación por edicto, TESTRA (multas de tráfico)
If a tax notification fails twice at the registered address (once if the addressee is 'unknown' there), the agency publishes an anonymous-looking summons in the BOE's daily notification supplement. Traffic authorities use their own board, the Tablón Edictal de Sanciones de Tráfico (TESTRA).
Once the 15 days pass, the deemed notification takes full legal effect, and every subsequent step of that procedure can also proceed without personal letters.
This mechanism is how foreigners with outdated addresses end up with embargoed accounts 'out of nowhere': the procedure ran its entire course in the BOE, unseen.
Who sends it
Any administration that could not deliver a notification — most commonly the AEAT and municipal collectors. The announcement is published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado's notification supplement; traffic authorities use TESTRA.
It is normally never seen unless searched for: the BOE 'Anuncios de notificación' supplement (published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for tax) lists the name/NIE, the procedure and the office where to appear; for traffic fines, an entry in TESTRA. A prior sign is Correos leaving 'aviso de llegada' slips or 'ausente' notes for certified mail that was never collected.
The deadline
15 calendar days to appear and be notified, counted from the day after publication of the anuncio in the BOE (Ley 58/2003 art. 112.2); general administrative procedure uses BOE publication as the final notification step too (Ley 39/2015 art. 44)
15 calendar days to appear and be notified, counted from the day after publication of the anuncio in the BOE (Ley 58/2003 art. 112.2). General administrative procedure uses BOE publication as the final notification step too (Ley 39/2015 art. 44).
If you do nothing
Without appearing within 15 calendar days, 'la notificación se entenderá producida a todos los efectos legales el día siguiente al del vencimiento del plazo' (Ley 58/2003 art. 112.2) — you are notified without ever reading anything. For that procedure, you are then deemed notified of all subsequent steps too (art. 112.3), except the final liquidación and any auction of seized assets, which must still be attempted personally.
How it escalates
- 01Deemed notified on day 16; all deadlines of the underlying act start and expire unseen.
- 02The rest of that procedure runs edictally (art. 112.3): requerimientos, apremios and embargo diligences proceed without personal delivery.
- 03The typical discovery point is a frozen bank account months later, when opposition windows have already closed — though 'falta de notificación' remains an opposition ground against apremio (LGT art. 167.3.c).
Common questions
Nothing was ever received — how can the notification count?
Because the law treats BOE publication plus 15 calendar days as notification 'a todos los efectos legales' (Ley 58/2003 art. 112.2). The procedure then continues, and for that procedure subsequent steps are also deemed notified (art. 112.3), except the final liquidación and any auction of seized assets.
How can these announcements be found?
By searching the BOE's 'Anuncios de notificación' supplement by name or NIE (published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for tax), and TESTRA for traffic fines. A prior warning sign is Correos 'aviso de llegada' or 'ausente' slips for uncollected certified mail.
Can edictal notification be prevented?
The mechanisms that exist: keeping the domicilio fiscal updated with the AEAT (form 030/036) and the address current in the padrón municipal, DGT and TGSS, or registering for electronic notifications (DEHú) so nothing depends on postal delivery.
The administration had the correct address all along — does that matter?
Yes: if edictal notification was used while the correct address was available to the administration, subsequent acts can be challenged for defective notification (LGT arts. 112 and 167.3.c).
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.