Ibiza Removes General Criminal Record Checks from Tender for 13 New Taxi Licences

08 November 2026

Ibiza Town Council has removed the provision allowing a general consultation of applicants' criminal records from the competition for 13 new taxi licences, following objections from the Balearic taxi sector.

The change appears in the definitive tender conditions approved by the municipal plenary on 26 October 2026 and published in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) on 27 October.

The decision follows objections submitted by the Agrupación Empresarial Auto-Taxi y Auto-Turismo de Baleares, which had questioned whether the municipality had sufficient legal authority to require a general criminal-record check as part of the licensing process.

The Council has accepted this part of the objections, but the wider competition remains in place. The 13 licences, the allocation procedure and the financial conditions have not been changed as a result of this particular correction.

Why the Criminal Record Requirement Was Challenged

The original tender conditions allowed Ibiza Town Council to consult the criminal records of applicants, provided they gave the necessary authorisation. Applicants who opposed the consultation were required to provide the relevant documentation themselves.

The taxi association argued that a municipality could not introduce a general requirement of this nature without an adequate legal basis.

Its objections referred to legal considerations concerning access to professional activity and the protection of personal data, particularly the rules governing the processing of information about criminal convictions.

The association had previously raised the issue in September, arguing that a general criminal-record requirement should not be imposed solely through municipal tender conditions.

Municipal Lawyers Recommended Removing the General Check

According to the legal assessment described by La Voz de Ibiza, the Town Council's legal services examined the difference between checking a person's entire criminal record and verifying specific circumstances that are expressly required by law.

The report, dated 16 October 2026, considered that a general consultation could be disproportionate if it gave the administration access to convictions unrelated to the legal requirements for obtaining a taxi licence.

The legal services also referred to data-protection legislation, which establishes specific conditions for processing information about criminal convictions.

The municipal assessment noted that the local taxi regulations refer to certain specific convictions, including those connected with sexual offences and gender-based violence. However, this does not automatically provide a legal basis for an unrestricted examination of an applicant's entire criminal record.

The recommendation was therefore to remove the general criminal-record consultation from the tender documentation and limit checks to circumstances that have a sufficient legal basis.

The final version of the competition conditions reflects that change.

Traffic Certificate Requirement Remains

Although the general criminal-record consultation has been removed, applicants must still meet a separate requirement relating to road safety.

The definitive tender conditions require a certificate issued by the Provincial Traffic Authority confirming that the applicant has not received a final administrative sanction during the previous two years for specified very serious offences under Spain's General Traffic Regulations.

This requirement applies to applicants in the priority process and those entering through the open competition.

The municipal legal assessment also examined the documentation required in relation to traffic offences. It recognised road safety as a legitimate objective but stressed that administrative requirements must be proportionate and supported by an adequate legal basis.

The certificate remains in the published rules.

The 13 Taxi Licences and Six Eurotaxis Remain Unchanged

The removal of the general criminal-record consultation is one of the changes introduced following the public consultation and objections process.

The Council has retained the plan to award 13 new permanent taxi licences for the municipality of Ibiza. Six are reserved for adapted vehicles designed to transport passengers with reduced mobility, known as eurotaxis.

The financial conditions also remain unchanged:

  • Ordinary taxi licence: €180,000.

  • Adapted eurotaxi licence: €160,000.

If all 13 licences are awarded, the corresponding payments would generate €2.22 million for the municipality.

The licences are granted for an indefinite period, subject to the circumstances established by the applicable regulations that could lead to their expiry or revocation.

How the Licences Will Be Allocated

The definitive conditions retain a priority system for existing professional groups in the local taxi sector.

The first allocation route is for employed taxi drivers and qualifying family members of existing licence holders who are registered as self-employed family workers and meet the specified requirements.

Licences not covered through this priority route can then be awarded through an open competition.

For applicants in the priority group, allocation is based on continuous professional seniority as a taxi driver in the municipality of Ibiza.

In the open competition, the published criteria include previous employment as a taxi driver, recognised language qualifications in English, German or French, and prolonged unemployment.

The allocation system has itself been questioned by the taxi association. Its objections refer to the June 2026 amendment to the Balearic Transport Law, which states that previous professional experience as a driver without holding a licence should be given preferential consideration, whether gained through self-employment or employment.

The association argued that the municipal conditions did not fully reflect this change. However, the definitive tender rules retain the existing priority structure.

The publication of the final conditions does not, by itself, resolve the wider legal disagreement over their compatibility with the amended regional legislation.

A Competition That Has Faced Several Legal and Regulatory Questions

The process to award the 13 new taxi licences began in 2024 but was subsequently affected by the Balearic Government's temporary suspension of new taxi licences and vehicle-hire authorisations.

Following the approval of Decree 6/2026, the municipality had to adapt its earlier conditions to the new regional framework.

The procedure has since attracted objections over the criminal-record checks, the allocation criteria and the method used to determine the number of additional licences.

The latest decision represents a partial acceptance of the taxi sector's objections. The removal of the general criminal-record consultation changes what personal information can be requested through the tender process, while the principal features of the competition remain in place.

The definitive conditions were published on 27 October 2026. The competition will now proceed under the revised rules, with the 13 licences still to be awarded.

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