Claiming compensation from a Spanish public body (responsabilidad patrimonial)

Key rules

• Time limit: The one-year period can start later than the event, for example after an injury heals or after a court ruling becomes final.
• Silence: If the administration does not answer within six months, treat it as a refusal.
• Large claims: A claim of €50,000 or more needs a binding opinion from the Consejo de Estado or the regional equivalent.
• Challenging a refusal: You have two months from notification to file a reposición or go to the administrative court.

Can you claim?

You can claim if a public service caused you real damage and you had no duty to put up with it. This covers normal and abnormal functioning of the service. It applies to claims against the State, regional governments and local bodies such as your town hall. The claim is called responsabilidad patrimonial.

You have one year to claim compensation, counted from the damage or from when its effects become clear. Miss it and the right lapses, so work out your start date first.

What you must show

All of these must be true:

• The damage is real, can be valued in euros, and affects you or a specific group, not everyone.
• The public service caused it. There must be a clear link between the two.
• You had no legal duty to bear it. For example, a lawful fine or tax is not compensable.
• It was not force majeure, meaning an unforeseeable external event outside the administration's control.

Damage that follows from the state of scientific or technical knowledge at the time cannot be compensated.

When the one-year period starts

• Injury to your body or health: it runs from the cure, or from when the effects stabilise. You do not have to claim while you are still being treated.
• Damage from an annulled decision or regulation, or a court ruling: it runs from when the final court decision is notified to you. It does not run before the annulment is final.
• Damage from a law declared unconstitutional or contrary to EU law: it runs from the publication of the ruling.
• Anything else: it runs from the event, or from when the damage becomes evident.

How to claim

1. Choose the right body. File with the administration whose service caused the damage. If a town hall road caused it, file with the town hall. Claims about the administration of justice go to the Ministry of Justice.
2. Prepare the claim. Describe the facts, explain how the service caused the harm, describe the injury and put a euro value on it. Attach evidence: reports, witness details and invoices.
3. File it. You or a representative can file through the body's electronic office or at any public register.

What happens next

The administration has six months to decide and notify you. If it says nothing, that counts as a refusal. The procedure may be ordinary or simplified.

For claims of €50,000 or more, a binding opinion from the Consejo de Estado, or the regional equivalent, is required. The administration requests it, not you. The competent body, such as the minister or the mayor, makes the decision.

If refused, you have two months from notification to file a reposición, which asks the same body to reconsider. Or you can go directly to the administrative court (contencioso-administrativo). Consider a lawyer at this stage.

The timeline and questions below cover the steps and common doubts.

Timeline and deadlines

• Work out when your one-year period starts: As soon as the damage happens or its effects become clear; for injury, from your cure or when the effects stabilise

• Gather evidence such as reports, witness details and invoices, and put a euro value on the injury: Before you file

• File the claim with the administration whose service caused the damage, through its electronic office or any register: Within one year

• Wait for the decision; silence means refusal: The administration has six months to resolve and notify

• If the claim is for €50,000 or more, the administration obtains a binding opinion from the Consejo de Estado or the regional equivalent: During the procedure, before the decision

• If refused, file reposición or go directly to the administrative court: Within two months of notification

Frequently asked questions

Does the one-year period start later if I was injured?

Yes, for physical or psychological injury the year starts from your cure or from when the effects stabilise, not from the accident. If your claim rests on a court ruling that annuls an administrative act or a regulation, the year starts when that final ruling is notified to you.

Can I claim for damage caused by a law that was later struck down?

Yes, you can claim if the law was declared unconstitutional or contrary to EU law, and the year starts from the publication of that ruling. The usual requirements still apply, including that you had no legal duty to bear the damage.

Which body decides my compensation claim?

The administration whose service caused the damage decides it, through its competent body, such as the minister or the mayor. For claims of €50,000 or more, a binding opinion from the Consejo de Estado, or the regional equivalent, is needed first. Claims involving the courts go to the Ministry of Justice.

What damage cannot be compensated?

Damage caused by force majeure cannot be compensated, nor can damage that follows from the state of scientific or technical knowledge at the time. Damage you had a legal duty to bear is also excluded.