Cognitive accessibility in Spain: what changes for foreigners from January 2027

Plain-language summary

• Who it is for: anyone who finds it hard to understand a public office or a company, including people who do not speak Spanish well.
• What changes: public bodies must have forms and guides in an easy-to-read format. Many companies must explain basic information and contracts in plain language.
• From when: from 2 January 2027. Until then the rules do not apply. Some parts, such as transport signs, come later.
• What to do: ask in writing for a clearer version or explanation. If they refuse, keep proof and complain.
• What it does not give you: no right to receive documents translated into your language. These rules do not cancel a document for being difficult, and they do not stop its deadlines.

What cognitive accessibility means

It means that information, procedures and services can be understood and used. The rules speak of cognitive difficulties: barriers to understanding, communicating and interacting with other people and with your surroundings. They use three different tools, which should not be confused:

• Easy-to-read format (lectura fácil): a method with rules on wording and layout plus a check that real readers understand the text. The rules recommend the technical standard UNE 153101 but do not make it compulsory.
• Clear language (lenguaje claro): communication written so that readers can find what they need, understand it and use it.
• Plain language (lenguaje sencillo): short sentences, everyday words and acronyms explained. It is the minimum where neither of the other two is required.
• The summary at the top of this page is written in plain language. It is not an easy-to-read text: it has not been validated by a team that includes people with comprehension difficulties.

When the new rules apply

• Real Decreto 707/2026 was approved on 2 September 2026 and published in the BOE, Spain’s official gazette, on 3 September. It takes effect on 2 January 2027. Until that date you cannot rely on it.
• Transport signs and announcements will be adapted gradually, within 15 years at most.
• For streets, squares and buildings, the requirements apply to new construction and renovations, not to everything that already exists.
• A common catalogue of signage pictograms is due within three years of publication; a report on airports and railway stations within two years of the rules taking effect.
• These are minimum conditions: regions and town halls can require more.

Who it protects: also people who do not know the language

The rules are not limited to people with a disability. By their own definition, difficulties in understanding and communicating can come from a disability, health situations, age, socio-economic factors such as poverty or illiteracy, or contextual factors such as not knowing the language.

So the general accessibility measures also cover you if Spanish is not your language. But they do not give you a right to a translation, and some specific measures are only for people with a recognised disability, as explained below.

What public bodies will have to offer

This applies to every channel: counter, phone or online office. From 2 January 2027, public administrations must offer:

• Forms, applications and guides for filling them in, in an easy-to-read format.
• Visual or audio support in the guides to their websites and apps, in the instructions for following a procedure and when filling in forms, including knowing which body the application goes to.
• Staff trained in cognitive accessibility for in-person service.
• Online procedures designed so that anyone can complete them.
• Accessible communication channels. For digital channels the rules say live chat or artificial intelligence may be used: an option, not an obligation.
• Accessible information is free, and asking for it must not delay the information you need, especially when you are complaining, claiming a right or dealing with something urgent.
• What is not for everyone: having the whole procedure adapted to you, with personalised communication and a support person of your choice, can only be requested by people who certify a disability rating of 33 % or more and an intellectual disability. Nor do the rules oblige an official to fill in the form for you.
• In the courts, decisions and communications must be written in an understandable format.

What changes at banks, insurers, shops and other services

The rules refer to the sectors already covered by Real Decreto 193/2023 on the accessibility of goods and services: consumer services, retail, banking and insurance, healthcare (including pharmacies and vets), social services, education, security and emergencies, culture, sport and leisure, tourism and hospitality, the environment, public administrations and postal services. Telecoms and online service providers established in Spain are covered too. For these services:

• Basic commercial information in plain language and, where possible, with visual support.
• The official complaint form (hoja de reclamaciones) in an easy-to-read format: the business must have it available in that format.
• Contracting, consent and instructions for use in plain language.
• Online and in telecoms, consent, identification, signature and payment forms are covered too.
• At healthcare centres you can ask for information about treatments and medicines in an adapted format, and you choose the adaptation you need.

What to do if you do not understand a document or face a barrier

1. Ask for a clearer version or explanation, preferably in writing. At a public body: the form in an easy-to-read format and the guide to fill it in. At a company: the basic information, the contract or the instructions in plain language. From 2 January 2027 this is free.
2. If they refuse, keep proof. Ask for the answer in writing, or note the date, time, office and name of the person who served you. Keep emails, chats and screenshots.
3. With a company, complain on the hoja de reclamaciones and ask for the easy-to-read version. Keep your copy.
4. With a public body, file a written request in its registry, in person or online, asking for the accessible format. Keep the receipt.
5. Do not miss deadlines. The rules do not say that asking for an accessible format stops a deadline. If you have a deadline to pay, object or appeal, act in time and ask for the explanation at the same time.
6. If the barrier caused you serious harm — you missed a deadline, signed something you did not understand, lost money or a benefit — have a professional review your case before your next step.

I already wrote my complaint or request: review it before I send it

Examples: what you can and cannot ask for

• Immigration office (extranjería). From 2027 the office must have its forms and their guides in an easy-to-read format, plus visual or audio support to follow the procedure. The requirements, deadlines and language of the file do not change.
• Municipal registration (empadronamiento). The town hall is a public administration: you can ask for the form and guide in an easy-to-read format, and for help to know how to fill it in and where to submit it. The documents they can ask you for do not change.
• Fines. Ask for the guide to paying, objecting or appealing in an understandable format. These rules do not cancel a fine because it is written in a complicated way, and the deadline keeps running.
• Bank. When you open an account or sign a loan, the terms and your consent must be explained in plain language. If something is unclear, ask for an explanation before you sign.
• Insurance. The same for the policy: contracting, consent and instructions must be given in plain language.
• Renting a home. Residential renting is not among the sectors the rules refer to, so do not count on a private landlord having to give you the contract in plain language. If you apply for rent assistance, that procedure is run by a public administration and its rules apply.
• Doctor. You can ask for information about your treatment in an adapted format. And a person with comprehension difficulties — the rules include not knowing the language — may bring someone they trust into the consultation.

What the rules do not give you

• No right to translation. They speak of understandable documents and accessible formats, not of receiving papers in your language.
• These rules do not cancel a difficult document. They set no consequence for validity and do not stop deadlines, which keep running. That does not rule out challenging a document or notice on other grounds.
• Nothing applies before 2 January 2027.
• No complaint procedure of its own. Breaches are sanctioned under the general disability law (or regional law): failing to meet accessibility requirements is a serious infringement, with a fine of up to €90,000. The competent administration imposes the fine; it is not compensation paid to you.
• The guarantees for workers are not for everyone. Training in an easy-to-read format, adapted documents and meetings, and workplace adjustments apply to workers who certify a disability of 33 % or more and an intellectual disability. They are not a general right for anyone with limited Spanish.
• When you apply for a job, the rule is different. The rules say that any candidate who meets the qualifications and experience required for the post may ask, free of charge, for the job interview to be adapted, and that this cannot be a reason to exclude them from the selection process. Companies must also publish job offers, conditions and requirements in an accessible way and, in any case, in plain language.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Official sources