Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, the legislative definition of agency is regulated in Law 40/2015, of October 1, on the Legal Regime of the Public Sector. Unlike other countries, in Spain only the executive branch has agencies and any need of any of the other branches is covered by the executive.

Types of agencies

There is not a single definition of what is considered an agency in Spain because, on the one hand, there are three types of public agencies (, literally, public organisms, OP): Autonomous agencies (, OA), public business entities (, EPE) and state agencies (, AE). But, in addition, there are also independent agencies (, literally, independent administrative authorities, AAI). As far as this article is concerned, public business entities (EPE) are going to be ruled out because, despite being considered public agencies according to legislation, their operation is more similar to that of a public company than to that of an agency itself and may be subordinate to an autonomous agency. Of the other three types of agency, the main difference between them is the law that regulates them. OAs are governed by common administrative law, while AEs and AAIs are governed by their own creation laws. Autonomous agencies and state agencies have their own legal personality, their own treasury and assets, and autonomy in their management, while the AAIs have their own legal personality, their own assets, but they have independence in their management, not autonomy. The AAIs can be compared to the independent agencies of the United States, since they are independent of the executive branch insofar as they are regulated by their own special legislation that includes special mechanisms to ensure their independence, as is the limitation for the executive branch to appoint and dismiss the high officials of it, with greater control of the legislative branch. Another important difference is the purpose for which they are created. The autonomous agencies (OA) carry out activities of the

Public Administration Public Administration (a form of governance) or Public Policy and Administration (an academic discipline) is the implementation of public policy, administration of government establishment (public governance), management of non-profit establ ...

, both activities of promotion, give benefits, management of public services or production of goods of public interest, as differentiated instrumental organizations and dependent on it. The state agencies (AE) are created to comply with specific policies, with better mechanisms to ensure better management and control of results. Finally, the AAIs are assigned external regulatory or supervisory functions over economic sectors or specific activities that require functional independence or special autonomy from the executive branch. There is a fourth and exceptional category of agencies. These are the management entities and common services of the

Social Security Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

, regulated in the Social Security Act of 2015.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Secretariat of State for International Cooperation

Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) ( es, link=no, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo) is a Spanish autonomous agency responsible for the management of the Government internationa ...

(AECID) *

Instituto Cervantes Instituto Cervantes (the Cervantes Institute) is a worldwide nonprofit organization created by the government of Spain, Spanish government in 1991. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616), the author of ''Don Quixote'' and perhaps the ...

Source:

Ministry of Justice

Secretariat of State for Justice

* Center for Legal Studies (CEJ) * General Mutual Benefit Society for Civil Servants of the Administration of Justice (MUGEJU) Source:

Ministry of Defence

* National Intelligence Centre (CNI)

Secretariat of State for Defence

* National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) * Institute for Housing, Infrastructure and Equipment of the Defense (INVIED)

Undersecretariat of Defence

* Social Institute of the Armed Forces (ISFAS) Source:

Ministry of Finance and Civil Service

Secretariat of State for Finance

Spanish Tax Agency The Spanish Tax Administration Agency ( es, Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria, AEAT), commonly known as Agencia Tributaria, is the revenue service of the Kingdom of Spain. The agency is responsible for the effective application of the ...

(AEAT) * Institute of Fiscal Studies (IEF)

Secretariat of State for the Civil Service The Secretariat of State for the Civil Service (''Secretaría de Estado de Función Pública,'' SEFP) is a component of the Spanish Department of Finance and Civil Service responsible for the government policy on General State Administration's c ...

* General Mutual Benefit Society of State Civil Servants (MUFACE) * National Institute of Public Administration (INAP)

Undersecretariat of Finance and Civil Service

* Commissioner for the Tobacco Market (CMT) *

Royal Mint of Spain The Royal Mint of Spain ( es, Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre – Real Casa de la Moneda, lit=National Coinage and Stamp Factory – Royal Mint, FNMT-RCM) is the national mint of Spain. The FNMT-RCM is a public corporation that is attached t ...

(FNMT-RCM) * State Vehicle Fleet (PME). Source:

Ministry of the Interior

Secretariat of State for Security

* State Security Infrastructure and Equipment Office (GIESE)

Directorate-General of the Police

* National Police Training University Center (CUFPN)

Undersecretariat of the Interior

* Central Traffic Headquarters (JCT) Source:

Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda

Secretariat of State for Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda

* Centre for Public Works Studies and Experimentation (CEDEX)

General Secretariat for Infraestructure

Railway Safety Agency The Railway Safety Agency, in Spanish, Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Ferroviaria (AESF) is a Spanish state agency within the Department of Transport. The AESF is the highest railway authority and responsible for the railway safety. It carries out ...

(AESF)

General Secretariat for Transport and Mobility

Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency The Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency, also known by the acronym AESA (Spanish: ''Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea''), is the civil aviation authority for Spain. The agency is based in Madrid, where it occupies offices on the Pase ...

