Business licence in Barcelona: which regime applies to you
A comunicació, a llicència ambiental or a public-assembly licence: that is what decides whether you open the same day or in six months. We tell you which regime your activity falls under, with the article that says so, and we handle the whole file. Premises viability from €290 + VAT.
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The lease gets signed before the engineer is called
The usual order is the wrong one: the contract is signed, the deposit and the traspàs — the premium you pay to take over premises — are handed over, the refurbishment starts… and then somebody asks whether that activity is allowed there at all. Sometimes the answer is no, and no amount of building work fixes it: if the district's pla d'usos, its land-use plan, will not take one more restaurant within that radius, no project will save it.
Before that there is a question almost nobody can answer and that decides everything else: which regime your activity falls under. Out of it come the timescale, the paperwork, the council fee and whether you can trade in the meantime.
A word of vocabulary that saves grief: the «opening licence» no longer exists in Catalan law. And what half the internet still calls the «declaració responsable of annex I of Llei 16/2015» has been repealed since 20 January 2021 by Llei 18/2020, as has annex IV of Llei 20/2009. If the page you are reading quotes those annexes, it is out of date.
Asking before you sign costs a fraction of what finding out late costs.
Which regime applies to your activity
There is no single law that classifies every activity: three blocks share out the universe between them. Read from the top down — the first box that fits is yours.
| 1 · Public entertainment and leisureAnything in the catalogue of Decret 112/2010: nightclub, music bar, concert hall, karaoke, café theatre. Municipal licence (art. 95) and negative silence, meaning that if they do not answer in time it counts as refused | Llicència municipal |
|---|---|
| 2 · Annex I of Llei 20/2009The activities with the greatest environmental impact. Handled by the Generalitat, Catalonia's regional government, with an environmental impact assessment and a mandatory planning report from the council | Autorització ambiental |
| 3 · Annex II of Llei 20/2009Municipal. Project with an environmental study, 30 days of public consultation, a 6-month deadline and negative silence (art. 48). You do not open until the initial inspection is passed | Llicència ambiental |
| 4 · Annex III of Llei 20/2009Workshops without a spray booth, laboratories up to 75 m², veterinary practices, car parks over 500 m², boilers from 250 kW to 5 MW | Comunicació ambiental |
| 5 · The rest of economic activityThe majority route — retail, offices, restaurants and bars, personal services: the comunicació of art. 32 of Llei 18/2020, a prior notification you file yourself, which authorises you immediately to trade | Comunicació |
| 6 · A professional working from homeThe answer nobody gives: professional, scientific and technical activities in group M and administrative ones under codes 821 to 829, carried on in part of a dwelling, are exempt from notifying at all (fifteenth additional provision of Llei 18/2020) | Nothing to file |
Why your bar is no longer an environmental file
The environmental classification is set by art. 7 of Llei 20/2009, annex by annex: annex I authorisation from the Generalitat, annex II a municipal llicència ambiental, annex III a comunicació. Annex II is for industry and plant of a certain size — combustion of 5 to 50 MW, foundries, metal surface treatment — while annex III covers urban activity of medium scale.
What almost nobody explains is that a good part of the 12.x codes in annex III now appear as «deleted». They were precisely the ones that captured ordinary urban businesses. Once they went, those activities left the environmental sphere and moved into the general regime of Llei 18/2020. That is the technical reason why a bar or a hairdresser in Barcelona today does not open an environmental file.
Two rules from the same article that are worth money. One: municipal by-laws cannot move an activity up a regime — «in no case may they subject to the llicència ambiental regime activities regulated under the comunicació regime» — though they may move it down. Two (art. 7.2): if you carry on several activities at the same premises, a single licence is processed, under the regime of the one with the greatest impact. Public entertainment is dealt with separately.
What a technician signs under each regime
The line that decides most of the budget is 120 m² of built area: below it, for a shop, a hairdresser or a gym, a technical certificate is enough; above it, a full project. With one exception worth knowing before you rent: restaurants and bars always need a project, with no floor-area threshold. And a detail that saves €184 and a month: anything resolved under the annex to Llei 18/2020 needs no planning compatibility report.
