How to become a real estate agent in Spain

Spain has no national licence for real estate agents. Anyone can start, and many agents on the coasts come from abroad. But three regions now keep their own register, you are covered by anti-money laundering law, and your nationality decides how you can work. Here is how it fits together in October 2026.

The short version

1. There is no national licence or exam. The old API title still exists but has not been required since a liberalising decree of June 2000.
2. Catalonia requires registration in the AICAT register, with training, an office, insurance and a guarantee.
3. The Valencian Community requires registration under Decree 98/2022, with at least 200 hours of training. A court annulled its insurance and guarantee amounts in January 2025.
4. Andalusia created a mandatory register in its Housing Law 5/2025, in force since 24 January 2026. Check whether it is open before you rely on it.
5. EU citizens can work freely. Non-EU nationals need a residence and work permit, as an employee or as self-employed.
6. Everyone needs an NIE, and you work either as an employee or as an autónomo (self-employed).
7. Pay is usually a base salary plus commission, or commission only for autónomos.

No national licence

Spain liberalised the job in 2000. According to Consumer, Royal Decree-law 4/2000 of 23 June lets anyone carry out real estate intermediation without holding a title, and the last entry exam for the official Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria (API) title was held on 9 April 2000. The API title and its professional colleges still exist, and some agents use them as a mark of quality, but they are optional.

The consumer group OCU described intermediation in January 2026 as “little regulated at state level”, both on who can practise and on what agents can charge. That gap is why several regions built their own rules. OCU lists Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands as regions with a compulsory register, and Madrid, the Canary Islands and Navarre as regions with a voluntary one.

Catalonia: the AICAT register

If you work from an office open to the public in Catalonia, you must be in the Register of Real Estate Agents of Catalonia, often called AICAT after the badge agents display. The rules come from Law 18/2007 on the right to housing and Decree 12/2010. The Generalitat’s procedure page sets out:

• Training: a related university degree (law, economics, business, building engineering and similar) or certificates from recognised real estate courses. In a company, the directors and the person in charge of each office must meet it.
• An establishment open to the public, unless you work only online.
• Liability insurance of at least €100,000 per claim and €600,000 per year per office. For online-only activity, €150,000 and €1,000,000.
• A guarantee (bond or surety) of at least €60,000 per office, or €300,000 per agent for online-only activity.
• No fee for the procedure.

Once registered, you show a badge and a plate carrying your register number, and the number must appear on your stationery and adverts. Under Article 6.2 of the decree, you must tell anyone who asks which insurer or bank issued your guarantee.

Valencian Community: the RAI register

The Valencian Register of Real Estate Intermediation Agents was set up by Decree 98/2022 of 29 July, in force since 16 October 2022. The Generalitat’s FAQ says it covers anyone who mediates, advises or manages property sales, rentals, swaps or transfers of property rights. Pure property management and services for tourist rentals such as key holding and cleaning are outside it.

• Training: certificates for at least 200 teaching hours on real estate matters.
• In a company, the directors and each office manager must meet it, and one person can supervise no more than three offices.
• Online-only agents need a physical address in the region.

In January 2025, the High Court of Valencia upheld part of an appeal by the competition authority (CNMC) and annulled several requirements of the decree, including the €60,000 guarantee (€300,000 for online agents) and the €100,000 liability insurance (€600,000 online). The court called the higher amounts for online agents discriminatory. The ruling could be appealed to the Supreme Court, so ask the Generalitat or a lawyer what applies on the day you register.

Andalusia: a new register under Law 5/2025

Andalusia matters for foreign agents because it includes the Costa del Sol. Its Housing Law 5/2025 of 16 December was published in the official gazette (BOJA) on 24 December 2025 and came into force on 24 January 2026. It creates the Register of Specialised Real Estate Agents of the Residential Sector of Andalusia, which the law’s preamble calls mandatory.

Article 52 sets the conditions to register:

• One of: the official API title, a university degree in social and legal sciences, engineering or architecture, at least four years of real estate experience just before applying, or membership of an official agents’ college.
• At least 100 hours of official training in residential intermediation and protected housing, done in the previous four years. It applies to the business owner and to 50% of employed staff.
• A guarantee or insurance, as the law and its regulations set out.
• No criminal record linked to real estate intermediation.

The law has a separate final provision on putting the register into operation. We could not confirm that the register was open to applications in October 2026. Keep proof of your experience and training now, and check with the Junta de Andalucía before you advertise yourself as registered.

Anti-money laundering duties

Under Article 2.1(l) of Law 10/2010, developers and anyone who works professionally as an agent, commission agent or intermediary in property sales are obliged entities. That means know-your-client checks, identification of the beneficial owner, and reporting of suspicious deals to SEPBLAC, Spain’s financial intelligence unit. Ask any agency how it handles these checks. A serious agency will have a written procedure and a named person.

