While walking the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims carry a credential (credencial), a small, folded document in which the pilgrim authenticates his or her progress by obtaining sellos (stamps) along the way. Sellos can be obtained at most hotels and inns, restaurants, bars, churches, museums, city halls, police stations and at all albergues. (The credential or 'passport' is not to be confused with an official, government-issued passport. The former is strictly a record of passage along the Camino; the latter is a required document for international travel.)

When registering at an albergue, pilgrims will be asked to present their credential to verify that they are walking or biking the Camino. In addition, upon reaching Santiago de Compostela, at the Oficina de Acogida de Peregrinos (Pilgrims' Office, Rúa do Vilar 1, MapQuest map, Google Earth image), pilgrims can present the stamped credential to confirm that they have walked at least the last 100 kilometers or cycled at least the last 200 kilometers, whereupon they receive aCompostela, a wonderful document that certifies their pilgrimage.

You can obtain a pilgrim credencial from numerous sources—including from American Pilgrims via this form —before you set out on the Camino, or from sites actually on the Camino.

American Pilgrims on the Camino is pleased to provide pilgrim credentials—authorized by the Pilgrims Office in Santiago de Compostela—at no charge, although donations are gratefully accepted. If you would like to make a donation, you can make an online payment on the acknowledgement page that follows your credential request submission, or you can send a check to:

          American Pilgrims on the Camino
          1514 Channing Avenue
          Palo Alto CA 94303-2801

Please allow at least one month for processing for North American addresses and five weeks for all others! We try to deliver credentials at least one month before your indicated departure date. If you would like some other arrangement, please note this in the comment field provided below. Please do not submit requests earlier than three months before your departure.

A note about sellos: Generally one sello per day is sufficient but the Pilgrims' Office in Santiago advises that all pilgrims should obtain two per day during the final 100 km if on foot or horseback or the last 200 km if on bicycle. On the francés this would be Sarria (112 km) or Ponferrada (205 km) respectively. Please note that this applies even to pilgrims who have started outside the 100 and 200 km limits.

Also see our FAQs page for additional information on the credential and the compostela.