28 new secretaries-comptrollers appointed: destinations, deadlines and what changes in municipalities

Key data

Twenty-eight applicants who passed the temporary employment stabilization competition called in 2022 are appointed career civil servants of the Scale of local administration civil servants with national scope qualification, Secretary-Comptroller Sub-scale, through Order TDF/766/2026, published in the BOE on July 27, 2026. Each is assigned a first permanent position in municipalities and secretarial groupings of third class in small municipalities.

The process is framed within the temporary employment stabilization promoted by Law 20/2021, which requires public administrations to consolidate positions that had been covered on an interim basis for years. This order is the practical materialization of that mandate for the Secretary-Comptroller sub-scale.

What does this regulation establish?

Order TDF/766/2026 formalizes three simultaneous legal effects:

• Appointment as career civil servants of the 28 approved applicants, 25 by general competition and 4 by reserve competition for persons with disabilities.
• Assignment of first permanent position in municipalities and secretarial groupings of third class in small municipalities in provinces including León, Segovia, Zamora, Teruel, Soria and Tarragona, among others.
• Automatic cessation of interim civil servants who held those positions, at the moment the career civil servant takes office or, at the latest, when the possession deadline expires.

The positions are of third class, which corresponds to smaller municipalities within the structure of Spanish local administration. Secretaries-comptrollers in these municipalities simultaneously assume the functions of secretariat (public faith and legal advice) and comptroller (economic-financial control).

The new civil servants are subject to a two-year mobility restriction: during this period they will not be able to participate in transfer competitions or request provisional appointments to other positions.

Economic and operational impact

For the receiving municipalities, the impact is mainly operational and human resources management:

• The position changes from interim coverage—with greater uncertainty and possibility of vacancy—to permanent coverage with a career civil servant, which provides legal stability and continuity in the functions of public faith and comptroller.
• The interim staff's cessation is automatic: it does not require disciplinary proceedings or special notice, but it does require managing the settlement of salaries, certificates of services rendered and other end-of-service relationship procedures.
• During the one-month possession deadline, the municipality must guarantee service continuity: if the interim staff ceases before the new holder takes office, a temporary vacancy may occur that requires urgent coverage.
• The new career civil servants have greater salary and career stability, which may imply slightly higher salary costs than an interim employee, depending on the bracket and supplements applicable in each corporation.

For the appointed applicants, the two-year restriction means they must remain in their assigned position without possibility of transfer, which has relevant implications for work-life balance and personal planning.

Who does it affect?

• The 28 appointed applicants: acquire the status of career civil servants and are bound to their first position for at least two years.
• The ceasing interim civil servants: lose their position automatically when the career civil servant takes office, or when the one-month possession deadline expires.
• The receiving municipalities and secretarial groupings in small municipalities in León, Segovia, Zamora, Teruel, Soria, Tarragona and other provinces: must manage the change of holder and guarantee service continuity.
• General Secretariats of Provincial Councils and coordination bodies of national qualified staff: must update their records and databases of positions.
• Other applicants on waiting lists from the same stabilization competition: this order does not directly affect them, but marks the pace of the overall process.

Practical example

Imagine a third-class municipality in the province of Soria with a secretary-comptroller position covered by an interim civil servant for several years. On July 27, 2026, Order TDF/766/2026 is published and one of the 28 appointed applicants receives assignment to that municipality.

The new career civil servant has one month—until August 27, 2026—to take office. At the moment he does, the interim staff ceases automatically. If the interim staff has not ceased before that month expires, the cessation occurs anyway at the end of the possession deadline, even if the new holder has not taken office yet.

The municipality must, during that period, prepare the interim staff's cessation documentation (salary settlement, certificate of services, etc.) and coordinate the delivery of documentation and files to the new holder. During the following two years, the new secretary-comptroller will not be able to request transfer or provisional appointment to another municipality, which guarantees the municipality stable coverage of the position.

What should municipalities do now?

1. Identify if your municipality is among the assigned destinations in Order TDF/766/2026, consulting the full text published in the BOE of July 27, 2026.
2. Notify the interim civil servant that their service relationship will cease at the moment the career civil servant takes office, or when the one-month deadline expires.
3. Prepare the cessation documentation: salary settlement, certificate of services rendered, delivery of files and system access credentials.
4. Coordinate the taking of office of the new career civil servant within the one-month deadline (before August 27, 2026), guaranteeing service continuity during the transition.
5. Update internal personnel records and communicate the change to the Provincial Council and the corresponding national qualified staff coordination bodies.
6. Verify the salary supplements applicable to the new career civil servant, which may differ from those of the interim employee, and adjust budget allocations if necessary.

Official source

Consult full regulation at official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-16256