The Monastery was added to the World Heritage List as "El Escorial: Monastery and Site" on November 2, 1984, to coincide with the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the laying of the last stone. The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO was meeting in the Argentine city of Buenos Aires at the time. The Monastery and two other royal residences, the Casita del Principe and the Casita del Infante, both created by Juan de Villanueva during the reign of Charles III, are listed here.

The Monastery is shown on a commemorative €2 coin that was produced by the Bank of Spain in 2013 as a part of its series of World Heritage Buildings.