| Comunicació · up to 120 m²Technical certificate on the compulsory standard form (art. 32.2), certifying compliance with the rules, fire prevention measures included | Technical certificate |
|---|---|
| Comunicació · over 120 m²Project with a specification, schematics, calculations and drawings, plus the certificate. Restaurants and bars always, whatever the floor area | Project + certificate |
| Comunicació ambiental · annex IIIOutline project with an environmental statement and certification by a competent technician. Where the regulations require it, certification by an entitat col·laboradora — a private body the administration authorises to check files on its behalf — and if that is not favourable, the notification cannot even be filed (art. 53) | Environmental outline project |
| Llicència ambiental · annex IIOutline project with an environmental study (art. 39.2), soil characterisation if the activity is a polluting one, appointment of the responsible technician, and before all of that the planning report of art. 60 | Project + environmental study |
| Public entertainment and leisureCompulsory acoustic impact study (art. 33.2), proposed maximum aforament or authorised capacity, public liability insurance banded by capacity, and a self-protection plan | Project + acoustics + PAU |
| Barcelona · the IITIf there is building work, the project does not reach the Ajuntament without an informe d'idoneïtat tècnica from an approved private body (art. 15 ORPIMO): building code, fire, accessibility, habitability and planning | Entitat col·laboradora |
What is done differently here
Barcelona adds three layers of its own. The first is the dictionary: the OMAIIAA, the activities by-law of 2001, is still alive and supplies the activity codes — epígrafs — with which the city identifies each business. Planning speaks in OMAIIAA codes, not in annexes of Llei 20/2009. Knowing which code you have is half the job.
The second is the district's pla d'usos, which is what really kills businesses. There are plans in force in Ciutat Vella, Eixample, Sant Martí, Gràcia, Sant Antoni, Sants-Hostafrancs, Paral·lel, Gran de Sant Andreu and around carrer Girona. The Ciutat Vella one is from June 2026 and repeals the 2018 plan: it classifies into levels A, B and C and sets hard densities — food and drink, a maximum of two within a 50-metre radius — as well as prohibiting a food and drink business from adjoining a dwelling through side walls or the floor, and a music venue through any face at all.
That is where the best tool this city has sits, and almost nobody uses it: the prior report under art. 13. It is decided within a month, costs €114 in fees and, if favourable, freezes the density for six months. It holds the spot for you while you negotiate the lease.
The third layer is the IIT, which vets the building-work project before it reaches the Ajuntament. It is not issued by the council but by an approved private body, at regulated prices. And it is paid for twice.
In Ciutat Vella one figure decides before the building code does: how many premises like yours there are within 50 metres.
How long it takes, and whether you can trade meanwhile
The real question is never «how long» but «when do I start invoicing». And three different silence rules live side by side inside a single file: Barcelona's major works licence has positive silence, so no answer means granted; the environmental and the entertainment licences have negative silence, so no answer means refused.
| Comunicació · Llei 18/2020Art. 32.9, verbatim: it authorises the activity to begin immediately, under the responsibility of the holder and of the technician who signs | You open the same day |
|---|---|
| Comunicació ambiental · annex IIIFiled once the building work is finished, and from that point the activity may start under the responsibility of the holder and the technicians | You open on filing |
| Llicència ambiental · annex II6 months, but the clock stops every time they ask you to put something right. And watch art. 40.6: three months without curing the shortcomings identified and the file lapses | 6 months · negative silence |
| Public entertainment licenceNegative silence. In exchange there is a little-known rescue route: a provisional licence of up to 9 months or 1 year where the report or the inspection record, even if unfavourable, states that the shortcomings do not entail risk | Negative silence |
| Prior fire-safety report2 months, and here the silence is favourable. After it you still need the inspection record of an approved body, within 1 month, which is an absolute condition of starting | 2 months · favourable silence |
| Building work in BarcelonaMajor works licence, 2 months (3 if the fire brigade or heritage are involved). Minor works notification type I, one month's wait; type II, the day after filing | 2 months · positive silence |
| The four brakes on opening at onceA prior sector-specific consent still outstanding, a fire-safety report not concluded favourably, building work not finished, or a missing fire-safety inspection certificate | Read them before fixing a date |
Why files are refused, and which article requires it
Ordered by their real capacity to bring an opening down. The first three decide before any project exists — which is why viability is looked at before you sign.
| Planning incompatibilityThe silent killer, because it cannot be cured. With an unfavourable planning report, the administration «must issue a refusal» (art. 32.2 of Decret 112/2010) or close the file (art. 60.3 of Llei 20/2009) | You change premises |
|---|---|
| Density under the pla d'usosIf the density within the radius is already used up, there is no licence. And be careful with the definition of «new establishment»: replacing one activity with another under a different code counts as new | Prior report under art. 13 |
| Adjoining a dwellingA mezzanine restaurant above flats is ruled out with no further analysis | Checked in 1 visit |
| Insufficient sound insulationThe environmental by-law classifies premises by emission level and sets minimum insulation values that rise at night. It is the most expensive thing on the list to put right: better measured beforehand, with an acoustic survey | Acoustic impact study |
| Escape routes and capacityThe commonest way out is to lower the declared capacity until it matches the exits you have — but capacity drives the business model and the minimum sum insured on the policy | Occupancy recalculated |
| Kitchen extractionThe commonest reason a restaurant cannot go into a residential building: it needs its own duct up to roof level, and that needs the agreement of the comunidad de propietarios, the owners' association that runs the building. A civil-law requirement no licence can solve | Agreement of the owners |
| Essential defects in the fileFormal ones are cured within 10 days; if they are essential — a missing sector licence or the fire-safety certificate — the decision voids the notification and orders the business to cease (art. 42.5) | Formal cure procedure |
| Unregistered installationsLow-voltage electrics, gas, air conditioning or fire systems without certificates leave the file stuck. We resolve it with the registration of installations, and if they ask for a structural safety certificate, that too | Resolved in parallel |
I am taking over premises with a licence: does it work for me?
