Starting a limited company or Sociedad Limitada is a manageable process, but one that involves a great deal of bureaucracy, capital, and effort. Before trudging ahead, there are a number of preliminary steps that must be undertaken. If you are not already a resident of Spain, you and all other directors will need to get a Foreigner Identity Number or NIE. This will provide Spanish residency for business purposes. You will also need to register the company name with Spain’s registry of companies the Registro Mercantil. This will ensure that no other company in Spain is using the name already.
The next step will be obtaining a tax ID for the company. With your NIE, tax ID, company name registry, and €3000 in hand, you can now open a company bank account. The €3,000 is the minimum amount of money you will need to deposit. For those not residing in Spain, you will need to register with tax authorities using a Form 030. The last preparatory step will be obtaining an electronic signature for every partner involved. These electronic signatures are often required for doing business in Spain and will more easily allow you to operate your company remotely.
Once you have completed these preliminary steps, it is time to officially establish your business. This begins with the Deed of Incorporation. This will serve as the company’s charter and articles of association. Once you have drafted the deed and chosen a legal address for the company, you must sign the deed before a Spanish Notary Public. If you need it, bring someone that can translate from Spanish. The purpose of the signature is to verify that you and the partners are the true owners of the business.
Once the deed is signed, you can register the company with the Registro Mercantil, the same agency with which you register your company name. After that is done, the final step will be to register with the Social Security authorities. If all of this sounds daunting, know that many of these steps can be done by establishing a power of attorney in Spain. This will allow someone else, such as a lawyer, to act on your behalf. This will add to the costs, but will most likely save you time and stress.
