Spanish Law 39/2015 on Common Administrative Procedure: Key Rules, Deadlines and Specialities (2026 Guide)

Practical and up-to-date guide to Spanish Law 39/2015 of 1 October on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations (LPAC): scope, rights of interested parties, computation of deadlines, electronic notifications, administrative silence, appeals, and special procedures (sanctioning and State liability). Everything a citizen, company or foreign resident in Spain needs to know to defend against the Administration.

Introduction: the statute that governs your relationship with the Administration

[Spanish Law 39/2015 of 1 October on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations (LPAC)](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2015-10565) sets out how the Administration (State, regional and local) must act and how the interested party can defend itself against administrative acts.

Together with [Law 40/2015 on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector](https://www.boe.es/buscar/act.php?id=BOE-A-2015-10566), it forms the backbone of Spanish administrative law since it entered into force on 2 October 2016.

At [Bufete Padilla](https://bufetepadillatorrevieja.com/en/contact), with offices in Torrevieja, Elche and Moraira, we summarise the practical keys of the LPAC every client — individual, company or foreign resident — should know.

1. Scope

The LPAC applies to the entire public sector:

  • Central State Administration (Tax Agency, Social Security, Immigration Office, Cadastre).
  • Regional Governments (Generalitat Valenciana, health, education, regional planning).
  • Local Entities (town halls, provincial councils, associations of municipalities).
  • Institutional public sector (autonomous bodies, public business entities, public universities).

It applies subsidiarily to procedures with their own regulation (tax, tax penalties, immigration, public procurement).

2. Interested parties and capacity to act (arts. 3–8)

The following can be interested parties:

  • Those who initiate the procedure with a right or legitimate interest.
  • Those whose rights may be affected even if they did not start it.
  • Those with individual or collective legitimate interests that may be affected.

Minors have capacity to exercise rights whose exercise is authorised by law without assistance. Legal entities act through their representative.