Getting the opening licence for physical premises

Terms used

• Declaración responsable — A declaración responsable is a signed statement that your premises and activity meet the rules, letting you start without waiting for approval.
• ICIO — The ICIO is the municipal tax on construction, installation and works, charged on the real cost of the works.
• Tasa — The tasa is the council's fee for processing your licence or declaración responsable.
• Certificado técnico — A certificado técnico is a technician's certificate, with plans, confirming the premises suit the use and meet safety and installation rules.
• Recurso de reposición — The recurso de reposición is an optional appeal to the same council that refused you.

Key rules

• Opening on filing: A declaración responsable lets you start from the day you file with full documentation, but the council can still inspect and order you to stop.
• Fix deadline: You have 10 working days to answer a council request to fix your file.
• Technical paper: Whether you need a full project, a technician's certificate or nothing is set locally, so ask before hiring anyone.
• ICIO: The works tax is capped at 4% of the real cost of the works.
• Refusal: Keep the written refusal, because it states the appeal routes and deadlines for your case.

Who handles it

Your town hall (ayuntamiento) processes the opening licence or the declaración responsable. Look for its urbanismo, licencias or actividades department, or its online office (sede electrónica). Big cities may use a separate agency or district office. Some small councils get help from the provincial council.

Regional authorities join in when your activity needs environmental, health, tourism, public-show or fire-safety reports. Department names and rules differ by council and region, so start with your own town hall.

Licence or declaración responsable

Your activity follows one of two routes. A prior licence means you wait for approval before opening. A declaración responsable is a signed statement that you meet the rules. Ask the council which route applies to you.

With a declaración responsable you can start the activity from the day you file it with the full documentation, but the council can still check and order you to stop later. It does not cover an activity that breaks planning rules. Some activities still need a prior licence or a sector authorisation, and a separate works licence may also be needed.

The decision below helps you choose between waiting and opening on filing.

Documents and the technical project

Each council publishes its own list of documents for your activity, so download it before you start. The documents block below shows the usual ones. Two extras often catch people out: permission from the community of owners where relevant, and energy and electrical certificates.

What technical paper you need depends on the activity, its size and the works:

• Full project: a technician signs it, usually with a professional-association visa. It is normally for activities under prior licence, or larger or riskier ones such as nightlife, music venues, industrial use or major works.
• Technician's certificate (certificado técnico): the usual case for a declaración responsable with small works or none. It certifies that the premises suit the use and meet fire, accessibility, noise and installation rules.
• Nothing: for small activities with no works, such as a small shop or office that only changes owner. You sign alone.

Local thresholds decide which applies, so confirm with the council before you hire anyone.

Inspection

Under a prior licence, council technicians inspect before the licence takes effect. They check that the works match the project and meet the rules.

Under a declaración responsable, inspection usually comes after you open. The council can visit at any time, and some councils use accredited inspection bodies. Typical checks cover fire safety, accessible entrance and toilets, noise insulation, and electrical and ventilation installations. Health inspectors also visit food premises. Hospitality and nightlife venues are inspected more often.

How long it takes

With a declaración responsable you do not wait to open. The council verifies later, within periods it sets locally.

For a prior licence, local or regional law sets the maximum time. If none does, the general limit is three months. In practice simple licences take one to a few months. Complex or nightlife licences can take several months, and in large cities more than a year. Silence usually counts as approval, but not for licences that would break the law, and not for some activities with environmental, heritage or public-land impact. Do not open on silence alone. Ask the council for its current time limits and a written confirmation.

What it costs

Expect two charges:

• Tasa: the council's fee for processing the licence or declaración responsable. Each council sets it, as a fixed amount or by floor area, activity or investment.
• ICIO: a works tax on the real cost of the works. It is capped at 4%, and most councils charge between 2% and 4%.

You may also pay a works licence fee, plus the technician's fees and visa. Fees run from a few hundred euros to a couple of thousand for small and medium premises, and more for large ones. Some councils reduce or waive fees in certain cases. Check the council's current fee ordinance, because rates change yearly.

If the application is incomplete or refused

If your application is incomplete, the council gives you 10 working days to fix it or supply missing documents. If you do not answer, the file is archived as withdrawn.

A refusal must be a reasoned written decision. Keep it, because it states your appeal routes and deadlines. You can generally:

• file an optional appeal (recurso de reposición) with the same council within one month, or
• go straight to the administrative courts within two months of notification.

If the council stays silent, the deadlines differ, so check them against the notice. Some regions and large cities have their own appeal routes. Under a declaración responsable nothing is granted, so the council can instead order you to stop.

Opening before you are allowed is covered in the what-if section below. The steps, checklist and warnings below put these stages in order.

Choosing between options

Should you wait for a decision before opening, or open on filing?

• Open on filing: Your activity falls under declaración responsable and you file with the full documentation. The council can still verify later and order you to stop if the data or premises do not comply.

• Wait for the licence: Your activity needs a prior licence, as larger, riskier or nightlife activities often do, or it needs a separate works licence or sector registration first.

Your town hall decides the route by activity type: if it requires a prior licence, wait for the resolution. If it accepts a declaración responsable, you can start once you file the complete file. If a refusal comes, you can appeal it.

Steps to open licensed business premises

• Check that the premises can be used for your activity: ask the town hall's urban planning department for a planning report or certificate of compatibility of use, and check the community statutes: before you sign the lease

• Negotiate the lease with a clause making it conditional on getting the licence or declaración responsable, with a way out or refund if the use is not allowed: before you sign, once the zoning answer is in

• Hire an architect or engineer to check the premises and prepare the project or certificate: after the zoning check and before you file

• Pay the fee and file the licence application or declaración responsable with your documents and the lease or title: after the technician's report is ready

• Fix an incomplete application or supply missing documents: within 10 working days of the council's request

• Carry out any works, which may need a separate works licence or declaración responsable and a works tax (ICIO): after filing, or as the council requires

• Pass any inspection and get final certificates, such as the electrical installation certificate: when the works are finished

• Contract electricity, water, gas and internet, which often need the filed licence or declaración responsable: after filing, before opening

• Register with the tax agency and Social Security, and make any sector registrations: before you open

• Wait for the council's decision if you applied for a prior licence; a simple licence can take one to a few months and a complex one longer: after filing a licence application; with a declaración responsable there is no wait

• Open, and keep your documents ready in case the council checks later: once the licence is granted, or from the day you file a complete declaración responsable

Documents you need

• Your ID or NIE, or the company's tax number (CIF), plus the company deeds and proof of representation powers if a company files.

• The council's application or declaración responsable form, issued by the town hall.

• Proof of your right to use the premises: the lease, the title deed or the owner's consent.

• A full technical project signed by a qualified technician, usually with a professional-association visa, for licensed, larger or riskier activities or those with major works.

• A technician's certificate with plans, confirming use, area, fire safety, accessibility, noise and installations. This is the usual case for a declaración responsable with small or no works.

• Proof that you paid the council fee (tasa) and, where works are done, the works tax (ICIO).

• The works licence or works declaración, if your works need one.

• Liability insurance, for some activities such as public shows and hospitality.

• The community of owners' permission, where relevant, and the previous licence or first-occupancy licence of the premises.

• Energy and electrical certificates, and sector documents such as a food-hygiene plan.

Checklist

• Download your town hall's list of documents for your activity and gather everything before you file.

• Ask the council whether your activity needs a full project, a technician's certificate or neither, since local rules set the threshold.

• Pay the council fee and, if you do works, the works tax, and keep the payment proofs for your file.

• Check whether your activity needs a prior licence or can open with a declaración responsable.

• Prepare for inspection by checking fire equipment, evacuation signs, accessible entrance and toilets, noise insulation, and electrical and ventilation installations.

• Ask the council how long it takes to resolve a prior licence, and when it verifies a declaración responsable.

• Answer a council request to fix your file within 10 working days.

