FEMP Transparency Agreement 2026: what municipalities and provincial councils must do

Key data

Spanish municipalities and provincial councils have had since July 29, 2026 a new framework of institutional support to comply with the Law 19/2013 on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance. The Transparency and Good Governance Council (CTBG) and the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) have formalized a collaboration agreement whose objective is to extend the culture of transparency in local administrations throughout the national territory.

This agreement is not a statement of intent: it establishes concrete actions and positions FEMP as a formal intermediary between the regulator and local entities. For compliance officers, municipal secretaries and elected officials, this means that scrutiny over active publicity and management of citizen requests will intensify.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement defines a set of collaborative actions between the CTBG and FEMP. Below are all the planned measures:

The agreement is expressly framed within the obligations derived from Law 19/2013 and reinforces the role of FEMP as a transmission channel between the regulator—the CTBG—and more than 8,000 municipalities and provincial councils in Spain.

The two major compliance areas that will be strengthened are:

• Active publicity: obligation to proactively publish relevant information about the activity of the local entity (contracts, subsidies, budgets, remuneration, etc.).
• Management of citizen information requests: correct and timely processing of access to information requests submitted by citizens.

Economic and operational impact

This agreement does not impose direct economic sanctions or modify the amounts of those already provided for in Law 19/2013. Its impact is fundamentally operational and involves reputational and legal risk:

• Greater scrutiny: with a formal channel for training and analysis in place, the CTBG will have better information about the actual degree of compliance of local entities, which may lead to an increase in ex officio investigations.
• Reduced adaptation cost: municipalities will have free access to training, guides and manuals, which reduces the cost of outsourcing transparency training.
• Risk of non-compliance: Law 19/2013 already provides for consequences for elected officials and public employees who fail to comply with transparency obligations, including the possibility of declaring a serious infraction. The agreement does not create new sanctions, but it does reduce the excuse of "lack of resources or training".
• Opportunity to improve institutional image: municipalities that take advantage of the agreement's resources will be able to improve their position in local transparency indices, with a positive impact on citizen perception and access to certain financing conditioned on good governance.

Who does it affect?

• Municipalities of any size and autonomous community
• Provincial councils and dependent organizations
• Local public employees with responsibilities in communication, secretariat, audit or citizen service
• Municipal elected officials (mayors, councilors, provincial council presidents)
• Compliance officers and municipal secretaries who manage access to information requests

Practical example

A medium-sized municipality of 15,000 inhabitants receives several access to information requests each month regarding minor contracts and subsidies granted. Until now, the municipal secretary managed these requests without specific training in the deadlines and procedures of Law 19/2013, which generated late or incomplete responses.

With the CTBG-FEMP agreement in force, this municipality will be able to access:

• Specific online courses for the secretary and citizen service staff, at no additional cost to the municipality.
• Practical guides on how to correctly publish active publicity information on the transparency portal.
• In-person conferences organized by FEMP where they can share questions and best practices with other municipalities.

The expected result is a reduction in deadline non-compliance and an improvement in the quality of published information, which reduces the risk of complaints to the CTBG and declarations of infraction.

What should local entities do now?

1. Review the current state of compliance in active publicity: verify that the municipality or provincial council's transparency portal is updated with all information required by Law 19/2013.
2. Identify the personnel responsible for managing access to information requests and ensure they know the legal deadlines and procedures.
3. Contact FEMP to learn about the schedule of in-person training, online courses, conferences and seminars available under this agreement.
4. Download and apply the practical guides and manuals that the CTBG and FEMP develop jointly, as soon as they are available.
5. Participate in the barrier analysis carried out under the agreement, providing information about the real obstacles the municipality encounters in complying with the right of access to information.
6. Document the training actions carried out to demonstrate, in the event of an inspection or complaint, that the local entity has adopted active compliance measures.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source

Notice: This article is merely informative in nature 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-2026-17767