Last Updated on March 18, 2026 by Bruno Bianchi
Question
Has anyone here reformatted their laptops with the certificado digital FNMT or Spanish Certificado Digital in them? will you lose it? can you reinstall it again easily? i’m planning to have my laptop rebooted/reformatted because it’s been running slow and i’m just worried i might have to repeat the whole process of getting FNTM (and my TIE is currently en tramite).
Answers
These are the answers of some Facebook group members:
Planning your move to Spain?
Get the free step-by-step roadmap used by 10,000+ expats — covering visas, budget, housing, and the mistakes to avoid.
Start the Moving to Spain Hub →“Not sure if you will lose it or not. But to be safe just email a copy of the file to yourself or put it on a flash drive so you can download the certificate again if needed.”
“You will 100% lose it if the hard drive is formatted.”
“Scan for malware instead. There are free online scans.”
“Put it on a flash drive or use small hard drive backup. You should always do a backup anyhow. You can also email it to yourself. Ours were originally emailed to us by our atty and I can still download them again if I need to.”
Not sure which city is right for you?
Compare cost of living, weather, expat community size, and lifestyle across 13 Spanish cities in our free guide.
Explore Cities →“If you exported /made a copy of it before doing that, you can install it again.”
Useful links:
- Here are our recommended immigration & tax experts
- These are Spainguru’s recommended health insurances for NLV application and medical certificates
- Spainguru’s recommended sworn translators
- Best health insurance for visiting the U.S.
- Join Spainguru’s Facebook group (16K+ members)
- Join Spainguru’s NLV Facebook group
- Join Spainguru’s Digital Nomad Visa Facebook group
- Join our NLV whatsapp group for quick community advice
- Spainguru’s Resources page (70+ services)
- Share your story on Spainguru
- Sign up for our weekly Newsletter
Get your free step-by-step Spain move plan
10 emails over 2 weeks covering visas, budget, housing & the mistakes to avoid.
Join 10,000+ expats who used this roadmap.
100% free · No credit card · Unsubscribe anytime
