Veterinary SLP: you cannot add insurance sales to the corporate purpose

Key data

If you have a professional society and are thinking about expanding your business with complementary services—such as pet insurance sales, commercial agency, or any other activity that is not strictly professional—this resolution affects you directly. The DGSJFP has confirmed in 2026 that this is not possible without changing the legal structure of your company.

The specific case is led by Marta Lo Cuida, SLP, a veterinary clinic that attempted to expand its corporate purpose to include activities of commercial agency and insurance auxiliary. The commercial registrar I of Alicante suspended the registration, the company appealed, and the DGSJFP dismissed the appeal. The result: the modification is not registered.

What does this regulation establish?

The Law 2/2007, on Professional Societies, establishes that SLPs must have a single and exclusive purpose: the exercise of a professional activity that requires university qualification and professional registration. It does not admit mixed purposes or ancillary activities of a different nature.

The company argued two things in its appeal:

• That insurance intermediation was an activity ancillary to veterinary services.
• That the Law 7/2023 on animal welfare made that activity mandatory or necessary in the context of its business.

The DGSJFP rejected both arguments. Its reasoning is clear:

• The activities of commercial agency and insurance auxiliary do not require university qualification or professional registration.
• Therefore, they cannot be integrated into the corporate purpose of an SLP, regardless of whether they are ancillary or driven by another law.
• The fact that Law 7/2023 on animal welfare may encourage the offer of insurance for animals does not make that activity "professional" for the purposes of Law 2/2007.

Economic and operational impact

The impact is not only legal: it has direct consequences on the business structure and costs of any professional society that wants to diversify.

• Cost of corporate transformation: If the SLP wants to operate non-professional activities, it must transform into another corporate type (SL, SA) or create a parallel company. Both options involve notarial, registration, tax, and legal advisory costs.
• Opportunity cost: Veterinary clinics that want to offer pet insurance—a growing market after Law 7/2023—cannot do so from the same SLP. They need an additional structure.
• Risk of registration denial: Any modification of the corporate purpose of an SLP that includes non-professional activities will be rejected by the Commercial Register, with the costs of processing already incurred.
• Legal certainty: The resolution definitively closes the path of the "ancillary" argument to slip non-professional activities into the purpose of an SLP.

Who does it affect?

• Veterinary clinics established as SLP that want to offer pet insurance or other commercial services.
• Law firms, architects, doctors, engineers, or any registered profession organized as SLP or SAP that study expanding their corporate purpose.
• Advisors and managers who process statute modifications for professional societies.
• Notaries and commercial registrars who must qualify these operations.
• Investors or partners who plan to integrate mixed activities in an existing SLP.

Practical example

Imagine a veterinary clinic established as an SLP in Alicante—exactly the case of Marta Lo Cuida, SLP—that, following the entry into force of Law 7/2023 on animal welfare, detects a business opportunity: offering health insurance for pets to its clients.

The clinic decides to modify its bylaws to include in the corporate purpose the activity of insurance auxiliary and commercial agency. It pays the notarial fees, drafts the deed, and presents it to the Commercial Register I of Alicante.

Result: the registrar suspends the registration. The clinic appeals to the DGSJFP. The DGSJFP dismisses the appeal and confirms the negative qualification. The modification is not registered, and the clinic has incurred processing costs without obtaining the desired result.

The only viable path: create a separate ordinary commercial company (for example, an SL) separate from the SLP, from which to operate the insurance intermediation activity.

What should companies do now?

1. Review the current corporate purpose of your SLP: Check if it includes or intends to include activities that do not require university qualification and professional registration. If so, that clause is not registrable.
2. Halt any modification of corporate purpose in progress that mixes professional and non-professional activities, to avoid wasting processing costs.
3. Evaluate corporate transformation: If the business structurally requires mixed activities, consider transforming the SLP into an SL or other corporate type. Consult the tax and registration impact with your advisor.
4. Create a parallel company: If you want to maintain the SLP for professional activity and add commercial activities, the cleanest path is to establish a separate ordinary commercial company for those activities.
5. Inform partners and the board: If there are business plans that depend on expanding the corporate purpose of the SLP, communicate this regulatory block and reconsider the structure before incurring costs.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in 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-2026-20951