The Provincial Council of Castellón approves the electronic administration ordinance

The Provincial Council of Castellón has definitively approved the Regulatory Ordinance for Electronic Administration, which mandates the fully electronic processing of procedures and regulates identification, signatures, and electronic bidding. The full text is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón number 103, dated August 27, 2026, with reference 03835-2026-U and file 5293/2017.

The regulation was initially approved by the Plenary in an ordinary session held on June 30, 2026, and published in BOP number 80, dated July 4, 2026. As no claims or suggestions were submitted within the legal timeframe, the ordinance is considered definitively approved, and its consolidated text is published in application of article 70.2 of Law 7/1985, of April 2, Regulating the Bases of the Local Regime. The document is electronically signed by the delegated deputy for Transparency, María Tormo Casañ, and by the general secretary, Manuel Pesudo Esteve.

Fully Electronic Processing

The ordinance develops the common administrative procedure for the management of the Provincial Council, which shall in all cases be carried out by electronic means, in application of Laws 39/2015 and 40/2015, of October 1. The registry shall be electronic and unique, the file shall be promoted ex officio by electronic means, and the archive, filtered by the National Security Framework, shall also be unique and confidential.

• The electronic registry will operate 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and will issue a receipt with an authentic copy of the document.
• Notifications shall preferably be carried out automatically, within a period of ten days from the adoption of the act.
• The electronic office, located at dipcas.seuelectronica.es, will be permanently operational and will offer its content in Spanish and Valencian.

Identification and Electronic Signature

Natural persons may identify and sign using the Cl@ve concerted key system of the General State Administration, as well as with qualified electronic certificates in accordance with the eIDAS Regulation. Legal persons and entities without legal personality shall use advanced or qualified electronic seal systems, the admission of which shall attribute the action directly to the entity without the need to prove representation.

The Provincial Council may issue its own concerted key system by decree of the Presidency and establish handwritten electronic signature mechanisms for in-person relations, guaranteeing the confidentiality of biometric data. Public personnel with responsibility for processing must have a signature certificate, and automated administrative action via entity, organ, and time stamps shall be generalized.

Electronic Bidding and Invoicing

Title VII of the ordinance regulates electronic bidding: the award procedure for public contracts shall be exclusively electronic, from start to finish, and contracts for works, concessions, supplies, and services must mandatorily be processed through this channel. Contracts that are not considered minor shall be processed through an electronic bidding platform that allows for the encrypted and confidential submission of bids, integrated with the case management system.

• Bids shall be published by electronic means in the contractor’s profile to ensure maximum competition.
• Awarded contracts shall be published on transparency portals in accordance with Law 19/2013, of December 9.
• Natural persons issuing invoices to the Provincial Council must submit them by electronic means, except for petty cash advances and payments to be justified.

Artificial intelligence and entry into force

The ordinance incorporates an additional provision that regulates administrative actions involving artificial intelligence systems, requiring prior documentation of data sources, decision criteria, and the level of human intervention, as well as clear information for interested parties and mandatory human supervision in sensitive procedures such as social services, procurement, public employment, and subsidies.

The regulation shall enter into force the day following its publication, once the fifteen-day period provided for in Article 65.2 of Law 7/1985 has elapsed. With this approval, the Provincial Council of Castellón consolidates a unique framework affecting all citizens and companies relating to the institution, which must adapt their procedures to a fully digital environment.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Castellón, number 103, August 27, 2026, Local Administration section (official reference: 03835-2026-U, file 5293/2017).