In France, a public directory tells you in one word whether a company is active or ceased. Spain has no such single switch: you read several official sources, each holding part of the story. That surprises many teams who onboard Spanish customers or suppliers for the first time. This guide gathers the five signals that tell you whether a Spanish company is still alive, where to read each one, and what they mean.
Sources were read on 10 October 2026.
What you'll learn
- Why Spain has no single "company status"
- The BORME acts that mark the end of a company
- What "en liquidación" next to a name means
- How to check for insolvency and a deregistered NIF
- When to order the registry's information note
Why there's no single status
A Spanish company's life is spread across several registers: the commercial registry, which records its acts and publishes them in the BORME; the Agencia Tributaria, which manages its tax number (NIF); and the Registro Público Concursal, which publishes insolvency proceedings. Each sees part of the picture. So "is it still active?" is answered by combining signals.
Signal 1: BORME acts
In section A of the BORME, three acts mark the end of a company's normal life:
- Disolución (dissolution): the company enters liquidation. It still exists, but its purpose is now to wind up its affairs.
- Extinción (extinction): the company is closed in the registry. It no longer exists as a party you can contract with.
- Situación concursal (insolvency): the registry has recorded insolvency proceedings.
Recent acts such as appointments or a change of registered office, on the other hand, show a company with ongoing registry life. See which BORME acts to watch and how to read the BORME.
Signal 2: "en liquidación" in the name
Under article 371 of the Capital Companies Act, a dissolved company keeps its legal personality while the liquidation takes place, and during that time it must add the words "en liquidación" to its name.
If a quote, an invoice or a contract shows "en liquidación" next to the company name, the company is winding up: it's not the time for orders on credit.
Signal 3: the public insolvency register
The Registro Público Concursal (publicidadconcursal.es), managed by the Colegio de Registradores, publishes court resolutions in insolvency proceedings and is free to consult. Insolvency doesn't mean the company has disappeared, but its payments and contracts follow specific rules. If it owes you money, get advice early.
Signal 4: the NIF at the tax agency
The Agencia Tributaria's third-party NIF check (with Cl@ve, an electronic certificate or electronic ID) returns, for legal entities, results such as "IDENTIFICADO-BAJA" or "IDENTIFICADO-REVOCADO", according to its help page (updated on 9 October 2026). A deregistered or revoked NIF is a strong signal. See how to check a Spanish company's NIF.
Signal 5: the registry's information note
The commercial registry's nota simple informativa, ordered from the Colegio de Registradores' online office by company name or NIF, shows what the registry holds at the moment you ask. It's paid, and useful for any important contract.
Combining them
| Signal | Source | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Extinction | BORME | Company closed |
| Dissolution, "en liquidación" | BORME, the Act | Company winding up |
| Insolvency | BORME, Registro Público Concursal | Proceedings under way |
| NIF deregistered or revoked | AEAT | Strong tax signal |
| Recent ordinary acts | BORME | Ongoing registry life |
| Full current state | Nota simple | The registry's snapshot |
No single signal says everything. A company with no recent BORME acts can be perfectly active: many companies go years without anything to register. That's why, for a contract that matters, you combine the BORME with the nota simple.
What each signal can't tell you
- The BORME shows registered acts, with a delay between a decision and its publication. A board decision taken last week may not be there yet.
- "En liquidación" depends on the company actually using the words on its documents.
- The insolvency register covers insolvency proceedings, not ordinary late payment.
- The AEAT check needs identification, and says how the tax agency sees the NIF, not what the registry records.
- The nota simple is a snapshot of one moment, and it's paid.
That's another reason to combine them, and to keep the date of each check: a company that was active in March can be in liquidation by June.
A note for teams used to France
If you also work with French companies, don't expect the Spanish answer to look like the French one. In France, INSEE's Sirene directory gives every company a single status with a date. In Spain, you build the answer from acts, a tax check and the registry note. Systems that store a single "status" field for every company should record, for Spanish companies, which signal produced it and when: "extinction published in the BORME on this date" is a fact you can defend; "inactive" with no source isn't.
A worked routine
For a new Spanish customer or supplier:
- Get the NIF and the exact legal name in writing.
- Find the company in the BORME by name and note its province and registry sheet.
- Read its acts: no extinction, no dissolution, no insolvency status?
- Check the NIF with the AEAT if you have access.
- For a large contract, order a nota simple.
- Store what you saw, with the date.
For existing accounts, repeat step 3 on a schedule, and immediately when a payment fails or mail comes back. See how to check a Spanish company before you sign.
Fuentio's API will return each Spanish company's parsed BORME acts with their type, dates and BOE reference, since 6 October 2025. It isn't open yet: join the waitlist below to hear the day it opens.
See what we cover in France and Spain.
Limits. Sources read on 10 October 2026: BOE (BORME and the Capital Companies Act, article 371), Agencia Tributaria (page updated on 9 October 2026), Registro Público Concursal and Colegio de Registradores. Fuentio returns the acts published in the BORME; it doesn't check NIFs or assess solvency. Not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is there one register that says whether a Spanish company is active?
No single status exists. Combine the BORME, the public insolvency register, the AEAT's NIF check and the nota simple.
What does "en liquidación" next to a company name mean?
The company has been dissolved and is in liquidation; it keeps its legal personality while it winds up, under article 371 of the Capital Companies Act.
Is a company with no recent BORME acts inactive?
Not necessarily. Many companies go years without anything to register.
Which BORME act means the company no longer exists?
Extinction, which closes the company in the registry.
Sources
- BOE, BORME daily gazette (read on 10 October 2026): boe.es
- Capital Companies Act, article 371: boe.es
- Agencia Tributaria, checking a third party's NIF (updated on 9 October 2026): sede.agenciatributaria.gob.es
- Registro Público Concursal: publicidadconcursal.es
- Colegio de Registradores, commercial information note: sede.registradores.org