Rules by sector
A gym has no national law of its own: what its region asks for and what it checks like any other premises
There is no national gym law in Spain. The 2022 Sports Act asked the Government for a bill on sports professions and, as of 19 October 2026, the BOE records none. What exists are regional acts that say which qualification is needed by whoever teaches or manages, which insurance is required and which notices go on the wall. And, as premises, the gym goes through the inspections of any business open to the public, with its own conditions: more than 50 people for the electrical inspection, showers and spa for Legionella, and the pool if you have one.
Does it apply to you? A gym's obligations, one by one
| Obligation | Does it apply? | How often and who | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice of users' rights | In Madrid and in the Valencia Region | Permanent, in a visible place; the owner | Madrid: Act 6/2016, Art. 3(2); Valencia Region: Act 2/2022, Art. 3(3) |
| Qualified instructors and coaches | Yes in Catalonia, Madrid and the Valencia Region; in Andalusia, once its regulation comes into force | On hiring; both the gym and the professional are responsible | Catalonia: Act 3/2008, Art. 4(2); Madrid: Act 6/2016, Arts. 14 and 28(3)(c); Valencia Region: Act 2/2022, Art. 24(5) |
| Staff qualifications on display | In Madrid and in the Valencia Region, which also asks for the date of the responsible declaration | Permanent; the owner of the centre | Madrid: Act 6/2016, Art. 25(3); Valencia Region: Act 2/2022, Art. 24(5) |
| Civil liability insurance | Madrid: the professional's or the employer's; Catalonia: anyone not working solely as an employee; Valencia Region: unless the company already covers it | Before working; in Madrid, a copy of the policy always available to users | Madrid: Arts. 24 and 25(5); Catalonia: Art. 11; Valencia Region: Art. 23 |
| Protocol against violence towards minors | In Madrid, at facilities with activities for children and teenagers | Permanent; a clean sexual-offences certificate for anyone dealing with minors | Madrid: Act 6/2016, Art. 2(6) and 2(8) |
| Extinguishers and detection (RIPCI) | Yes, for the equipment you have; the ten-year inspection does not apply if the gym is public assembly under 500 m² built | 3 and 6 months, your staff; 1 and 5 years, maintenance company | RD 513/2017, Arts. 21 and 22(2) |
| Low-voltage inspection | If occupancy exceeds 50 people: 1 per 0.8 m² of usable area, excluding corridors, lobbies and toilets | Initial and every 5 years; inspection body | RD 842/2002, ITC-BT-28, section 1; ITC-BT-05, section 4.2 |
| Heating, cooling and hot water (RITE) | Contract if the generators exceed 70 kW; the temperature limits of IT 3.8 do not name gyms | Above 70 kW, efficiency inspection every 4 years | RD 1027/2007, Arts. 26 and 31 |
| Legionella in showers and spa | Yes, if there are showers, a spa, a jacuzzi or a pool with jets | Spa: recirculation 10 minutes before opening and Legionella every month; domestic water: Legionella every 3 months | RD 487/2022, Annex IV (B and D) and Annex V |
| Members' pool | If there is one: open to a defined group of users, it is for public use | Daily check before opening, monthly in a laboratory and data to SILOE before 30 April | RD 742/2013, Arts. 2(2), 11 and 15 |
| Defibrillator | Depends on the region: Madrid and Andalusia, 500 or more users a day; Basque Country, capacity above 700 | If there is one: notify it and maintain it as the manufacturer says | RD 365/2009, Arts. 4 and 7; regional decrees |
| Self-protection plan | Not under national rules, except a regulated recreational activity with a capacity of 1,000 or more or 28 m of evacuation height | If there is one: annual drill and review at most every 5 years | Order INT/1068/2026, Directive, Annex I, 1.E.1.1 |
Read in the BOE and in the regional gazettes on 19 October 2026. The first five rows change from one region to another; these are the four regions read.
The short answer
If you are looking for "the gym law", there is none. What regulates your business specifically are the regional sports professions acts, which decide which qualification is needed by whoever coaches or manages, who pays for the insurance and what goes on the wall; and, as premises open to the public, the rules for each installation, with the thresholds that decide which ones apply to you and which do not.
El Gobierno presentará a las Cortes Generales, en el plazo de seis meses desde la entrada en vigor de la presente ley, un proyecto de ley que regule el ejercicio de las profesiones del deporte ("Within six months of this act coming into force, the Government shall submit to Parliament a bill regulating the practice of the sports professions")
That deadline in Act 39/2022 expired in 2023 and, searching the BOE for the titles "gimnasio", "gimnasios" and "profesiones del deporte", no national act has been published to date: only collective agreements for the sector and regional acts.
The sports professions acts, region by region
Catalonia: Act 3/2008
To work as an instructor in "gimnasios, salas de acondicionamiento físico y centros deportivos análogos" (gyms, fitness rooms and similar sports centres) you need the degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences or the higher technician qualification in physical and sports activities (Art. 4(2)), required since 1 January 2009. Professionals register with the Official Register of Sports Professionals (Art. 8(1)), must know cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Art. 1(7)) and, if they do not work solely as employees, must have civil liability insurance (Art. 11). And the company offering the activity is liable if it breaches the act (Art. 13(3)).
