The pilgrim credential on the Le Puy Route: where to get it and how to fill it

The pilgrim credential (credencial) is the stamped booklet that proves you walked the Way of St James. On the Le Puy Route (Via Podiensis, GR65), you get it in Le Puy-en-Velay, either at the cathedral shop (Espace Notre-Dame) or at Le Camino, 2 rue de la Manécanterie, and it is also handed out after the early-morning pilgrims' mass. You collect stamps at every stage (gîtes, town halls, churches, cafés), and to receive the Compostela in Santiago you must cover at least 100 km on foot or 200 km by bike, ending at the cathedral.

What is the pilgrim credential?

The Credencial del Peregrino is the pilgrim's accreditation, a modern descendant of the safe-conduct letters carried by medieval pilgrims. According to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago, it can only be issued by the Church through its institutions (a diocese, parish or confraternity) or by bodies it authorises. Webcompostella, a French-speaking Catholic association, calls it a "document of recommendation".

In practice, this fold-out booklet does three jobs:

• It shows you are a pilgrim, whether on foot, on horseback or by bike.
• It collects stamps from the places you pass through: proof of your route, and a wonderful keepsake.
• It opens doors: it is often requested in pilgrim accommodation (especially donation-based hostels) and you need it to claim your Compostela in Santiago.

Where to get your credencial in Le Puy-en-Velay

The Le Puy tourist office lists two places, a stone's throw from each other at the foot of the cathedral. Picking up your credential in person, with a few words of welcome, is part of the ritual of setting off, and it is what Webcompostella encourages.

The cathedral shop (Espace Notre-Dame)

The Espace Notre-Dame, the cathedral's shop, welcomes St James pilgrims and hands out credentials. Phone: +33 4 71 05 98 74. Opening hours published by the cathedral:

Le Camino, home of the Amis de Saint-Jacques du Velay

In the Hôtel Saint-Vidal, 2 rue de la Manécanterie (+33 4 71 09 06 00), the association Les Amis de Saint-Jacques du Velay runs Le Camino: an exhibition space about the pilgrimage plus an independent garden café. From 1 April to 15 October, volunteers staff the pilgrims' lounge every day from 2pm to 7pm. They can advise on daily distances, pack weight, accommodation and luggage transfer, which makes it a very useful stop the day before you set out.

Before you travel, by post

You can also arrive in Le Puy with your credential already in your pack. Regional French "Amis de Saint-Jacques" associations generally offer one to their members (fees vary from one association to another), and our research indicates that the Société française des Amis de Saint-Jacques de Compostelle in Paris sends credentials by post. The official Santiago credential is also available online.

The pilgrims' mass and blessing at Le Puy cathedral

For many walkers this is the moment they remember most: the dawn mass, followed by the pilgrims' blessing and the handing-out of credentials. The schedule published by the cathedral:

• 1 April to 31 October: mass every day at 7am, followed by the pilgrims' blessing and credentials (other masses Saturday 12pm and Sunday 10:30am).
• 15 July to 17 August: the same daily 7am service, plus an extra mass Monday to Friday at 6pm.
• 1 November to 31 March: Monday to Friday at 7:30am, followed by the blessing and credentials; Saturday 12pm, Sunday 10:30am.
• Holy Week: no mass on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or Holy Saturday, but the 7am pilgrims' blessing still takes place.

Where to get stamps along the Le Puy Route

Stamps (sellos in Spain, tampons in France) are available wherever pilgrims are welcomed. The Haute-Loire tourist board suggests getting your booklet stamped at the town hall, tourist office or gîte at the end of each stage. The Santiago Pilgrim's Office also lists parishes, monasteries, cathedrals, hostels and "other places": in practice, plenty of cafés and restaurants on the trail have their own stamp.

• Town halls (mairies) and tourist offices, during opening hours.
• Churches and chapels: a self-service stamp is sometimes left by the door.
• Gîtes and B&Bs, when you check in.
• Cafés, bars and restaurants, perfect for a midday stamp.

