How to authorise a representative for Spanish notifications

To let someone else receive and deal with your Spanish official notifications, you grant them an apoderamiento (power of attorney) and have it recorded in an electronic register of powers. The main one is the state Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos (REA). The Agencia Tributaria and the Seguridad Social each also run their own register, with their own options for notifications. Once the power is registered and accepted, your representative logs in with their own certificate and sees your notifications, so you never need to share your own login.

Why representation matters for notifications

Spanish electronic notifications are collected by logging in and opening them, and if you are obliged to use the system, anything left unopened for 10 calendar days is treated as rejected (see the 10-day rule). If you live in the UK, travel a lot, or simply don't want to check several government websites each week, a registered representative closes that gap.

Article 5 of Ley 39/2015 allows anyone to act through a representative. It also says that the representation must be proven, and that a power recorded apud acta or in an electronic register of powers counts as proof.

The state register: Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos

Article 6 of Ley 39/2015 requires the national government, each region and each local authority to keep a general register of powers. At national level this is the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos de la Administración General del Estado, usually called the REA. It is reached through the sede electrónica of the Punto de Acceso General (sede.administracion.gob.es) and is regulated by Orden PCM/1384/2021.

The REA records three types of power (article 6.4 of the law):

1. A general power to act for you in any procedure, before any public administration.
2. A power to act in any procedure before one specific administration or body.
3. A power limited to particular procedures (trámites) listed in the power.

The register is not public. Only you and your representative can see the powers in which you appear.

How to grant a power in the REA

An individual who is not obliged to deal with the administration electronically can do it in two ways:

• online, by logging in to the REA with a certificate, Cl@ve or DNIe and completing the form apud acta
• in person, at an oficina de asistencia en materia de registros (a government registry office), using the official form

Companies and other people who are obliged to deal electronically must do it online. A representative can also register a power themselves by uploading a notarial power of attorney.

The power only takes effect once the representative accepts it, which they must do within 20 working days. If the representative is a company, it must also declare that its articles of association allow it to represent third parties.

Apoderamiento apud acta

"Apud acta" simply means the power is granted directly before the administration rather than before a notary. Article 6.5 of Ley 39/2015 says it can be done electronically at the relevant sede or by appearing in person at a registry office. It costs nothing.

Many individual bodies, including some town halls and regional governments, offer their own apud acta procedure for their own matters. These are useful when you only need help with one body.

The Agencia Tributaria's own system

The tax agency keeps its own registro de apoderamientos for tax matters. You can grant a power online with your certificate, Cl@ve or DNIe, in person at a tax office, or by public or notarised document.

For notifications, the power needs to cover receiving them. The agency's help page on accessing the DEHú through a representative describes granting a general power for tax procedures that includes the code GENERALNOT, which the representative then confirms on their side. Once that is in place, the representative can see your tax notifications in the DEHú and on the agency's sede.

Unless you set an earlier end date, a tax power lasts five years, which is also the maximum. You can extend it from two months before it expires, and revoke it at any time online through "Consulta y revocación de apoderamientos otorgados". Revocation takes effect once it is communicated to the agency.

Seguridad Social: RED and its own register

The Seguridad Social has two separate routes.

• The Sistema RED authorises professionals, typically gestorías and graduados sociales, to handle registrations, contributions and payments for employers and autónomos. For anyone obliged to use RED, notifications are made available both to them and to the RED-authorised person handling their account.
• The Registro electrónico de apoderamientos de la Seguridad Social, regulated by Orden ISM/189/2021, records powers to act before the Seguridad Social in general, by subject, or for specific procedures, including "recibir notificaciones y comunicaciones".

Powers in this register last a maximum of five years and can be extended. Where the power includes receiving notifications, the representative must expressly accept it before it takes effect. Powers registered under the previous rules stopped having effect on 2 April 2021, so a very old Seguridad Social power may need to be granted again.

How long a power lasts and how to end it

Across the REA, the tax agency and the Seguridad Social, five years is the maximum life of a registered power, with extensions of up to five years at a time.

You can revoke a power at any time. In the REA, revocation (by you) and renuncia (resignation, by the representative) both take effect from the date they are registered. Do it in the same system where the power was granted. It is worth checking each register when you change gestor, sell a Spanish property or close a company, as old powers are easy to forget.

Why you shouldn't share your certificate or Cl@ve

It is common for people to hand a gestor their digital certificate file and password, or their Cl@ve details. It is a bad idea for several reasons:

• Anything signed or opened with your certificate or Cl@ve is legally treated as done by you, including opening notifications and starting deadlines.
• There is no record of who actually acted, which matters if something goes wrong.
• Revoking access means revoking or replacing your certificate or Cl@ve, not just ending a relationship.
• The terms of use for certificates and Cl@ve make the holder responsible for keeping them under their own control.

A registered power gives your representative their own access, limited to what you have authorised and with an end date.

How Hola Post helps

Hola Post can be registered as your representative through the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos. We then check for new Spanish electronic notifications every working day and add them to your online inbox with an English summary and the deadline, alongside your scanned post. You can revoke the power at any time. See Spanish notifications, our page for gestorías and accountants, or start here.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos (REA)?

It is the Spanish state's online register of powers of attorney for dealing with public administrations. You record in it that a named person or company may act for you, either generally or for specific procedures, and the authorities check the register instead of asking for paper documents.

What is an apoderamiento apud acta?

It is a power of attorney granted directly before the administration, either online at its sede electrónica or in person at a registry office, rather than in front of a notary. It is free and is recorded in the relevant register.

How long does a power in the REA last?

Up to five years from registration. You can extend it before it expires, with each extension also lasting up to five years, and you can revoke it at any time.

Does the representative have to accept the power?

Yes. In the state REA the power has no effect until the representative's acceptance is registered, and they have 20 working days to accept. The Seguridad Social register also requires express acceptance when the power includes receiving notifications.

Can I just give my gestor my Cl@ve password or digital certificate instead?

You shouldn't. Anything done with your certificate or Cl@ve is legally treated as done by you, you lose any record of who acted, and it usually breaches the terms of use. A registered power gives the same practical result with a clear audit trail.

How do I revoke a power of attorney in Spain?

Log in to the same register where it was granted (the REA, the Agencia Tributaria or the Seguridad Social) and use the revocation option, or file the revocation form at a registry office. It takes effect from the date the revocation is registered.

Sources

• Ley 39/2015, de 1 de octubre, arts. 5 and 6 (BOE)
• Orden PCM/1384/2021, Registro Electrónico de Apoderamientos (BOE)
• Orden ISM/189/2021, Registro electrónico de apoderamientos de la Seguridad Social (BOE)
• Agencia Tributaria: acceso a la DEHú mediante apoderamiento

This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change, so check your own situation with a gestor, accountant or lawyer.