Region of Madrid: Act 6/2016
This is the one that asks most of the gym owner. Three obligations belong to the centre, not to the coach:
- Display the users' rights of Article 3(1) in a visible place (Art. 3(2)).
- Inform clearly and visibly of the qualifications of its professionals (Art. 25(3)).
- Always keep available to users a copy of the civil liability policy, with number, insurer and cover (Art. 25(5)).
Los titulares de los centros deportivos, gimnasios y cualesquiera otras instalaciones deportivas en las que se presten servicios deportivos serán responsables de ofrecer información clara y visible a los usuarios sobre la cualificación profesional que posean sus profesionales del deporte. ("The owners of sports centres, gyms and any other sports facilities where sports services are provided shall be responsible for giving users clear and visible information on the professional qualifications held by their sports professionals.")
The insurance can be taken out by the professional or by the employer (Art. 24(1)). A basic fitness instructor needs, for example, the higher technician qualification in physical and sports activities, the degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences, the higher technician qualification in fitness or the one in socio-sports teaching and leisure (Art. 14(1)). Hiring someone without the qualification for those tasks is a serious infringement (Art. 28(3)(c)), and the sports director needs the degree (Art. 17). If there are activities with minors, the owner sets protocols against violence and anyone dealing with them provides the clean certificate from the Central Register of Sex Offenders (Art. 2(6) and 2(8)).
Valencia Region: Act 2/2022
In force since 26 January 2023. Notice of rights in a visible place (Art. 3(3)); the owner hires staff with the qualifications the act requires and gives clear and visible information about their qualifications and the date of their responsible declaration (Art. 24(5)); and training plans delivered through an app or platform used by the centre are supervised by a qualified professional (Art. 24(4)). The insurance belongs to the professional, unless the company that employs them already covers those risks (Art. 23).
Andalusia: Act 5/2016, awaiting regulations
The Andalusian act has a whole title on the professions: gym instructors with a degree or higher technician qualification (Art. 93(2)), prior insurance (Art. 97) and a responsible declaration for the Andalusian Register of Sports Professionals (Art. 100). But its fifth final provision, amended in 2017, only brings that title into force when its implementing regulations come into force, and those regulations do not appear in the BOE. Before treating it as enforceable, check the BOJA (Andalusia's official gazette).
Extremadura, Murcia, Navarre and the Basque Country also have sports professions acts, with requirements that are not the same; they have not been read for this page.
The gym as premises: the installations
Electricity. A gym is a public-assembly venue if its expected occupancy exceeds 50 people, counted at one per 0.8 m² of usable area excluding corridors, lobbies and toilets: in practice, from about 40 m² of floor. Then there is an initial inspection and another every five years by an inspection body, and the pool too if it exceeds 10 kW. Details in low-voltage inspection.
Water. Changing-room showers fall under the Legionella royal decree: hot water at 60 °C in the storage tanks and 50 °C in the return, a monthly rotating sample of taps and showers, weekly running of those hardly used, and cleaning and disinfection at least once a year. A spa or a jacuzzi add daily recirculation for ten minutes before opening, a monthly Legionella test and the six-monthly dismantling and disinfection of diffusers and nozzles. See Legionella.
Pool. A pool for members fits the definition of public use in Real Decreto 742/2013, the one open to "un grupo definido de usuarios" (a defined group of users). It needs the self-monitoring protocol, the routine check every morning, the monthly laboratory check, the notice with results and the data in SILOE. Lifeguards are regulated by each region. More in swimming pools.
Fire and heating and cooling. Extinguishers and detection are maintained under the RIPCI: the three-monthly checks can be done by your staff and the annual ones by a maintenance company (RIPCI). For heating and cooling, power decides: a contract and an efficiency inspection only above 70 kW (RITE).
Tobacco. Act 28/2005 bans smoking in sports facilities that are not in the open air (Art. 7(e)) and requires a notice at the entrance announcing it (third additional provision).
Defibrillator, self-protection and complaint forms
Real Decreto 365/2009 does not require a defibrillator: if you install one, you notify the region and maintain it as the manufacturer says. The obligation is regional and, for a gym, depends on users or capacity. In Madrid (Decree 78/2017) and in Andalusia (Decree 22/2012), sports facilities with 500 or more users a day, and in Andalusia except those with restricted access; in the Basque Country (Decree 9/2015), with a capacity above 700; in Catalonia, only in buildings for 2,000 or more people. More in defibrillator.
The Basic Directive on self-protection in force since 11 October 2026 has no heading for gyms: only one regulated as a show or recreational activity with a capacity of 1,000 people or an evacuation height of 28 metres would be included. Regional catalogues can go further (self-protection plan). And since you provide a service to consumers, Madrid, Catalonia and Andalusia require complaint forms with their notice.