As the Le Puy tourist office puts it, stamps are both souvenirs of the villages you cross and a key to certain services.

For most pilgrims, Monistrol-d'Allier comes on day two, after the walk down from Saint-Privat-d'Allier (see our guide to the Saint-Privat-d'Allier to Monistrol-d'Allier stage). Right on the GR65, L'Auberge des Amis stamps your credential every day, from 6:30am breakfast through to dinner, a good way to mark your passage before the climb towards the Margeride plateau (see the Monistrol-d'Allier to Saugues stage).

Compostela requirements: how many stamps do you need?

The Compostela is the certificate issued by the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago. Its conditions, as published by the Office:

• At least 100 continuous km on foot or horseback (200 km by bike) along the same recognised route, with the final stage ending at Santiago cathedral.
• If you started walking outside Spain on a recognised route, as you do from Le Puy, the Office's rules now state a minimum of 70 km in Spain. This is a recent change (late 2024 or 2025 according to unofficial sources), so double-check it before you go.
• Walking in sections is fine, as long as you follow chronological and geographical order and get a stamp, with the date, at the start and end of each section.
• Two stamps a day over the last 100 km (200 km by bike): this is the commonly applied rule quoted by guidebooks, but it does not appear on the official pages we checked in October 2026. Following it is the safe option.

The Compostela is granted for Christian reasons ("devotionis affectu, voti vel pietatis"), though the Chapter may grant it in exceptional cases, and guidebooks report that it is free. The Pilgrim's Office is open daily 9am to 7pm (closed 25 December and 1 January); you take a QR-code ticket and can follow the queue in real time.

The certificate of distance

Whatever your motivation, the Cathedral Chapter also issues a certificate of distance, printed on parchment, showing your starting point, the kilometres covered, your arrival date and the route. It costs 3 EUR and can even be requested for a past pilgrimage.

Tips to keep your credential in good shape

• Date every stamp in pen next to the imprint. It is required if you walk in sections, and useful in any case.
• Keep it in a zip bag: rain on the Aubrac and the Margeride is no friend to paper.
• Do not laminate it: you need to keep stamping it.
• Store it with your passport in an easy-to-reach pocket for check-in.
• Save space: ask hosts to stamp neatly within one box. If Santiago is your goal, it is a long way.
• Photograph or photocopy it every so often, so you keep a record if it goes missing.
• Once home, Webcompostella suggests getting a final stamp from the parish or body that issued it, a nice way to close the loop.

Key distances from Le Puy-en-Velay

You will not be alone: according to the French hiking federation (FFRandonnée), around 446,000 pilgrims and hikers used the Compostela routes in France in 2023.

The Le Puy Route and UNESCO

The "Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France" were inscribed on the World Heritage List on 2 December 1998. The listing covers 78 components: 64 monuments, 7 ensembles and 7 trail sections, all of them on the Le Puy Route. In the Haute-Loire, the listed sites are Le Puy cathedral and the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jacques; no trail section in the department is listed, and Monistrol-d'Allier is not on the list.

The first listed trail section you will walk is Nasbinals to Saint-Chély-d'Aubrac (17 km), across the Aubrac plateau. Conques, Figeac, Cahors and its Pont Valentré follow: in all, nearly 160 km of listed path and monuments on the Le Puy Route, plenty of fine stamps for your credential.

And if the Allier gorges tempt you to linger, consider a rest day in Monistrol-d'Allier before the Margeride. A table is waiting for you at the auberge: book your meal, and do not forget to hand over your credential at the counter.

Photo credits — Chapelle Saint-Jacques de Rochegude © Rémih, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · Le Puy-en-Velay cathedral © Selbymay, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · Le Puy-en-Velay cathedral © Marmontel, CC BY 2.0 (Wikimedia Commons) · Le Puy-en-Velay cathedral © Daniel Villafruela., CC BY 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons)