How to Create a Representative Office in Spain

A representative office is a type of establishment in which a foreign/non-resident entity operates and in which ancillary or preparatory activities are carried out.

Procedure for creating a Representative office in Spain

First, the agreement (hereinafter, the “document”) by the corresponding corporate body of the foreign entity on the decision to register the representative office in Spain is required.

If it was granted before a foreign notary, this document must be legalized with a Hague Apostille or by consular legalization, and be translated into Spanish.

In this document, the following needs to be shown:

• The agreement of the corresponding corporate body.
• The appointment and powers of the representative in Spain*: It should be noted that the representative offices do not have administrative bodies, they only have a representative of the parent company to whom certain powers are granted, mainly related to functions of collaboration with the authorities and receipt of notifications.
• If the notary has not validated the existence and activity of the company: the certificate from the registry or corresponding body of the foreign country where the company is registered that proves its existence and the validity of the positions within the company.

* A foreign company that intends to establish a representative office in Spain must designate a representative in Spain.

This document will be sent to the Tax Agency together with official Form 036.

How to register the entity in order to hire employees

In order to hire employees, three things are needed:

1. The Spanish NIF (Tax Identification Number) of the natural person who will sign on behalf of the company as its representative.
2. Once you have obtained the NIF of the natural person, they must sign and submit a form requesting the Spanish NIF for the foreign company (Adlanter can apply for this).
3. Once the company’s NIF has been obtained, a digital certificate needs to be acquired with which the entity will be able to sign up with Social Security and register employees.

How can Adlanter help you?

Are you thinking of establishing a representative office or a company in Spain? Adlanter can respond to all your needs when creating a representative office in Spain. Are you interested?