Work rights: EU and non-EU

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens. You can work in Spain as an employee or as self-employed. If you stay more than three months, you must register in person at the foreigners’ office (Oficina de Extranjería) or police station of your province within three months of arrival. The Ministry of the Interior says the registration certificate is issued on the spot and shows your foreigner identity number.

Non-EU nationals as employees. The employer applies for an initial residence and work permit under Organic Law 4/2000 and Royal Decree 1155/2024. The Ministry of Inclusion’s information sheet says the job must either be on the quarterly list of hard-to-fill occupations or the employer must show it could not fill the post locally, including by posting the offer on the public jobs portal. The contract must guarantee work for the life of the permit. The decision is due within three months, and silence means refusal. Then you apply for a visa at the consulate within one month, enter Spain, register with Social Security and apply for your foreigner identity card (TIE).

Non-EU nationals as self-employed. The Ministry’s sheet for the self-employment permit asks for the licences your activity needs, proof of qualifications or experience, proof that your investment is sufficient (a viability report from a self-employed association such as ATA or UPTA is one way), and no criminal record. You apply in person at the Spanish consulate where you live. The first permit lasts one year and is limited to one region and one sector.

The NIE

Every foreigner who works, buys or does business in Spain needs an NIE (foreigner identity number). It is assigned once and does not change. In Spain you apply on form EX-15 at a police station or foreigners’ office, with an appointment, your passport and the fee on form 790 code 012 (€9.84 according to Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). From abroad, you apply at the Spanish consulate. Non-EU workers who come in with a work visa usually find the NIE already printed on the visa.

Employee or autónomo

Employee. The agency signs a work contract, pays your Social Security and withholds income tax. You usually get a base salary and a share of the fees you generate.

Autónomo. Many agents, especially in franchise and network models, are self-employed. You register with the tax agency and with Social Security, invoice the agency or the client, charge 21% VAT on your fees, and pay your own monthly contribution.

• New autónomos can use the flat rate of €80 a month for the first 12 months, which can be extended for a second year if your net income stays below the minimum wage (Billeo).
• After that, the contribution depends on your net income. The government kept the 2025 amounts for 2026, between €200 and €590 a month on the minimum base for each band (El Derecho, December 2025). A small extra levy (the MEI) rose from 0.8% to 0.9% in January 2026.

See Real estate agent commission in Spain for worked figures.

How agents are paid

Spain has no official salary data for agents. The figures below are job board estimates from GoWork, last updated in October 2023. Use them as a starting point for negotiation, not as a promise.

Profile	Estimated fixed pay (gross per year)
No experience	€12,800 to €20,000
4 to 10 years	€25,000 to €33,600
More than 20 years	Above €46,300
Sales manager	€32,600 to €60,200

Source: GoWork, October 2023.

GoWork puts typical total earnings, salary plus commission, at €20,000 to €60,000 a year depending on city, experience and results. Commission is a share of the agency’s fee on each deal you close. Agencies set the split themselves, so get it in writing before you sign.

Where the work is, and languages

Foreign buyers are a large part of the coastal market. Registradores data reported by Alicante Plaza in August 2025 put the foreign share of home purchases at about 43% in Alicante province, around 33% in Málaga, against a national average of 14.1%. The leading buyer nationalities were British, Belgian and Dutch.

• Spanish is needed for notaries, banks, town halls and most paperwork.
• English is the working language with many international buyers on the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca.
• Dutch, French, German or Scandinavian languages are a real advantage, given who buys on the coasts.
• Catalan or Valencian helps in Catalonia and the Valencian Community, both with local clients and with regional administrations.

How to choose an agency

• In Catalonia, Valencia or Andalusia, ask for the agency’s register number and check it appears on its adverts.
• Ask which insurance and guarantee cover client money, and who issued them.
• Ask how it handles anti-money laundering checks under Law 10/2010.
• Ask whether you will be an employee or an autónomo, and get the base salary, commission split, targets and payment date in writing.
• Ask what happens to deals that close after you leave.
• If you are non-EU, make sure the agency will apply for your work permit before you start.

Red flags

• An agency that wants you to work without a contract or without registering as an autónomo.
• Fees collected in cash or into a personal account.
• No written engagement with sellers (the “nota de encargo”), so you cannot prove your right to a fee.
• A non-EU hire asked to start before the permit and visa are granted.
• Promises of earnings far above the ranges in this guide.

Spain’s agent rules differ by region and changed in Andalusia in 2026. This guide was checked on the date shown above. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. CloserPass is not affiliated with any Spanish authority.

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