What the rule does not say
Worth knowing
None of the acts read requires every gym to have a sports director: they regulate which qualification is needed by whoever performs that role, if there is one. In Madrid, people already working when the act was published had a period to train (six years for instructors and coaches, twelve for fitness trainers and directors), but the text does not say from what date it runs.
The Catalan insurance belongs to the professional who does not work solely as an employee, not to the gym as such; and whether a gym pool is type 1 or type 2 the royal decree does not say: only that it is for public use.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a national gym law in Spain?
No. Act 39/2022 on Sport told the Government to submit a bill on sports professions within six months, but as of 19 October 2026 the BOE records no national law on gyms or on those professions. What exists are regional acts, such as Catalonia's Act 3/2008, Madrid's Act 6/2016 or the Valencia Region's Act 2/2022.
What qualification does a gym instructor need?
It depends on the region. In Catalonia, the degree in Physical Activity and Sports Sciences or the higher technician qualification in physical and sports activities (Act 3/2008, Art. 4(2)). In Madrid, for basic fitness, those same ones or the higher technician qualification in fitness or in socio-sports teaching and leisure (Act 6/2016, Art. 14(1)).
Which notices must a gym display in Madrid?
Act 6/2016 requires users' rights to be displayed in a visible place (Art. 3(2)) and clear, visible information on the professionals' qualifications (Art. 25(3)), plus a copy of the civil liability policy kept available (Art. 25(5)). Under other rules, there is also the complaint-forms notice and the no-smoking notice at the entrance.
How often does a gym need the electrical inspection?
Every five years, by an inspection body, if the gym is a public-assembly venue: it is when expected occupancy exceeds 50 people, counted at one per 0.8 m² of usable area excluding corridors, lobbies and toilets (ITC-BT-28). Before opening it has an initial inspection. A pool above 10 kW has one too.
Is a defibrillator compulsory in a gym?
It depends on the region and the number of users. In Madrid and Andalusia, sports facilities with 500 or more users a day need one; in the Basque Country, those with a capacity above 700 people; in Catalonia, only buildings for 2,000 or more. Real Decreto 365/2009 does not require one, but requires notification and maintenance if one is installed.
Which checks does a gym spa need?
For Legionella, start the recirculation at least ten minutes before opening every day, test for Legionella every month and dismantle, clean and disinfect diffusers and nozzles at least every six months (Real Decreto 487/2022, Annex IV, part D). If it is also a public-use pool, Real Decreto 742/2013 applies to the sampling.
The inspections for this sector, one by one
- Fire protection (RIPCI)RIPCI checks: quarterly by the owner, yearly and five-yearly by the maintenance company, records kept for five years and an inspection every ten years, with its exemptions.
- Low-voltage inspectionInspection by an accredited body every 5 years for the premises in ITC-BT-05 (bars, restaurants and hotels always) and every 10 years for residential common areas over 100 kW.
- Thermal installations (RITE)Maintenance company from 5 kW; contract, annual certificate and efficiency inspection every 4 years above 70 kW, with the minimum intervals of table 3.1.
- LegionellaWhat Royal Decree 487/2022 requires of the holder of business premises: a control plan, hot water temperatures, yearly disinfection, Legionella sampling and records kept for five years.
- Swimming poolsWhat Royal Decree 742/2013 requires by type of pool: self-monitoring, daily and monthly checks, information for users and incidents, and what it leaves to the autonomous communities.
- Defibrillator (AED)What the Spanish national rule on defibrillators requires, and who must have one in Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and the Basque Country, with each threshold and article.
- Self-protection planWho needs a self-protection plan under the Basic Directive in force since 11 October 2026, what it contains, how often it is reviewed and what the regions add.
Rules for other sectors
- Restaurants and barsThe obligations of a restaurant or a bar in Spain: what is specific to the kitchen and the checks on the premises, each with the condition that triggers it, how often it applies and its article.
- HotelsA hotel: guest register and reporting within 24 hours, regional classification, low voltage and lift as a public-assembly venue, RIPCI, Legionella, pool, kitchen and defibrillator.
- Residents' associationsThe obligations of a Spanish residents' association: upkeep, reserve fund, owners' meeting and administrator under the Horizontal Property Act, building logbook, building inspection and the checks on each communal installation.
- Shops and franchisesA shop: responsible declaration up to 750 m², opening hours, prices, franchises with no register since 2018, complaint forms, accessibility adjustments and the inspections of premises open to the public.
- OfficesThe obligations of an office in Spain: temperature and upkeep of the premises, screen work, health and safety, coordination with contractors, internal reporting channel, right to disconnect and building checks.
- SchoolsA school: minimum facilities, protocols against violence and a wellbeing coordinator, canteen and menus from April 2026, self-protection and the building inspections.
- Industrial unitsAn industrial unit: fire inspection every five years under the 2025 regulation, chemical storage (APQ), air receivers, work equipment, low voltage, cooling towers and self-protection.