Why are you walking the Camino ?

Pilgrim Passport or Credential:

You need this document to use the refugios. You can get the church issued document in Roncesvalles, the pilgrim office in St. Jean, or the cathedral office in the large cities.

You do not have to be Catholic. You will have to designate the purpose of your pilgrimage as religious, spiritual or cultural. If you indicate cultural, you will get a different completion document in Santiago.

The guidebooks have detailed info on where to obtain a credential. Each night get it stamped where you stay. At the moment various organisations issue credentials, but starting in 2009 you will have to use the official church issued credential for admission to church sponsored refugios and to obtain the compestela. In Santiago, show it to the pilgrim office by the cathedral and if you have satisfied the requirements for the pilgrimage, they will issue you the Latin certificate of completion or compestela.

The minimum distance to qualify is walking the last 100 km to Santiago. If you start your pilgrimage near the minimum distance, you need to get two stamps per day to qualify.