There is no single tourist licence in Spain. The competence is regional: each autonomous community has its own registry, its own law and its own requirements, and the number you are assigned even changes name depending on where you operate. This guide gathers them all, region by region, so you can find yours without going in circles.
Before the per-region detail, it helps to understand the common framework, because the mechanics repeat almost everywhere.
What the tourist licence is and why you need it
The “tourist licence” is the regional authorisation that lets you legally market a tourist-use dwelling (vivienda de uso turístico, VUT). In practice it is usually not a prior authorisation but a declaración responsable (responsible declaration): you file a form with your community, the activity is enabled from that moment, and the dwelling is entered in the tourist registry, which assigns it a number.
Three things matter in almost every community:
- It comes first. Without registration you cannot market the dwelling.
- It is the number platforms verify. Airbnb, Booking and the rest remove listings without a valid registration number. You must publish it in every listing.
- The Supreme Court ruling did not abolish it. Judgment 620/2026 annulled the state registry (the NRUA of RD 1312/2024), not the regional ones. The number platforms verify today is your community’s. We cover this in tourist licence, NRUA and the guest report.
What changed in 2025-2026 (and affects almost every community)
- Vote of the owners’ association. Since 3 April 2025, the reform of the Horizontal Property Law (Ley Orgánica 1/2025) requires the favourable agreement of 3/5 of the owners for a new VUT in a building under horizontal-property regime. It applies in every community.
- Stressed zones and per-neighbourhood caps. More and more communities and town halls limit or suspend new VUTs in saturated areas (Cataluña, Canarias, Balears, Andalucía, Navarra…).
- NRUA annulled. The state single registration number is no longer required; the regional one is what remains.
We don’t issue licences and we don’t replace your community: RegistroViajero handles the obligation that comes after you operate, the guest report to SES.HOSPEDAJES. The licence you obtain yourself from your autonomous community.
The tourist licence, community by community
Each entry gives the registry, the governing law and the recent change that matters most. The fines for operating without a licence (which come from regional tourism law, not from the guest report) are gathered in a separate table: renting without a tourist licence: risks and fines.
Andalucía: Registro de Turismo de Andalucía (RTA)
The code has the form VUT/province/number and must appear in every listing. It is governed by Ley 13/2011 on Tourism and Decreto 28/2016, reformed by Decreto 31/2024: only one VUT per cadastral reference is now allowed, and you must declare urban-planning compatibility. There are municipal moratoriums in the old quarters of Sevilla and Málaga. Registration is free, by declaración responsable. Official law.
Aragón: Registro de Turismo de Aragón
Registration by declaración responsable, with a suitability certificate (certificado de idoneidad) issued by a competent technician. Governed by Decreto 1/2023, still in force in 2026. Official information.
Principado de Asturias: Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas (REAT)
Declaración responsable, mandatorily electronic, with certification from the owners’ association allowing tourist marketing. Decreto 4/2026 (in force February 2026) reformed the regime and introduced an 8-guest limit and reinforced community certification. Ley 7/2001 on Tourism.
Illes Balears: Island registry of each consell
You file the DRIAT (responsible declaration of start of tourist activity) with the island council (Mallorca, Menorca, Eivissa or Formentera), with a habitability certificate. Governed by Ley 8/2012, tightened by Decreto-ley 4/2025 (which sharply raised the fines). There are capacity limits and zones where marketing is suspended. Ley 8/2012.
Canarias: Registro General Turístico
Declaración responsable to the Tourism Department; municipal planning must expressly allow tourist use. The framework changed entirely with Ley 6/2025, of 10 December (LOSUTV), in force since December 2025, replacing the old Decreto 113/2015. Ley 6/2025.
Cantabria: Registro General de Empresas Turísticas
Declaración responsable to the Directorate-General for Tourism, with a legal title proving the right of use. Decreto 50/2025 (in force July 2025) regulates VUTs in detail for the first time, with an adaptation period for existing ones. Decreto 50/2025.
Castilla-La Mancha: Registro General de Turismo
One of the most permissive communities: declaración responsable and registration, no moratoriums or per-neighbourhood caps. Governed by Ley 8/1999 and Decreto 36/2018 (a draft decree is in progress). Official procedure (JCCM).
Castilla y León: Registro de Turismo de Castilla y León (RTCYL)
Prior declaración responsable, with a licence or habitability certificate. Governed by Ley 14/2010 on Tourism and Decreto 3/2017. Ley 14/2010.
