Licensed professionals must maintain individual Social Security registration

Law 2/2026, of July 29, has been published in the Official State Gazette (BOE-A-2026-16653), modifying the Consolidated Text of the General Law of the Social Security. This legislative update specifically addresses the regulatory framework of alternative mutual funds as governed by the 18th and 19th additional provisions of the General Law. The reform aims to clarify the historical and legal evolution of how licensed professionals—those required to belong to a professional college—are integrated into the Social Security in Spain (Seguridad Social) system.

What changes

The primary objective of Law 2/2026 is to formalize and clarify the legal status of professional registration. According to the preamble (Art. Preámbulo I), the law reinforces the transition from a voluntary and collective registration model to the current mandatory and individual model. While the core structure of the system was established by Law 30/1995, this new provision updates the Consolidated Text of the General Law of the Social Security (Real Decreto Legislativo 8/2015) to ensure there is no legal ambiguity regarding the coexistence of the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers and alternative mutual funds.

Specifically, the law confirms that:

• The registration in the RETA is mandatory and individual for all licensed professionals who exercise their activity on their own account (Art. Preámbulo I).
• The existence of alternative mutual funds is strictly limited to those professional colleges that exercised their right to opt for private insurance under the 1941 Law of Free Mutual Funds (Art. Preámbulo I).
• The legal distinction between those integrated into the RETA and those remaining in alternative mutualities is consolidated, preventing any confusion regarding the mandatory nature of the individual registration established by the 1995 reform.

Context

To understand this modification, it is necessary to look back at the historical evolution of the Spanish social security system for the self-employed. Following the Decree 2530/1970, the inclusion of self-employed workers was not immediate for all groups. For many years, licensed professionals faced a complex landscape due to the mandatory affiliation with the Trade Union Organization of that era, which was only abolished by Royal Decree-Law 31/1977.

After the abolition of mandatory syndication, Royal Decree 2504/1980 allowed professional colleges to request inclusion in the Social Security regime through ministerial orders. However, this was a collective process. Some professional colleges chose to manage social protection through private insurance instruments, specifically the mutual funds regulated by the Law of Free Mutual Funds of 1941. This created a dual system: some professionals were part of the public Social Security system, while others were covered by private mutual funds managed by their respective colleges.

The landscape changed fundamentally with Law 30/1995, which shifted the paradigm toward individual and mandatory registration in the RETA, unless the professional college had already opted for a collective integration prior to that law's entry into force. Law 2/2026 serves to refine this legal framework within the current Consolidated Text, ensuring that the historical exceptions (the mutual funds) are clearly demarcated from the general rule of individual registration.

Who is affected and how

Self-employed professionals (Autónomos)
This is the primary group affected. If you are a licensed professional (e.g., lawyer, doctor, architect, engineer) exercising your profession independently, your registration in the RETA is mandatory and must be performed on an individual basis. The law clarifies that you cannot opt for a collective registration unless your professional college falls under the specific historical exception of the 1941 mutual funds. For the vast majority of modern professionals, this means your social security obligations are strictly individual and tied to your personal professional activity.

Professional Colleges (Colegios Profesionales)
The law impacts the legal standing of professional colleges that still manage alternative mutual funds. These entities must ensure that their members' social protection is correctly categorized. The law reaffirms that the mutual funds they manage are a valid instrument of private insurance only for those colleges that legally opted for this path before the 1995 regulatory shift. It prevents any ambiguity regarding whether new members can opt for these collective systems instead of the individual RETA.

Legal and Tax Advisors
For those managing the fiscal and labor compliance of liberal professionals, this law provides the necessary legal certainty to advise clients on their social security affiliation. It confirms that the "individual and mandatory" rule is the standard for all licensed professionals not covered by the specific historical exceptions mentioned in the preamble.

What to do and when

As Law 2/2026 is a modifying law that clarifies existing structures within the Consolidated Text of the General Law of the Social Security, there are no new immediate deadlines for registration for most professionals. However, the following actions are recommended:

• Verify Affiliation Status: Licensed professionals should confirm whether they are correctly registered in the RETA or if they belong to a specific mutual fund governed by the 1941 Law.
• Audit Professional College Regulations: If you belong to a professional college, check if that college maintains an alternative mutual fund and ensure your contributions are being handled according to the correct legal regime (individual RETA vs. collective mutual fund).
• Compliance Review: Ensure that your professional activity is correctly reported to the Social Security administration to avoid discrepancies between your professional status and your social security coverage.

For specific guidance on how these changes might impact your particular professional situation or your social security contributions, we recommend consulting with the specialized labor area at BMC.