(AESA)

Undersecretariat of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda

* National Geographic Information Centre (CNIG) Source:

Ministry of Education and Vocational Training

This Department has no agencies attached.

Ministry of Labour and Social Economy

Secretariat of State for Labour and Social Economy

Labour and Social Security Inspectorate The Labour and Social Security Inspectorate (ITSS) is a Spanish autonomous agency in charge of the control of the compliance with labour and social security legislation. It also offers technical advice and, where appropriate, conciliation, mediat ...

(ITSS) * Public State Service for Employment (SEPE) * Salary Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) *

National Institute for Safety and Health at Work The National Institute for Safety and Health at Work (, INSST) is an autonomous agency of the Government of Spain. The INSST is considered a technical-scientific agency entrusted with the task of analyze and research on safety and health condit ...

(INSST) Source:

Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism

Secretariat of State for Tourism

* Tourism Institute of Spain (TURESPAÑA)

General Secretariat for Industry and Small and Medium Enterprises

* Spanish Metrology Centre (CEM)

Undersecretariat of Industry, Trade and Tourism

Spanish Patent and Trademark Office The Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (Spanish: ''Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas'', sometimes abbreviated SPTO or OEPM) is an autonomous agency of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain. The Spanish Patent and Trademark Of ...

(OEPM) Source:

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

General Secretariat for Agriculture and Food

Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund The Spanish Agricultural Guarantee Fund (, FEGA) is an autonomous agency of the Government of Spain, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, whose main mission is to ensure that the funds from the European Agricultural Guara ...

(FEGA) *

Food Information and Control Agency The Food Information and Control Agency (, AICA) is the Spanish Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food autonomous agency responsible for managing the information and control systems of the olericulture, dairy and other markets that the ...

(AICA)

Undersecretariat of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

* National Agency for Agricultural Insurance (ENESA) Source:

Ministry of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory

Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies The Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies (, CEPC), previously known as the Institute for Political Studies (), is an autonomous agency associated with the Ministry for the Presidency of Spain. Its mission is to analyze the internation ...

(CEPC) * Centre for Sociological Research (CIS) *

Patrimonio Nacional Patrimonio Nacional ( en, National Heritage) is a Spanish autonomous agency, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Presidency, that administers the sites owned by the Spanish State and used by the Monarch and the Spanish Royal Fami ...

Undersecretariat of the Presidency, Relations with the Cortes and Democratic Memory

Official State Gazette An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their s ...

(BOE) Source:

Ministry of Territorial Policy

This Department has no agencies attached.

Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge

Secretariat of State for Energy

* Institute for Just Transition (ITJ)

Secretariat of State for Environment

* State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) *

National Parks Autonomous Agency The National Parks Autonomous Agency (OAPN) is an List of agencies in Spain, autonomous agency of the Spanish Government of Spain, central government that manages the List of national parks of Spain, National Parks Network and the Spanish Biospher ...

(OAPN)

Directorate-General for Water

* Commonwealth of the Taibilla Channels (MCT) * Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation *

Duero The Douro (, , ; es, Duero ; la, Durius) is the highest-flow river of the Iberian Peninsula. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in Soria Province, central Spain, meanders south briefly then flows generally west through the north-west part of ...

Hydrographic Confederation *

Ebro , name_etymology = , image = Zaragoza shel.JPG , image_size = , image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza , map = SpainEbroBasin.png , map_size = , map_caption = The Ebro ...

Hydrographic Confederation *

Guadalquivir The Guadalquivir (, also , , ) is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest river with its entire length in Spain. The Guadalquivir is the only major navigable river in Spain. Currently it is navigable from the Gulf ...

Hydrographic Confederation *

Guadiana The Guadiana River (, also , , ), or Odiana, is an international river defining a long stretch of the Portugal-Spain border, separating Extremadura and Andalusia (Spain) from Alentejo and Algarve (Portugal). The river's basin extends from the e ...

Hydrographic Confederation *

Júcar left The Júcar () or Xúquer () is a river on the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The river runs for approximately 509 km from its source at Ojuelos de Valdeminguete, on the eastern flank of the Montes Universales, Sistema Ibérico. Its most i ...

Hydrographic Confederation * Miño-Sil Hydrographic Confederation *

Segura Segura (, ; la, Thader; ar, شقورة, Shaqūrah, or ) is a medium-sized river in southeastern Spain. It has its source in the Sierra de Segura. Course The river begins at Santiago Pontones ( province of Jaén), passes Calasparra, Cie ...

Hydrographic Confederation *

Tajo The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections, to e ...

