Español
Deutsch
If you plan to start an activity, it is important to know how to properly register as a self-employed worker to avoid legal issues when carrying it out.
The main steps to register as a self-employed worker involve the Social Security, the Tax Agency, City Councils and regional organizations.
Self-employed registration with Social Security
Registration in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) can be done up to 60 days before the start of the activity. It is important that this is done before the activity begins.
This procedure can be done at the same time as the registration with the Tax Agency.
Registration with Social Security can be done in person or electronically.
In the first case, you will have to fill out and submit form TA0521 to one of the Social Security offices. Along with it, you must provide the required documentation, DNI or equivalent, and the registration with the Tax Agency.
To register as self-employed worker online, you can do so on the Social Security Electronic Headquarters or go to a PAE point to process it directly. To do it through the Electronic Office, you must authenticate yourself through the digital certificate or one of the other means accepted for this purpose.
In the case of a joint ownership, you must provide a copy of the contract signed between the co-owners. And if you register as a partner of a company, you will have to present the original and a copy of the company’s incorporation document.
Registration with the Tax Agency
The other essential step before starting your activity is registering with the Tax Agency.
To carry out this procedure, you must submit the census declaration, form 036 or 037, duly completed.
Generally, form 036 will be used; to submit form 037 it is necessary to meet certain requirements. Almost all self-employed individuals can use it, except those with special VAT regimes, with the exception of the simplified regime, agriculture, livestock and fishing, or the equivalence surcharge, which must be listed in the register of intra-community operations or monthly refunds.
If you are a natural person with a relatively simple activity, you can use form 037 to register as a self-employed worker.
This form includes personal data, the heading of the Economic Activities Tax (IAE), the place where the activity is carried out, the VAT and personal income tax regime.
Registration with the Tax Agency must be done prior to the start of the activity.
The submission of form 036 or 037 can be done electronically or in person.
If you want to do it electronically, you can access it by identifying yourself using a digital certificate or Cl@ve PIN on the Tax Agency’s electronic headquarters.
To do it in person, you will have to fill out and print the form to submit it at the nearest Tax Agency office.
Whenever there is a variation in the census declaration data, such as a change of address or expansion of activities, you must resubmit form 036 or 037 with the corresponding modification.
Other procedures to register as self-employed worker
Although the main procedures are with Social Security and the Tax Agency, other procedures may be necessary to start a business, mainly with the City Council or regional organizations.
Opening license
The opening license is a permit granted by the City Council to start an economic activity in a premises.
Usually, you have to request this permit in the urban planning area of the City Council of the town where the activity is going to be carried out.
As for the cost of the opening license, it is variable. Factors such as the commercial value of the street where the premises are located, its location and the type of activity are usually taken into account for its calculation.
This step will only be necessary for commercial activities, such as shops or bars. You will not have to request it if you have an online business or any type of activity that is not open to the public.
Procedures with autonomous bodies
For the opening, installation, relocation and expansion of a work center, it is necessary to notify the corresponding autonomous body.
This procedure is usually carried out in the labor section of the Department of Employment or Labor of the Autonomous Community where the work center is located.
This obligation extends to the resumption of activity after significant alterations, expansions or transformations.
To do so, there is a period of 30 days, during which you must present the data related to the work center and the workforce of your business. Knowing how to register as a self-employed worker is important if you want to start an activity on your own. The most important steps are the submission of the census declaration to the Tax Agency and registration with Social Security, although other steps such as obtaining an opening license may be necessary.
Further information
This article is part of our service Business consulting. Visit this section where you will find all the useful information on this topic, including a complete guide on How to start a business in Spain as a foreigner.
Solve your doubts
✅ Our staff speaks perfectly Spanish, Valencian, English and German with what will be able to communicate with us in your own language and thus clearly resolve your queries.
📍 Denia – Plaza del Convento, 6 – Mezzanine floor door B
📍 Valencia – Calle Creu Roja, 1 – Block 6, Floor 1, door 10 (* only by appointment)
✉📞 Contact: info@firmalex.com – Tel. +34 966 421 416 – Whatsapp +34 622 497 615