Disability in Ceuta and Melilla 2026: how to request the degree and to whom

Key data

Citizens with disabilities residing in Ceuta or Melilla have had since April 2026 a clear regulatory framework on how and to whom to request official recognition of their degree. The Order DCA/348/2026, of April 8, published in the BOE on April 17, 2026, develops in these two autonomous cities the Royal Decree 888/2022, of October 18, which regulates the procedure for recognition, declaration and classification of disability degree at the state level.

The particularity of Ceuta and Melilla is decisive: as they do not have transferred competencies in disability matters, it is the State that directly manages these procedures through IMSERSO. This Order closes the regulatory development gap that existed for these territories.

What does this regulation establish?

Order DCA/348/2026 does not create a new procedure: it adapts and specifies for Ceuta and Melilla the general framework already established by Royal Decree 888/2022. The aspects it regulates are as follows:

• Competent bodies: It determines which IMSERSO units are responsible for processing and resolving disability recognition cases in both cities.
• Assessment and guidance teams (EVO): It specifies which professionals and civil servants make up these technical teams in Ceuta and Melilla, responsible for evaluating the disability degree of each applicant.
• Administrative deadlines: It sets the processing times applicable to procedures in these territories.
• Administrative procedures: It details the step-by-step procedure that both citizens must follow when requesting recognition and civil servants when processing it.

The context is relevant: Royal Decree 888/2022 replaced the previous Royal Decree 1971/1999 and modernized the disability assessment system in Spain. However, its application in Ceuta and Melilla required a specific development regulation, given the special regime of these cities. That is precisely the function of this Order.

Economic and operational impact

This regulation does not generate direct costs for private companies nor introduces new fees or economic burdens. Its impact is fundamentally administrative and access to rights for affected citizens and operational for IMSERSO assessment teams in Ceuta and Melilla.

However, there are indirect implications that can affect employers and human resources managers in these territories:

• Official recognition of disability degree is the enabling document to access bonuses in Social Security contributions for hiring people with disabilities.
• Companies with 50 or more employees are required to reserve 2% of their workforce for people with disabilities (General Law on the rights of people with disabilities). A clearer and more agile assessment procedure in Ceuta and Melilla facilitates compliance with this quota.
• Workers who are pending obtaining or renewing their disability certificate in Ceuta or Melilla now have clarity on which body to contact: IMSERSO, not the social services of the autonomous cities.

Who does it affect?

• Citizens with disabilities residing in Ceuta or Melilla who need to request for the first time the recognition of their degree, renew it or modify it.
• Professionals and civil servants of the assessment and guidance teams (EVO) of IMSERSO in Ceuta and Melilla, whose composition and functions are now expressly regulated.
• Employers in Ceuta and Melilla who hire or are going to hire people with disabilities and need their workers to have the official degree certificate.
• Labor advisors and management firms that process disability cases or bonuses for hiring in these territories.
• Social services and third sector entities that support people with disabilities in Ceuta and Melilla in managing their rights.

Practical example

A person residing in Melilla who has suffered a chronic injury and wishes to obtain official recognition of their disability degree to access labor and tax benefits must direct their request to IMSERSO, not to the Government of the Autonomous City of Melilla.

Thanks to Order DCA/348/2026, there is now an expressly defined procedure for this case: the case will be processed by the competent IMSERSO body in Melilla, evaluated by the assessment and guidance team (EVO) configured according to this regulation, and resolved within the administrative deadlines it establishes.

For a company in Ceuta with 60 employees that needs to prove compliance with the 2% quota of workers with disabilities, this regulatory clarity is relevant: if any of its employees is processing degree recognition, it now knows that they must do so before IMSERSO and under the procedure of Royal Decree 888/2022 as developed by this Order.

What should companies do now?

1. Verify the situation of employees with disabilities in Ceuta and Melilla: If you have workers in these territories who are processing or need to process their disability certificate, confirm that they are doing so before IMSERSO and not before another body.
2. Review compliance with the reserve quota: If your company has 50 or more workers with presence in Ceuta or Melilla, check that you comply with the 2% reservation of positions for people with disabilities. A clearer assessment procedure facilitates workers obtaining their certificate.
3. Inform affected workers: Communicate to employees who reside in Ceuta or Melilla and who need degree recognition that the competent body is IMSERSO, and that the applicable procedure is the one developed by Order DCA/348/2026.
4. Update bonus files: If you manage bonuses in contributions for hiring people with disabilities in these territories, ensure that workers' degree certificates are current and issued by the correct body.
5. Consult the full text of the regulation: To learn the exact processing deadlines and specific procedures applicable, access the full text of Order DCA/348/2026 in the BOE.