Hydrographic Confederation Source:

Ministry of Culture and Sport

National Sports Council The National Sports Council (NSC) is the national overseer of the control authorities of 41 different sports in Bangladesh. It is responsible to the Bangladesh Ministry of Youth and Sports and is based in Purana Paltan, Dhaka. History After t ...

(CSD) **

Spanish Anti-Doping Agency The Spanish Anti-Doping Agency, officially Spanish Commission for the Fight Against Doping in Sports (CELAD), is a Spanish state agency responsible for the protection of the right to health of all athletes and the protection of the right to part ...

(CELAD) *

Museo Nacional del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía The ''Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía'' ("Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre"; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. It ...

Biblioteca Nacional de España The Biblioteca Nacional de España (''National Library of Spain'') is a major public library, the largest in Spain, and one of the largest in the world. It is located in Madrid, on the Paseo de Recoletos. History The library was founded by ...

(BNE)

General Secretariat for Culture and Sport

* National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) * Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) * Culture Infrastructure and Equipment Office (GIEC) Source:

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation

Secretariat of State for Economy and Business Support

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

(INE) * Institute for Accounting and Accounts Audit (ICAC) Source:

Ministry of Health

Secretariat of State for Health

Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices ( es, Agencia Española de Medicamentos y Productos Sanitarios; AEMPS) is a regulatory and autonomous agency of the Government of Spain that acts as the highest sanitary authority in the countr ...

(AEMPS) * National Institute of Health Management (INGESA) * National Transplant Organization (ONT) Source:

Ministry of Social Rights and 2030 Agenda

* Royal Board on Disability (RPD)

Secretariat of State for Social Rights

Institute for the Elderly and Social Services The Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (IMSERSO) is an agency of the Government of Spain responsible for the management of social services that complement the benefits of the Social Security System, disability and retirement pension ...

(IMSERSO) *

Institute of Youth The Institute of Youth (INJUVE) is an autonomous agency of the Government of Spain responsible for promoting youth associations and collaboration for their advancement; the development and coordination of an information and communication system ...

(INJUVE) Source:

Ministry of Science and Innovation

General Secretariat for Research

* State Research Agency (AEI) *

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council ( es, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote res ...

(CSIC) *

Carlos III Health Institute The Carlos III Health Institute ( es, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, links=no; ISCIII) is a Spanish public health research institute, legally constituted as a public research agency (), a type of quasi-autonomous entity under Spanish law. The ISCII ...

(ISCIII) * Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT) Source:

Ministry of Equality

Secretariat of State for Equality and against Gender Violence

Institute of Women The Institute of Women (''Instituto de las Mujeres'', formerly ''Instituto de la Mujer'') is a Spanish List of agencies in Spain, autonomous agency attached to the Ministry of Equality (Spain), Ministry of Equality. ''NB As of October 2021 the En ...

Source:

Ministry of Consumer Affairs

General Secretariat for Consumer Affairs and Gambling

Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) is a regulatory agency of the Government of Spain responsible for promoting food safety and for providing guarantees and objective information to consumers and economic agents of the Spani ...

(AESAN) Source:

Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration

Secretariat of State for Social Security and Pensions

* National Institute for Social Security * Social Institute for Sea Workers * Social Security General Treasury * Social Security IT Department * Legal Service of the Social Security Administration Source:

Ministry of Universities

General Secretariat for Universities

Menéndez Pelayo International University Menéndez Pelayo International University ("UIMP" in Spanish) is a public university with administrative headquarters in Madrid and campuses in Santander, Valencia, Barcelona, Cartagena, Cuenca, Granada, La Línea de la Concepción, Seville and ...

(UIMP) *

National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation The National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation ( es, Agencia Nacional de Evaluación de la Calidad y Acreditación, ANECA) is the authorised agency of the Spanish government whose aim is to provide external quality assurance for the ...

(ANECA) * Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE) Source:

Independent agencies

The independent agencies or independent administrative authorities (AAI) are independent from the executive branch but relate to different

government departments Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло� ...

for budget allocation purposes.

Ministry of Finance and Civil Service

Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility The Independent Authority for Spanish Fiscal Responsibility (''Autoridad Independiente de Responsabilidad Fiscal española'', AIReF) is an independent agency for fiscal control in Spain. It was created in 2013 by the Spanish Government, on the i ...

(AIReF) * Transparency and Good Governance Council (CTBG)

Ministry of Justice

Spanish Data Protection Agency The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD, es, Agencia Española de Protección de Datos) is an independent agency of the government of Spain which oversees the compliance with the legal provisions on the protection of personal data. The agency ...

(AEPD)

Ministry for the Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge

* Nuclear Safety Council (CSN)

Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation

National Commission on Markets and Competition National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

(CNMC) *

National Securities Market Commission The National Securities Market Commission () (often abbreviated as CNMV) is the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain. It is an independent agency that falls under the Ministry of ...

(CNMV)

References

{{Authority control Government agencies of Spain