Pattern

Regex for Spanish NIE

NIE for foreigners — X/Y/Z + 7 digits + check letter.

The Spanish NIE regex is ^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$ — copy it below, or open it in the explainer for a token-by-token breakdown.

The pattern

^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$

Try in explainer → Download cheat sheet ↓

What it matches

X1234567A
Y0123456Z
Z9999999B

What it doesn't match

A1234567B
x1234567A
X123456A

Notes & gotchas

Número de Identidad de Extranjero (NIE) is the Spanish ID for foreigners. Starts with X (pre-2008), Y, or Z; followed by 7 digits and 1 check letter computed the same way as DNI.

Code in your language

Use the explainer's Code tab to generate ready-to-paste snippets in JavaScript, Python, Java, .NET, Go, Ruby, and PHP for this pattern.

Open in explainer →

Token-by-token breakdown

Every part of the pattern, left to right:

Token	Meaning
`^`	start of string (or line in multiline mode)
`[XYZ]`	any of: “X”, “Y”, “Z”
`\d{7}`	exactly 7 times: digit (0–9)
`[A-Z]`	any of: uppercase letters
`$`	end of string (or line in multiline mode)

About this pattern

European Union identifiers follow standards set by individual member states with EU-wide coordination (VAT VIES, IBAN/SEPA, etc.). The regex validates structure; for production use, validate via the appropriate registry.

Quick usage in different languages

This exact pattern — with the correct escaping and idioms for each language:

JavaScript: /^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$/.test(value)
Python: re.match(r"^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$", value)
Java: Pattern.compile("^[XYZ]\\d{7}[A-Z]$").matcher(value).matches()
C# / .NET: Regex.IsMatch(value, @"^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$")
Go: regexp.MustCompile(`^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$`).MatchString(value)
Ruby: /^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$/.match?(value)
PHP: preg_match('~^[XYZ]\d{7}[A-Z]$~', $value)

The explainer’s Code tab regenerates these for any pattern you paste, and the downloadable cheat sheet bundles the breakdown, all seven snippets, and the pitfalls below onto one printable page.

Common pitfalls

Anchored to the whole string. This pattern uses ^ and $, so it requires the entire input to match. To find it inside a longer text, drop the anchors and use the global (g) flag.
Uppercase only. Ranges like [A-Z] won't match lowercase. Add a-z (or the i flag) if lowercase input should be accepted.
Escape it correctly per language. In Java and JavaScript strings each backslash must be doubled (\\d); in Python, Go, and C# use raw/verbatim strings so the backslashes survive.
Validate beyond format. Matching the format doesn't guarantee the value is real. Confirm the spanish nie against a source of truth (database, API, or checksum) where it matters.

Related patterns

More patterns in the Europe 🇪🇺 category: