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How to register an association or charity organisation in Spain

Setting up an association in Spain involves several steps and legal requirements

An association or charity is a non-profit organisation that is typically formed for social, cultural, or recreational purposes between at least three people.

The organisation should be governed by statutes that will guide the operation of the association and this vital agreement must be formalised by what’s known as a founding act.

Registering the association

Although the organisation is technically a legal entity from the moment the founding act is signed by its members, it must still be registered in the registry of associations, which can be either local or national depending on the scope of the group.

The following steps must be followed to register an association:

Draft the statutes: These should include clearly defined details about the purpose, membership criteria, organisational structure, decision-making processes and other information relevant to the organisation.
Hold a founding assembly: Here, the founding members will approve the statutes, sign the founding act and elect the initial board of directors.
Identify the correct Registry: At this point, the founders must decide where to register the association. If the scope of the organisation is to act at a regional or local level, the registration must be made at the Registry of Autonomous Associations. On the other hand, if the scope of actions affects more than one autonomous community, registration must be made at the National Registry of Associations.
Documentation: Prepare all of the documentation required from the corresponding association registry, which will usually include:

Signed registration application form.
Two copies of the founding act and the statutes signed by all founding members on every page.
Identification of the members in the founding document (name and surname, address, nationality and tax identification number).
Payment of the corresponding fees.

Once all the documentation has been submitted to the registry, the association should keep a copy of the application and the registry will reply within three months. If no response is received within this time frame, it can be taken for granted that the request has been approved.

The Founding Act

The founding document must contain the following information:

Identification of the promoters (name and surname in the case of natural persons, company name in the case of legal entities, nationality, address and NIF).
The agreements and name of the association.
The approval of the statutes.
Place and date of the meeting as well as the signature of the members.
The designation of the members of the provisional Government body.

The statutes

Statutes are the fundamental rules of the operation of an association or charity and are binding for the members.

As well as rules decided upon by the members, the statutes must legally include the following:

The category the association falls under.
The domicile, as well as the territorial area in which it will mainly carry out its activities.
The duration, when the association is not established for an indefinite period.
The purposes and activities of the association, described precisely.
The requirements and modalities for admission and discharge, sanction and separation of members and, where applicable, their classes. They may also include the consequences of non-payment of fees by members.
The rights and obligations of the associates and, where appropriate, of each of their different modalities.
The criteria that guarantee the democratic functioning of the association.
The governing and representative bodies, their composition, rules and procedures for the election and replacement of their members, their powers, duration of positions, causes of their termination, the way of deliberating, adopting and executing their agreements and the people or positions with the power to certify them and requirements for the aforementioned bodies to be validly constituted, as well as the number of members necessary to be able to convene sessions of the governing bodies or to propose matters on the agenda.
The administration, accounting and documentation regime, as well as the closing date of the associative financial year.
The initial assets and the economic resources that can be used.
Causes for dissolution and destination of the assets in such a case, which cannot distort the non-profit nature of the entity.

The statutes may also contain any other lawful provisions and conditions that the founding members consider appropriate, provided that they do not oppose the laws or contradict the shaping principles of the association.

Recommendations

Before registering, it is advisable to check that there is no association already registered with the same name. A complete list can be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior.

It’s highly recommended to make four original copies of the founding document and the statutes while the registration process is underway. Two of them will be necessary to deliver to the registry, one more will be delivered to the Treasury in the case of requesting a provisional CIF and the fourth copy should be kept by the association until the registry has answered.

Depending on the scope of action of the association, it is advisable to consult the information existing in the corresponding association registry. A full directory is available at the Registries of Associations of the Autonomous Communities and the National Registry of Associations.

It's crucial to consult with a legal expert or advisor, such as Abad Abogados, who is knowledgeable about Spanish association law to ensure that you follow all the necessary legal steps and comply with regional variations and requirements.

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