It is the number one enquiry, and there are three different rules. Under Llei 18/2020 the new holder notifies his details, states that the requirements are still met and steps into the shoes of the previous one. Under Llei 20/2009 environmental licences are transferable by notifying the environmental authority. In public entertainment no new licence is needed, but the notification must be made jointly by seller and buyer within one month, and it takes effect two months later if no objection is served.
Now the part that really decides it: the licence is only any use if you do not change the activity code. Buying a bar in order to open a restaurant may amount, for the purposes of the pla d'usos, to a new establishment, with every density and adjacency condition applying from scratch. If there is no room left within the radius, you have bought premises, not a business.
Two warnings that justify the whole audit on their own. If the business is transferred without notification, old and new holder are jointly and severally liable. And a seller with enforcement proceedings open against him cannot transfer at all: the law even requires that to be imposed as an interim measure. It is checked before you sign.
There is documented good news too: in Ciutat Vella, food and drink premises predating July 2003 under certain codes may change to other food and drink codes without the siting conditions being applied to them, provided they meet the rules for the new code and do not increase capacity. Historic premises can be converted where new ones cannot even open.
What you buy in a takeover is not the licence: it is the activity code.
Council fees, which are not our charges
They are different pockets: what the council charges and what the technician charges. These amounts come from the ordenança fiscal 3.3 in force — approved in December 2024 and not amended for 2026 — plus the ICIO, the municipal tax on construction works. Our own fees are at the foot of the page.
| Activity notificationA finding that changes the budget conversation: in the activities section of the fiscal by-law there is no charge at all for filing the notification. You pay the building-work fees, not the activity one | No fee of its own |
|---|---|
| Llicència ambiental or public-assembly licenceAnnex II of Llei 20/2009 and licences under Llei 11/2009 | €1,555 |
| Autorització ambiental · annex IMunicipal authorisation or report within the Generalitat file | €2,295 |
| Prior reportsPlanning compatibility €184 (€596 if it is annex I); pla d'usos report with a density reservation, €114 | €57 to €596 |
| Informe d'idoneïtat tècnicaPaid twice: a council fee of €269 with a project or €185 with technical documentation, plus the body's regulated price — €202 to €325 depending on the type of filing, the latest published caps, from 2025 | €471 to €594 |
| Work on the premisesBuilding work notification with a project €51, with documentation €43; works licence €385; and ICIO at 4 % on the material cost of the works | €43 + 4 % ICIO |
| Regularising an activity with no titleThe fee is the same as for the initial filing. Regularising a llicència ambiental costs the same €1,555, with the penalty on top | As if it were new |
How it works
Premises viability
Before you sign. Activity code, applicable regime, density available, adjacency to dwellings, kitchen extraction, preliminary acoustic assessment and fire-safety thresholds. If the premises will not do, we tell you here.
Prior report and reservation
Where the district allows it, we file the report that freezes the density for six months while you negotiate the lease. One month to decide and €114 in fees.
Project or certificate
Whatever your regime requires, with the IIT if there is building work, the acoustic study where it applies and the self-protection plan if the capacity calls for one.
Filing and follow-up
We file, follow the file through and answer the requirements, with the deadlines and the silence rules tracked one by one.
Final certificates and opening
Technical certificates once the refurbishment is finished, the fire-safety inspection or the initial environmental inspection where applicable, and the file closed.
What clients ask us most
How much does it cost to open premises in Barcelona?
There are two invoices and it is worth keeping them apart. Ours starts at €290 + VAT for the viability of the premises and at €690 for a comunicació with a technical certificate. The council's depends on the regime: the activity notification carries no fee of its own, a llicència ambiental is €1,555, the compatibility report €184 and the IIT between €471 and €594 counting the council fee and the private body together. VAT is IVA, the Spanish sales tax, currently 21 %, and professional fees here are always quoted without it.
How do I know which regime applies to me?
