Do you have to join a colegio to practise?

Terms used

• Colegio — A colegio is a professional body that registers practitioners of a profession and oversees their conduct.
• Ventanilla única — The ventanilla única is the colegio's one-stop information point, where you can learn about registration and do the paperwork.
• Visado — A visado is a colegio's technical endorsement of a professional document, such as an architect's project.
• Procuradores — Procuradores are professionals who represent parties in court proceedings in Spain, separate from lawyers.
• Graduados sociales — Graduados sociales are professionals in employment and social security law and administration.

Key rules

• Who decides: Only a state law can make colegio membership compulsory for a profession.
• No single list: No current law lists all professions that require membership, so you must check your own.
• Activity matters: The duty can depend on what you do, such as public practice or clinical work.
• Reform: Do not assume a reform has changed the rules, as proposals for a new law were dropped.

The short answer

It depends on your profession and on what you actually do. Membership of a colegio is compulsory only where a state law says so. Many professions have no such requirement. Check yours before you start work, because practising without a required membership can cause you trouble.

Which law decides it

Only a national law can make membership compulsory. The general colegios law says that you must belong to the relevant colegio to practise when a state law requires it. A 2009 reform added that the obligation must be set by state law and be justified.

The actual obligation then sits in the law that governs each profession. Examples are the lawyers' statute, the laws on health professions and the building law for architects.

A 2009 law asked the Government to pass one new law listing the professions that stay compulsory. That never happened, and drafts from 2013 were dropped. So today there is no single list. The old profession-by-profession rules still apply. Do not assume a reform has changed them.

Professions that usually need membership

Membership is generally required for:

• lawyers (abogados), to practise before the courts and to give legal advice as a lawyer
• procuradores
• doctors, nurses, practising pharmacists, dentists and vets
• notaries and registradores
• architects, for work that needs a visado or professional sign-off
• psychologists in clinical practice, physiotherapists and graduados sociales
• some engineers, economists and auditors, in some cases

Professions where it is often voluntary

Membership is voluntary, or not needed, for most engineers, most economists, many teachers, journalists and many other professions with no state law behind them. For engineers the rules vary widely by field and by region.

The activity matters too. In some professions the duty applies only to public practice, in others to any practice. Name your exact activity, such as clinical work, public practice or salaried work, before you decide.

The comparison below sets professions side by side. Treat it as a guide, not an official list.

How to check your own case

Do it in this order:

1. Find the law for your profession in the BOE, Spain's official gazette.
2. Search the national database of regulated professions, which is also Spain's entry in the EU database.
3. Write to the Consejo General for your profession, or to your local colegio, and ask whether you must join for your activity. Keep the reply.
4. Ask the colegio's ventanilla única how registration works. It must give you that information.
5. If you trained abroad, check the regulated professions pages of the Ministry of Education or the relevant sector ministry. Recognition of your qualification is a separate step.

The checklist below repeats these steps. For fees and moving between colegios, see the quick answers below.

Which professions need a colegio, side by side

The short answer

Which professions need a colegio depends on the profession and on what you do in it. No single official list exists. The duty comes from older sector rules that are still in force. Before you start work, ask the colegio for your profession whether you must join.

Professions compared

Engineers vary the most. The answer changes with the field, and also with whether you work in public practice or in any practice.

Do the rules change by region?

The duty to join is set by the state, so it is the same in every region. Regions regulate how colegios in their territory are organised and run, and some, such as Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country, have their own laws on this. They cannot add or remove the duty to join for a profession. A regional law may change how your colegio works, but it does not change whether you must join. Check the current position with your colegio, because a long-planned national law on professional services could change the picture.

One registration covers all Spain

If your profession requires membership, you register once, with the colegio of your single domicile or professional address. That is enough to practise anywhere in Spain. Other colegios cannot ask you to register again. Moving between regions is covered in the section on registering in more than one place.

The visado, for architects and engineers

Some technical work needs a visado, which is the colegio's endorsement of a project. It applies only to a short list of cases:

• building projects where an architect or engineer is required
• demolition projects
• final-of-works certificates for building works
• some engineering works where safety is at stake

Public administrations as clients are exempt. Other professions, such as lawyers, economists and doctors, are not subject to visado. Ask your colegio exactly what it endorses.

Checklist

• Name your profession and the exact activity you plan to do, such as clinical practice, public practice or work that needs professional sign-off, because the obligation often depends on the activity.

• Check the list of professions where membership is generally required: lawyers, procuradores, doctors, nurses, practising pharmacists, dentists, vets, notaries, registrars, architects and some engineers, plus clinical psychologists, physiotherapists and graduados sociales.

• Look up the sector law for your profession in the BOE, Spain's official gazette. The obligation comes from older sector laws that are still in force, together with the general colegios law, because no single current law lists every profession.

• Search the database of regulated professions run by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business and the Ministry of Education, which is also Spain's entry in the EU regulated professions database.

• Write to the Consejo General for your profession or to your local colegio and ask whether membership is required for your activity and region. Keep their reply.

• Ask the colegio's one-stop information point (ventanilla única) how registration works.

• Check the regulated professions pages of the Ministry of Education or the relevant sector ministry if you qualified abroad, as recognition of your qualification may come first.

• Do not assume a reform has changed the rules: proposals for a new professional services law were dropped and have not become law, so the older rules still apply.

Quick answers about colegio membership

Do I pay colegio fees every year?

Yes, the membership fee (cuota colegial) recurs every year for as long as you stay registered. It is usually charged monthly, quarterly or half-yearly, and the amount depends on your profession and colegio. Some colegios add separate charges for liability insurance or visado services.

Can I move to a colegio in another province later?

Yes, you can ask the new colegio to register you, usually with a certificate of good standing from your old one, and then cancel the old registration. Many colegios charge no entry fee for transfers. If you keep your original colegio, you only need to notify the colegio where you practise, which is free.

What do colegio fees pay for besides the right to practise?

Fees fund the register, your ID card and certificates, plus extras that vary by colegio. These often include collective professional liability insurance, legal advice and defence, training courses, job boards, discounts, and mediation services. Basic insurance cover is sometimes included, with higher cover optional.