Birth and childcare benefit in Spain (maternity and paternity leave)

It is the cash benefit paid by the Seguridad Social (the Spanish social security system), through the INSS or through the Instituto Social de la Marina for sea workers, while a parent's employment contract or self employed activity is suspended in order to care for a newborn, adopted or fostered child. It merged the old maternity and paternity leave benefits into a single benefit.

It is an individual and non transferable right: each parent takes their own leave and cannot pass it on to the other. It covers employees, autónomos (self employed workers registered in Spain) and civil servants, provided they meet the registration and contribution requirements.

While you are on leave you do not receive your usual payroll from your employer: you receive this benefit, paid to you directly by the INSS and calculated at 100% of your base reguladora.

After the extension introduced by Real Decreto-ley 9/2025, de 29 de julio (the Spanish decree that extended this leave), each parent is entitled to 19 weeks. In single parent families the leave is extended to 32 weeks.

For couples, the 19 weeks are split as follows: 6 compulsory weeks, taken without interruption and full time, immediately after the birth (or after the court decision in adoption and fostering cases); 11 flexible weeks that can be taken until the child turns 12 months; and 2 additional childcare weeks, also taken flexibly, until the child turns 8.

In single parent families, the 32 weeks are split into 6 compulsory weeks, 22 flexible weeks until the child turns 12 months and 4 additional weeks until the child turns 8.

In addition, one further week of leave per parent is recognised in cases of multiple birth or multiple adoption and where the child has a disability.

The flexible weeks can be taken continuously or in separate blocks, in whole weeks, and in some cases part time by prior agreement with your employer.

At the start of each period of leave you must be registered with the Seguridad Social, or in a situation treated as equivalent to being registered. Autónomos must also be up to date with their contribution payments.

The minimum contribution period required depends on the parent's age at the time of the birth or of the court decision: if you are under 21, no prior contribution period is required of you.

If you are 21 to 25, you need 90 days contributed within the 7 years immediately beforehand, or 180 days contributed over your whole working life.

If you are 26 or over, you need 180 days contributed within the 7 years immediately beforehand, or 360 days contributed over your whole working life.

The benefit is 100% of the base reguladora, which for employees is the previous month's contribution base for common contingencies. In practice, you receive an amount very close to your usual salary.

The birth and childcare benefit is exempt from IRPF (Spanish personal income tax), so the INSS pays it without applying any withholding.

Payment is made directly by the INSS, by bank transfer to the account you provide, monthly for as long as the leave lasts.

The leave has two sides: the suspension of your contract, which is notified to your employer, and the cash benefit, which is claimed from the INSS. The claim can be filed from a few days before the leave starts, so it is worth arranging it in advance so that you do not lose days of payment.

You can apply online through the Tu Seguridad Social portal or the INSS benefits portal (with a digital certificate, with Cl@ve, the Spanish government's online identity system, or, on the portal that works without a certificate, by providing your documents), by post to the INSS provincial office, or in person with a prior appointment.

The usual documents are the application form, your DNI or NIE (the Spanish identity number for foreigners), the libro de familia or a certificate from the Registro Civil (the Spanish register of births, marriages and deaths), the maternity report issued by the public health service, the employer certificate and your bank details.

Managora gathers your documents, completes the official form and files the claim with the INSS for you, and lets you know when the benefit has been granted. You can see the current price of the service on the service page.

The 2 additional childcare weeks (4 in single parent families) are the new feature for 2026. They are also paid at 100% of the base reguladora and can be taken flexibly until the child turns 8.

Taking these weeks, and claiming the cash benefit for them, has been possible since 1 January 2026.

There is a retroactive effect: families whose children were born (or whose adoption or fostering decision was issued) on or after 2 August 2024 can claim these additional weeks, even though the birth took place before the extension came into force.