In this order: if your activity is in the entertainment catalogue of Decret 112/2010, a municipal licence; if it is in annexes I, II or III of Llei 20/2009, an environmental regime; if it is in none of them, a comunicació under Llei 18/2020. And alongside all of that, always, the planning rules. Send us what you want to open, the floor area and the address and we will tell you the regime with the article that says so — we do not charge for that.
Can I open the same day I file the notification?
Yes, if nothing earlier in the chain prevents it: art. 32.9 of Llei 18/2020 says the comunicació authorises you immediately to trade. The four usual brakes are a prior sector-specific consent still outstanding, a prior fire-safety report not concluded favourably, building work not finished, or a missing certificate from the fire-safety inspection.
My premises are 100 m². Do I need a project?
If it is a shop, a hairdresser, a gym or similar and it does not exceed 120 m² of built area, a technical certificate is enough. If it is a restaurant or a bar, a project plus a certificate always, with no floor-area threshold. It is the biggest single difference in price in this service, and it is decided by the built area and the activity code.
How long does a llicència ambiental take? And if they never answer, do I have it?
Six months at most, but the clock stops every time they ask you to put something right, so in practice it is longer. And no: the silence is negative, which means that no answer counts as a refusal. There is also a deadline that kills files and that hardly anybody watches — three months without curing the shortcomings identified and the file is declared lapsed and closed. Back to the beginning.
I am taking over premises with a licence. Does the existing one work for me?
Only if you do not change the activity code. If you change it, in districts with a pla d'usos that can be a new establishment subject to density, floor area and adjacency rules. You also have to check that the title exists, that it matches the activity actually carried on, that the premises have not been altered and that the seller has no enforcement proceedings open — because with proceedings open he cannot transfer. That is what the takeover audit is, and it costs less than a week's rent.
And if the person handing over never had a licence at all?
Then there is nothing to transfer. Trading without a comunicació is a serious infringement, with a fine of €5,001 to €50,000 under the environmental regime, and if the business is transferred without notification old and new holder are jointly and severally liable. Auditing before you sign is the only way not to buy somebody else's problem.
I work from home as a professional. Do I have to notify anything?
If your activity is professional, scientific or technical — group M — or administrative under codes 821 to 829, and it is carried on in part of a dwelling, you are exempt from filing the start-of-activity notification. The fifteenth additional provision of Llei 18/2020 says so in as many words.
What is the informe d'idoneïtat tècnica and why is it paid for twice?
It is a Barcelona-only step. An approved private body, not the council, verifies that the project is documentarily complete, sufficient and fit for purpose, and certifies the building code, fire, accessibility and planning. Without it the building-work project is not accepted. You pay the body — €202 to €325 of regulated price, the latest published caps, from 2025 — and on top of that the council its fee, €185 or €269.
I have been open for years with no paperwork. Does that lapse in time?
The duty to hold a valid title does not lapse, and the administration can close you down through a procedure quite separate from any penalty, with immediate suspension where there is risk. The route rarely explained is that the decision may allow the activity to continue subject to conditions, implementing the measures it specifies. Not always, and not where there is risk, but it exists. Regularising costs the same fee as applying from scratch.
Bar or music bar? They look like the same thing.
It is the most expensive confusion in the trade. They are different activities in the catalogue, with a different regime, different opening hours and, above all, different sound insulation required. Playing music above the threshold turns a bar into a music bar in fact, and that brings with it a sound limiter-recorder, a double entrance door, 45 dB(A) of façade insulation and, in Ciutat Vella, a ban on adjoining a dwelling through any face at all.
Do I need a self-protection plan and a sound limiter?
The self-protection plan — the pla d'autoprotecció, an emergency plan for the premises — depends on the authorised capacity: 2,000 or more, in line with the catalogue of activities required to have one; between 500 and 2,000, with the minimum content of the specific rules; under 500, in line with occupational risk rules. The limiter with a recorder is compulsory in music venues and in public-assembly premises in the highest acoustic group. If 90 dB(A) can be exceeded inside, a warning notice at the entrance is required as well.
I have been closed for a few months. Do I still have the authorisation?
Careful with this one. The administration may declare the comunicació to have lost effect if the activity does not start within 3 months of filing, or if it is interrupted for more than 6 consecutive months, unless the business is justifiably seasonal. And closing for good has to be notified.
And if you tell me my premises will not do?
It happens, and we would rather say so before you sign. We give you the reason in writing, with the article or the plan condition that stands in the way, and what alternative premises would have to meet — floor area, street width, distance from other establishments, adjacency, extraction. It makes the search a better one. Charging for a project on premises that cannot open is easy; we do not do it.
Have you got premises in mind?
Send us the address, the floor area and what you want to open. We will tell you which regime applies and whether it is viable — before you sign.