An evolving framework to drive electric mobility
Charging points are key to consolidating electric mobility in Spain, and the infrastructure must be sufficient, accessible and legally viable for both private operators and public administrations. The regulation combines installation obligations, a simplified administrative regime and new information and access requirements. Knowing the applicable rules is necessary to avoid unnecessary delays in project processing.
Applicable framework
- Royal Decree-law 29/2021, of 21 December, on urgent energy measures to promote electric mobility, self-consumption and the deployment of renewables — the first to introduce direct installation obligations and a simplified administrative regime for charging points.
- Law 7/2021, of 20 May, on climate change and the energy transition, which identified charging infrastructure as essential to decarbonising transport.
- Law 9/2025, of 3 December, on Sustainable Mobility (LMS), which adds provisions on infrastructure planning and user information without substantially changing the existing core regime.
Who is required to install charging points?
RDL 29/2021 sets installation obligations in two areas:
- Non-residential buildings with more than 20 parking spaces must provide a minimum charging infrastructure, calculated on total indoor and outdoor spaces. These obligations were generally due before 1 January 2023.
- Certain service stations, based on their 2019 petrol and diesel sales volumes, must install fast or ultra-fast charging points to form a basic network on main roads and transport corridors.
Administrative regime and simplification
Installing a charging point generally requires a responsible declaration (declaración responsable) instead of a prior licence or authorisation, which aims to remove administrative barriers. The exceptions are limited — mainly installations in culturally or heritage-protected buildings and very high-power installations. Requiring municipal licences beyond these cases is incompatible with the principle of market unity, as the CNMC has indicated in several reports.
New charging planning and grid access after the Sustainable Mobility Law
The LMS does not change the core regime but introduces structural measures: it strengthens the mandate for public administrations to promote charging points on roads and transport corridors, especially fast and ultra-fast ones; it requires transparency and public information, so users can find the location, characteristics and operational status of publicly accessible points through signage and digital platforms; and it provides for a state map of electricity-grid capacity, covering lines, transformer centres and areas with capacity available for new charging points.
The role of the AFIR Regulation
Regulation (EU) 2023/1804, of 13 September 2023, on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, which repeals Directive 2014/94/EU (the “AFIR Regulation”), is directly applicable in Spain. It imposes requirements on publicly accessible charging points: non-discriminatory access, the ability to charge without a prior subscription, and greater transparency on prices and user information. These requirements affect the design of new installations and the gradual adaptation of existing ones, particularly payment systems and user-facing information.
Conclusion
The framework is facilitative, with RDL 29/2021 as its central piece, complemented by the LMS and the directly applicable AFIR Regulation. A clearer framework does not remove the need for case-by-case legal analysis: location, planned power, urban-planning fit and grid interaction remain decisive for project viability.
