REA Registration in Spain by Business Advice Spain

Posted on 20 March, 202620 March, 2026 by Business Advice Spain

1) What does REA stand for?

It stands for Registro de Empresas Acreditas. And it means the Registry for Acredited Companies. It was created by law in order to register companies (in the construction sector) that comply with Health and Safety requirements. We can help you with your REA Registration in Spain.

2) What is its background?

The Registry, the “Registro de Empresas Acreditas” was created by law in 2006. That law was implemented with the goal to make (sub) contracting in the construction business safer with respect to working conditions and health and safety. Too often (sub) contracting, the externalizing of work, resulted in the weakening of working conditions and solid health and safety measures. (Sub) contracting too often fails to take care of such required conditions. Therefore, the Registry is public and can be consulted to check whether companies have proved before the Registry that they comply with certain requirements.

3) What does the Registro de Empresas Acreditadas require for inscription?

Apart from describing the company´s organisation (in tools and HR), the activity it is going to carry out, foreign companies must show that 1) its directors and employees have had the required health and safety training and 2) it has an health and safety board, internal or external. And, exactly, these last two requirements often cause concern.

4) How to fulfill the training and health and safety board requirements?

Regulation states that EU companies must show, in that respect, compliance with the law in the home Member State. With what law? With the law in their home Member State that implemented articles 7 and 12 of the 89/391 Directive.

5) And what about the different regional Registros de Empresas Acreditadas?

Every autonomous region in Spain has a Registro de Empresa Acreditada. And foreign companies should register in the particular registry of the region where they are going to provide their services in Spain for the first time.