Law 4/2026 expands disability rights and reinforces universal accessibility

The Official State Gazette publishes this Saturday, October 3, 2026, Law 4/2026, of October 1, which amends the Recast Text of the General Law on the rights of persons with disabilities and their social inclusion and Law 39/2006, on dependency. The regulation, sanctioned by King Felipe VI and countersigned by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, extends and reinforces the rights of persons with disabilities to inclusion, autonomy, and universal accessibility in accordance with Article 49 of the Spanish Constitution. It will enter into force twenty days after its publication, on October 23, 2026.

The law responds to the reform of Article 49 of the Constitution, of February 15, 2024, and to the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, concluded in New York on December 13, 2006, and ratified by Spain on December 3, 2007. It is structured into a preamble, two articles, twenty-five additional provisions, one transitional provision, and twenty-eight final provisions, and is enacted under Article 149.1.1.ª of the Constitution. The first article amends Royal Legislative Decree 1/2013 and the second, Law 39/2006.

Universal accessibility, a new enforceable right

The regulation establishes universal accessibility as a right and creates the State Program for the Promotion of Universal Accessibility, managed by the Ministry holding the competencies regarding the rights of persons with disabilities. Its resources will be:

• An annual contribution set in the General State Budgets.
• Fines imposed by the sanctions of Chapter II of Title III of the law.
• Amounts proceeding from Law 33/2003, on the Heritage of Public Administrations.

The service catalog of the dependency system incorporates two new benefits: the care and support service in housing and the provision of support products for personal autonomy. Telecare is recognized as a subjective right for all persons in a situation of dependency, with special attention to rural areas and sign language video interpretation. Furthermore, protected housing projects must reserve a minimum of 4% for accessible housing, and transport infrastructures will feature adapted bathrooms for people with ostomies.

Reinforced protection for women, girls, and boys

The new Article 7 ter declares women, girls, and boys with disabilities as full holders of all human rights, with reinforced guarantees and a dual approach of inclusion and gender. Among the measures are:

• Priority access to personal assistance for women with disabilities who are victims of violence, to avoid forced institutionalization.
• Full accessibility of gender-based violence support services in all their phases.
• Coordination between dependency systems and victim protection systems.
• Prevention and detection in institutionalized settings.

The law classifies the public exposure of a person due to their disability to incite ridicule or mockery as an infringement, and orders the Government to submit within twelve months a bill for the recognition, reparation, and compensation of victims of forced or non-consensual sterilization.

Dependency: fewer restraints and more independent living

The text prohibits involuntary commitment on the grounds of disability except in cases of vital urgency and requires providing entities to implement zero-restraint plans. It also equates degrees of dependency and disability: grade I is equivalent to 33% disability, and grades II and III to 65%. The Government must approve a new assessment scale within one year, and the autonomous communities must guarantee the compatibility of all home-based benefits before January 1, 2030. Sanctioning procedures regarding equal opportunities shall be resolved within a maximum period of one year.

Artificial intelligence, employment, and other reforms

Persons with disabilities shall have the right to benefit from artificial intelligence systems and to be protected against discriminatory effects derived from a lack of transparency, biases, or the absence of human supervision. Special employment centers are renamed companies for the labor inclusion of persons with disabilities (EIDIS), with a minimum staff of 70% workers with disabilities. The law also prohibits disability discrimination in life and health insurance, mandates the guarantee of universal accessibility to cultural heritage, and creates the Spanish Center for Cognitive Accessibility and the State Disability Information System.

The reform affects all administrations and companies obliged to guarantee accessibility, and places the will and life projects of persons with disabilities at the center of public policies.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 246, October 3, 2026, Sec. I. General provisions, p. 128971 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-20528).