• Keep the written decision if your application is refused, and check the appeal routes and deadlines it states.

What to watch out for

• Wrong technical document: Filing a certificate when your activity needs a full signed project can get your file sent back. Thresholds are set locally and depend on activity, size and works. Ask the council which document your activity needs before you hire a technician.

• Missing the deadline to fix the file: If you do not answer the council's request to fix defects in time, the file is archived as withdrawn. Answer within the 10 working days and send every missing document at once.

• Late appeal after a refusal: A refusal can be challenged within one month before the same council, or within two months before the administrative courts. Missing these deadlines closes those routes. Read the notified decision straight away, as it states the routes and deadlines for your case, and ask a lawyer to act on it.

• False or missing data: Inaccurate, omitted or false essential data ends your right to carry on the activity once it is found. The council can order you to stop, restore the premises and fine you. Check every figure and document before you sign the declaration.

What if you open before the licence is granted?

Opening before your licence is granted can lead to fines, an order to stop and a closure with the premises sealed. The one safe way to open early is a declaración responsable filed with the full documentation.

When you can open without the licence

With a declaración responsable you can start the activity from the day you file it with the full documentation, but the council can still check and order you to stop later. Some activities still need a prior licence or sector authorisation, and some councils also require a separate works licence. Ask your town hall which route your activity falls under before you sign a lease or buy stock.

The declaración does not cover an activity that breaks the planning rules. Filing it for a use the premises are not allowed to have gives you no protection.

What can happen if you open too early

Councils can check your data and documents at any time, and the premises too. If they find that essential data was false, left out or inaccurate, or that you never filed the declaración, your right to carry on the activity ends from the moment they find it. You get a hearing first. After that the council can:

• order the activity to stop
• order you to put things back as they were
• fine you
• bar you from filing again for a period set in the decision

Further penal or administrative liability can follow.

How big the fines are

Fines depend on your region's law and your town's ordinance, so there is no single national figure. They are usually graded as minor, serious or very serious. Expect hundreds of euros for minor cases and tens of thousands or more for very serious ones. The council weighs the size of the premises, the risk and any repeat offences. Hospitality and entertainment activities generally face higher penalties. You may also have to pay any tax owed. Ask your town hall for the current ranges that apply to your activity.

How a closure works

A council can order a stop or a closure and seal the premises. It normally follows these steps:

1. An inspection report.
2. A procedure to restore legality.
3. A hearing where you can respond.
4. A closure order.

In urgent cases the council can suspend the activity or seal the premises immediately, before the process ends. If you ignore the order, it can add repeated fines and carry out the closure itself.

How to reopen or fight the order

To reopen, get the licence or file a complete declaración responsable and legalise the activity. The council then lifts the closure order. If you think the order is wrong, you can challenge it by an appeal to the council itself (recurso de reposición) or in the administrative courts. Appeal deadlines are short, so get local legal advice as soon as you receive an order.

Frequently asked questions

Who inspects my premises, and when?

Under a prior licence, the council's technicians inspect before the licence takes effect. Under a declaración responsable, inspection usually comes after opening, and the council can visit at any time. Hospitality and nightlife premises are inspected more often, and food premises also get public-health inspectors.

What does the council check during an inspection?

The council checks that the works match the project and that the premises meet fire safety, accessibility, noise insulation, electrical and ventilation rules. It also checks that the capacity fits the licence. Fire checks cover extinguishers, evacuation routes and signs.

How much does an opening licence cost?

Expect a few hundred euros up to a couple of thousand for small and medium premises, and more for larger ones. This covers the council's processing fee, plus a works tax of up to 4% of the real cost of any works, and the technician's fees.

How long does a prior licence take?

A simple licence usually takes from one to a few months, while complex or nightlife licences can take several months to over a year in large cities. If your region sets no limit, the default maximum is three months.

Can I challenge a refusal of my licence?

Yes, you can appeal a reasoned written refusal to the same council within one month, or go straight to the administrative courts within two months of notification. The refusal notice states the exact routes and deadlines for your case.