Castelló school book grants: deadline is 30 September

Families in Castelló d'Empúries have until Wednesday, September 30, to apply for the town council's grant towards school textbooks and materials for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The grant is worth up to €50 per pupil. It is open to children who are registered as residents in the municipality and enrolled at a school in Castelló d'Empúries. Pupils from the first year of primary school up to the fourth year of ESO, the final year of compulsory secondary education in Spain, are eligible.

Residency here means being on the padró, the municipal register of inhabitants. Enrolment at a local school is not enough on its own. The pupil must also appear on the town's register.

What the grant covers

The grant can only be used for the textbooks and school materials that each school has specified for the 2026-2027 year. Other purchases do not qualify.

The town hall points out that its rules are not necessarily the same as those of the school voucher, known locally as the val escolar. To justify the municipal grant, spending must correspond to the books or materials that the school actually requires.

If the school voucher discount or any other form of aid has already been applied to a purchase, the council will only count the amount the family actually paid.

Documents to submit

Every application must include the 2026-2027 application form, called Annex I, filled in and signed. It must come with the invoice, ticket or receipt for the textbooks or school materials the school requested.

The council stresses that receipts need to show clearly what was bought. This allows staff to check that each item counts as eligible spending.

Families applying for the first time, or whose details have changed, must also provide the additional paperwork set out in the grant rules. This includes the DNI or NIE of the father, mother or legal guardian, as well as the creditor form (fitxa de creditor). The DNI is the Spanish national identity card. The NIE is the identification number issued to foreign nationals.

The person applying must identify themselves with a DNI or NIE. Applications identified only with a passport will not be accepted, a point that is especially relevant for the many international families living in the area.

How and where to apply

Applications can be submitted until September 30, 2026, in one of two ways.

The first is online, through the council's Seu Electrònica, the town hall's electronic office for official procedures.

The second is in person at the OMAC, the municipal citizen service offices, in either Castelló d'Empúries or Empuriabrava. An appointment is required for in-person visits.

The regulatory rules (bases reguladores), the application form and all the documents needed to process the grant are available on the municipal website. They are listed among the highlighted items in the section for grants and competitions (subvencions i concursos).

Key points at a glance

• Deadline: Wednesday, September 30, 2026
• Amount: up to €50 per pupil
• Who qualifies: pupils registered in Castelló d'Empúries and enrolled at a school in the municipality, from 1st year of primary to 4th year of ESO
• Eligible spending: textbooks and materials designated by the school for 2026-2027
• Required: signed Annex I form and a receipt that clearly describes the items
• First-time applicants or changed details: DNI or NIE of a parent or guardian, plus the creditor form
• Identification: DNI or NIE only; passports alone are not accepted
• Where: online via the Seu Electrònica, or at the OMAC in Castelló d'Empúries or Empuriabrava by appointment

Why It Matters

For households with school-age children, the grant is a modest but practical contribution. At a maximum of €50 per pupil, it is a contribution towards the cost of books and supplies rather than a full refund. For families with several children in primary and secondary school, however, the amounts can add up.

The conditions suggest the council wants close control over how the money is spent. The demand for itemised receipts, and the rule that only the amount paid after voucher discounts is counted, indicate that the grant is designed to sit alongside other aid rather than duplicate it.

The identification rule deserves attention in a municipality with a large foreign population, particularly in Empuriabrava. Parents who rely only on a passport cannot apply, even if their children attend a local school and are on the padró.

With the deadline only days away, families still gathering receipts or booking an OMAC appointment will need to move quickly. Looking ahead, it is worth watching whether the council adjusts the conditions in future years, especially around identification and the differences between the municipal grant and the school voucher, which could cause confusion for some applicants.