The process to award 13 new permanent taxi licences in Ibiza has come under scrutiny after the Balearic Auto-Taxi Business Association challenged several aspects of the tender conditions, including the requirement allowing the Town Hall to check applicants' criminal records.

The association argues that the criminal-record requirement lacks an adequate legal basis in the municipal tender conditions and has also raised concerns that the August rules do not fully reflect a reform of the Balearic taxi law that came into force in June.

The objections have been submitted during the public-information process for the new licences. The Town Hall must now consider the observations before the tender conditions can be approved definitively.

What the 13-licence tender requires

The tender concerns 13 new permanent taxi licences for the municipality of Ibiza.

Under the published conditions, applicants must allow the Town Hall to check information including criminal records, traffic sanctions and compliance with tax and Social Security obligations. Applicants who do not authorise the corresponding administrative checks must provide the required documentation themselves.

The conditions also require a certificate from the Provincial Traffic Authority confirming that the applicant has not received a final sanction during the previous two years for certain offences classified as very serious.

It is the criminal-record requirement that has prompted the main legal objection from the taxi association.

Association argues the requirement needs a law

The Agrupación Empresarial Auto-Taxi y Auto-Turismo de Baleares argues that a requirement affecting access to the profession cannot be introduced solely through municipal tender conditions and says it needs an adequate basis in legislation.

The association refers to Dictamen 5/2026 from the Consell Consultiu de les Illes Balears, issued in connection with the regional taxi and VTC regulation. It points to case law discussed in that opinion concerning a previous municipal requirement that was annulled because it affected matters reserved to legislation.

The association has therefore asked Ibiza Town Hall to reconsider the requirement. It has also questioned whether the traffic-sanctions certificate could raise a similar legal issue.

This is the association's legal position. It has not been established by a court that the current Ibiza tender requirement is unlawful.

Ibiza has previously required criminal-record documentation

The criminal-record issue is not entirely new for Ibiza's taxi sector.

Municipal documentation from previous taxi-driver procedures shows that Ibiza Town Hall has required applicants for municipal taxi-driver permits to provide a negative criminal-record certificate, or an equivalent declaration, in earlier procedures.

The current dispute is therefore specifically about the legal basis and application of the requirement within the new tender for the 13 permanent taxi licences.

A second issue concerns how the licences are awarded

The association has also challenged the way the tender prioritises different groups of applicants.

The process for the 13 licences began in 2024 but was subsequently affected by the Balearic Government's moratorium on new taxi licences and VTC authorisations. After the regional Decree 6/2026, Ibiza's legal services determined that the previous conditions needed to be adapted before the procedure could continue. The municipal plenary approved new tender conditions in August.

However, the regional legislation changed again in June.

June reform changed the preference for applicants

Law 4/2026, of June 11, entered into force on June 14, 2026, and amended Article 53.3 of the Balearic Transport Law.

The amended provision states that newly created ordinary taxi licences must be awarded through a competitive procedure in which previous professional experience as a driver without holding a taxi licence is to be given preference, including experience as both a self-employed and employed driver.

The taxi association argues that Ibiza's August tender conditions do not fully incorporate this change.

According to the objection, the first stage of the Ibiza procedure prioritises employed drivers and family members of existing licence holders registered as family self-employed workers, while applicants outside those groups can compete in a later open competition.

The association argues that the June reform should also require previous self-employed experience as a driver without a licence to be considered within the priority system.

The regional taxi framework

The wider regulatory framework changed earlier in 2026 when the Balearic Government approved Decree 6/2026, the first regional regulation comprehensively covering taxi and VTC services.

The decree establishes common criteria for taxi licences and VTC authorisations, including considerations related to traffic congestion and air quality. It also sets requirements for municipal taxi-driver permits.

The subsequent June law modified part of the underlying legislation, creating the potential conflict now raised in relation to Ibiza's tender conditions.

What happens next?

The public-information phase of the Ibiza licence procedure has now closed.

The Town Hall must assess the objections and observations submitted before deciding whether changes are required and before the tender conditions are approved definitively.

If the municipality determines that the conditions need substantial changes to reflect the June legislative reform, the process could require amendments and potentially a new application period.

At this stage, however, neither the criminal-record requirement nor the disputed allocation criteria should be described as definitively illegal. The legal objections have been raised by the taxi association and remain subject to the municipality's response and, if challenged judicially, the courts' assessment.

The 13 new permanent licences are therefore still part of an ongoing administrative process rather than licences that have already been definitively awarded.