Cataluña: Registre de Turisme de Catalunya (RTC)
The VUT is let whole (not by rooms) for stays under 31 days. The prior notice is filed with the town hall. Decreto-ley 3/2023 subjects VUTs to a prior urban-planning licence in 262 municipalities (stressed or at risk), with a cap of 10 VUTs per 100 inhabitants and time-limited licences. The head law is Ley 13/2002 on tourism. Ley 13/2002. For the guest report, note that Cataluña uses the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Comunitat Valenciana: Registro de Turismo
Declaración responsable with a favourable municipal urban-compatibility report, a requirement reinforced by Decreto-ley 9/2024, which also limits the registration’s validity to 5 years. Governed by Ley 15/2018. Ley 15/2018.
Extremadura: Registro General de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas
Extremadura has no specific VUT decree: it applies the tourist-apartment regime of Ley 2/2011 and Decreto 182/2012, by declaración responsable. Ley 2/2011.
Galicia: Registro de Empresas e Actividades Turísticas (REAT)
Declaración responsable (DRIA) to the provincial office of the Axencia Turismo de Galicia; registration is automatic. Governed by Ley 7/2011 and Decreto 12/2017. Ley 7/2011. More detail in our guide to REAT and TURESPAZO in Galicia.
Comunidad de Madrid: Directorate-General for Tourism
There is no registry with its own name like RTA: you file a declaración responsable with the Suitability Certificate for a Tourist-Use Dwelling (CIVUT) signed by a technician. Governed by Decreto 79/2014, reinforced in March 2026 (equipment, occupancy, minimum fittings). Full detail in our guide to Madrid’s Decree 27/2026.
Región de Murcia: Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas (ITREM)
Declaración responsable of tourist classification to the ITREM, with cadastral reference and civil-liability insurance. Governed by Decreto 256/2019 (under Ley 12/2013). Ley 12/2013.
Comunidad Foral de Navarra: Registro de Turismo de Navarra
Prior declaración responsable, with civil-liability insurance. Governed by Ley Foral 7/2003 (amended by Ley Foral 19/2020). In 2025 the Orden Foral 157E/2025 declared 21 municipalities as stressed zones. Ley Foral 7/2003.
País Vasco: Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas de Euskadi (REAT)
Declaración responsable and automatic registration, with civil-liability insurance. Governed by Ley 13/2016 on Tourism and Decreto 101/2018, amended by Decreto 52/2025 (which tightens VUTs on rural/non-developable land). Ley 13/2016. For the guest report, the Basque Country uses the Ertzaintza.
La Rioja: Registro de Proveedores de Servicios Turísticos
Notice of start of activity; the dwelling is let whole, meeting the minimum habitability conditions of Decreto 28/2013. Governed by Ley 2/2001 on Tourism. Ley 2/2001.
Ceuta: Registro de Proveedores de Servicios Turísticos
Ceuta is governed by a 2010 Tourism Regulation, not by its own tourism law: the notice of start is filed with the competent department. The specific penalty regime is not clearly set; it is best to confirm it directly with the autonomous city. Ceuta Tourism Regulation.
Melilla: Registro de Empresas y Actividades Turísticas
Declaración responsable to the tourism authority, with civil-liability insurance. Governed by the Tourism Regulation (Decreto 351/2010); there is no specific VUT decree or moratorium.
How to get the licence, in six general steps
The exact procedure is regional, but the path is similar almost everywhere:
- Identify your community’s registry in the section above.
- Gather the paperwork: cadastral reference, habitability or occupancy title, civil-liability insurance and, where required, a technical certificate (CIVUT in Madrid, suitability certificate in Aragón).
- Check municipal planning: that your area is not saturated or stressed.
- Get the owners’ association agreement (3/5) if the building is under horizontal-property regime.
- File the declaración responsable on your community’s electronic office, usually with a digital certificate.
- Publish the number in all your listings.
And once you operate: the guest report
The licence is a one-time procedure. The obligation that returns with every guest is the guest report: collecting their data and reporting it to SES.HOSPEDAJES within 24 hours. If you operate in several communities, that part multiplies, and it is exactly what RegistroViajero automates: digital check-in, validation and submission to the Ministry without copying anything by hand. Start with the SES.HOSPEDAJES guide.
Regional tourism law changes often (decrees, moratoriums, stressed zones). This guide reflects the framework in force on the publication date; always verify the detail with your community’s registry before applying.
