Public school posts: the oposición and interino lists

Key rules

• Application window: Once a call is published, you have 20 working days to apply.
• Weights: The exam counts for 60% and merits for 40% of your total, with regional variations.
• Foreign title: The call's bases say whether you need your title recognised or only proof that you applied.
• Nationality: Non-EU foreigners without a family link or treaty usually cannot take posts involving public authority.
• Region: Every region runs its own calls and lists, so follow your own region's education department.

The two routes

You win a permanent public school post through a regional competitive exam, the oposición. You can also work as a temporary teacher by joining an interino list. Each region runs its own calls and lists, so you deal with one regional education department, not a national office. Whether you can apply depends on three things: your nationality, whether your foreign title is recognised in time, and when the call opens.

Can you apply? Nationality first

You can apply on the same terms as Spaniards if you are:

• a Spanish or EU national;
• the spouse of a Spanish or EU national (not legally separated), or their descendant under 21 or dependent;
• a national of a country with a free-movement-of-workers treaty.

Other foreigners with legal residence can usually work in public schools only as contract staff, and not in posts that involve public authority. Regions may add nuances, so read the call. You also need the required degree, the teaching qualification and, where the call asks, a Spanish language level.

Your foreign title and the timing

Calls generally ask you to hold the required degree on the last day of the application window. A foreign degree normally has to be recognised in Spain, or you must have applied for recognition. Some calls accept proof that you applied and ask for the resolution before you are appointed. Others want the recognition itself. The call's bases say which, so read them before you pay for anything else. Most calls also want proof of the teaching qualification, meaning the teaching master or an equivalent. For regulated teaching, EU/EEA professional recognition may also be needed.

How the oposición works

The oposición is a competitive exam plus an assessment of your merits. The exam counts for 60% of the total and merits for 40%, though regions may vary the details.

• First test: a written practical test tied to your specialty, then a topic drawn at random from the syllabus, developed in writing and read aloud before the panel.
• Second test: you present and defend a teaching programme (programación didáctica) and give an oral presentation of a teaching unit (unidad didáctica).
• Scoring: each test is scored from 0 to 10.
• Merits: teaching experience counts most, then degrees and training, then other merits.

Candidates who pass are ranked by combined score, and the top ones fill the posts. They then do a paid teaching practice phase (fase de prácticas). Some regions have changed the format recently, so check the current call.

When the calls open

Calls usually appear in spring, and you have 20 working days from publication to apply. Exams typically run from mid-June into July. Results and selection lists follow in summer, and the practice phase starts in September. In many regions the Primaria and Secundaria bodies alternate by year. Some regions publish calls in autumn or winter.

Interino lists

Each regional department runs its own interino lists (bolsas). There are two ways in:

1. Through the oposición. Sit the exam in that region. Even if you do not win a post, your results can put you on the list if you reach a minimum score, often a pass in the first test.
2. Through the list call. Apply to a separate call, usually yearly or every few years, and be ranked by merits. Teaching experience weighs most, then your degree and training.

The requirements are similar to the oposición: nationality or work rights, the degree, the teaching qualification and no disqualification. List applications usually run in spring and summer. Provisional lists come out in summer and definitive lists before the school year starts.

What to do next

Use the planner below to lay out your year, and the checklist to prepare. The documents list shows what to gather. The regional resource shows where your region publishes its calls. If you are still waiting for recognition of your title, start there, because it decides which calls you can enter.

Plan your oposición year

Your oposición year, step by step

• Apply for recognition of your foreign title: as soon as you decide to sit an oposición, well before the call

• Expect the ministry's answer: it must resolve within about three months of a complete file, and no reply means a refusal you can appeal: about three months after a complete application, though real waits often run from several months to a year or more

• Enrol in the teaching master if your post needs it (60 ECTS credits, with school placements): one academic year; public universities usually charge roughly 1,500 to 3,500 euros in total

• Read the bases of the current call to see whether it asks for the recognition itself or only proof that you applied: as soon as the call is published

• Watch your region's education department site and official bulletin for the call: usually spring, February to April

• Submit your application with your degree and teaching qualification proof: within 20 working days from publication of the call

• Sit the exams: mid-June to July in most regions, later in some

Documents you need

• Your degree, recognised in Spain by the Ministry of Education (homologated or given equivalence), or proof that you have applied for recognition if the call accepts that. It must be shown on the last day of the application window.

• Proof of your teaching qualification, meaning the teaching master or an equivalent, which most calls ask for.

• Proof of your nationality or right to access public employment, such as that of an EU national, a spouse or descendant of one, or a legal resident for contract roles.

• The resolution granting recognition of your foreign degree, if your call accepts only proof of application at first. It is required before appointment.

• EU/EEA professional recognition, if it is needed for the regulated teaching post.

Checklist

• Read the bases of the current call to see whether it needs your degree recognised or only proof that you applied.

• Check that your nationality allows access to the posts you want.

• Find your region's call, usually published in spring, and note the 20 working days application window.

• Check whether your region's exam format matches the usual two tests, with the exam at 60% and merits at 40%.

• Prepare the practical test, the topic drawn at random from the syllabus, and the teaching programme and teaching unit defence.

• Decide whether to join an interino list through your exam results or through the separate list call.

• List your merits, with teaching experience first, plus degrees and training, for the list ranking.

• Watch your region's timetable for exams, provisional and definitive lists, and the start of the practice phase in September.

Where each region publishes teaching calls and lists

• Consejería de Desarrollo Educativo y Formación Profesional (Andalucía): Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for Andalucía

• Conselleria d'Educació (Baleares): Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for the Balearic Islands

• Education department of Castilla y León: Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for Castilla y León

• Education department of Castilla-La Mancha: Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for Castilla-La Mancha

• Education department of the Comunidad Valenciana: Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for the Comunidad Valenciana

• Departamento de Educación (País Vasco): Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for the Basque Country

• Ministry of Education, Formación Profesional y Deportes, through its provincial offices (Ceuta and Melilla): Find the oposiciones calls and interino lists for Ceuta and Melilla, which the ministry runs directly

• Your region's official bulletin: Search the current year for 'convocatoria procedimientos selectivos' or 'listas de interinos' and read the bases of the call, which are the binding text

• The national official gazette (BOE): Check the national rules on access to teaching bodies, which apply as the baseline in every region

Website addresses change, so confirm you are on your region's current official education site before relying on a page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I join an interino list without winning a post in the oposición?

Yes, in many regions you can join the interino list from your oposición results even if you do not win a post, provided you reach the minimum score. That minimum is often a pass in the first test. Otherwise, you can apply to the separate list call, where you are ranked on merits such as teaching experience, degree and training.

Can non-EU citizens apply for public school posts?

Non-EU citizens with legal residence can access only contract staff roles, and not posts involving public authority. Full access on the same terms as Spaniards is open to Spanish and EU nationals, their spouses (if not legally separated) and their descendants under 21 or dependent.

What happens after I pass the oposición?

After you pass, you are ranked by combined score and the top candidates fill the posts. Those selected then do a period of paid teaching practice, called the fase de prácticas, which begins in September. Results and selection lists usually appear in summer.

When do interino list applications open?

Interino list applications follow their own timetable, normally in spring and summer. Provisional lists usually come out in summer and definitive lists before the school year starts. Some regions publish calls in autumn or winter, so check your region's education department.