2What is the credencial ?2
The credencial is a certificate of bona fide pilgrim status, and is required for access to the refugios in Spain. It is stamped at the beginning, and daily at churches, refugios, bars or Tourist Offices, along the way.
Pilgrims present the completed credencial at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago (Calle del Villar, 1), fill in a questionnaire about why they have made the pilgrimage and may then qualify for a Compostela certificate.
The credencial is issued by the french and foreign associations of Saint James only to walkers, cyclists, and pilgrims on horseback who are travelling without vehicular backup.
The association « Friends of the Way of Saint James / Atlantic Pyrenees » issues the credencial to its own members and to persons who couldn’t obtain it at home, before their departure, when they visit the “Accueil Saint-Jacques », 39 Rue de la Citadelle in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port (open from the 1st of March until the 30th of November).
It is also possible to obtain the credencial in many refugios in Spain, as far as Porto Marin (100 kilometers before Santiago).