Sello PYME Innovadora: requirements, benefits and how to get it

Only 4,000 companies in Spain hold the Sello PYME Innovadora (the Spanish innovative SME certification) — fewer than 2 in every 1,000 SMEs (AENOR, 2025). Yet this free certification is the key to combining R&D&I tax deductions with Social Security contribution reductions for research staff, something that is impossible to obtain without it.

Created by RD 475/2014 and governed by Orden ECC/1087/2015, the certification officially confirms that an SME carries out innovation activities. Its main value is not the recognition but the access it gives to a package of tax and competitive incentives which, combined, can be worth tens of thousands of euros a year.

What do you need to obtain the Sello PYME Innovadora?

To be entered in the register of innovative SMEs, your company has to meet the European definition of an SME (fewer than 250 employees, turnover below €50 million or a balance sheet below €43 million) and evidence innovation activity through one of these three routes:

Route A: public funding for R&D

Having received public funding for R&D&I projects in the past 3 years (Plan Nacional, CDTI, Horizon Europe) without that aid being withdrawn.

Route B: a patent or a binding technical report (informe motivado)

Holding a patent in commercial use (no more than 5 years old) or a positive Informe Motivado Vinculante (IMV) from the Spanish ministry of science or from CDTI within the past 3 years. The IMV is the same document used to support the deductions under article 35 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre Sociedades (the Spanish corporate income tax act).

Route C: an innovation certification

Holding a current innovation certification: JEI (AENOR EA0043), PYME Innovadora (AENOR EA0047) or an R&D&I management system (UNE 166002).

Route B is the most common, because the informe motivado serves three purposes at once: obtaining the certification, supporting the tax deductions and evidencing the Social Security contribution reductions.

Benefits of the Sello PYME Innovadora

The certification unlocks a set of tax, financial and competitive benefits:

R&D deductions and Social Security reductions become compatible

This is the main advantage. Without the certification, a company has to choose between applying the R&D&I tax deductions (article 35 of the LIS) or the Social Security contribution reductions for research staff. With it, both can be applied at the same time to the same projects and the same people.

The specific figures:

The Social Security reduction reaches a maximum of 50% when the gender and age supplements are stacked (September 2023 reform). Research staff must spend at least 85% of their working time on R&D&I activities.

Does your SME carry out R&D? We can help you obtain the certification and get the most out of your incentives. Request a free assessment.

Access to public procurement and preferential finance

The certification opens the door to Compra Pública Innovadora (CPI), the Spanish innovative public procurement scheme, which reserves public contracts for SMEs with proven innovation capability. Ministries such as Defence and bodies such as INCIBE already use it to buy technology solutions directly from certified SMEs.

It also eases access to the Fondo Tecnológico de Innovación run by ICO, with preferential finance terms for technology-based projects.

Reputation and carrying deductions forward

The certification can be checked publicly in the ministry's register and adds credibility with clients, investors and partners in tender processes or funding rounds.

Deductions generated can also be applied over 18 years (article 35 of the LIS), with a cap of 25% of the tax payable (50% where the deduction exceeds 10% of it). Companies without enough tax payable can monetise pending deductions through the cash refund mechanism (article 39 of the LIS).

How to apply for the certification step by step

The process is free and 100% electronic through the electronic office of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (the Spanish ministry of science, innovation and universities).

1. Register with SISEN and RUS: the company must be entered in the Sistema de Información del Sistema Nacional de Ciencia (SISEN) and in the Registro Unificado de Solicitantes (RUS)
2. Prepare the supporting documentation: according to the route chosen (the award decision for public aid, a registered patent, a positive IMV or an AENOR/UNE certification)
3. File the application electronically: through the ministry's electronic office with a digital certificate
4. Wait for the decision: the maximum period is 4 months. If there is no answer within that time, positive administrative silence applies and the certification counts as granted

Validity: the certification lasts 3 years (when evidenced by public aid or an IMV), 5 years (by patent) or as long as the certification it rests on. It renews automatically when new qualifying facts are evidenced.

Careful: displaying the certification after it has expired is prohibited and may amount to unfair competition under Ley 3/1991 (the Spanish unfair competition act).

Worked example: the combined saving with the Sello PYME Innovadora

Take the real impact on an industrial SME in Catalunya with 5 researchers working on R&D, an average gross salary of €42,000 a year and total R&D spending of €350,000 a year.

Without the certification (you have to choose one or the other)

With the certification (both apply at once)

The difference is €25,000 extra a year that the company loses without the certification. And obtaining it costs nothing.

This calculation is indicative and depends on the actual contribution base, the structure of the R&D spending and the Impuesto sobre Sociedades (Spanish corporate income tax) payable. At Tecnocim Innova we run the exact calculation for each client. See our services for R&D&I tax deductions and reductions for research staff.

The certification in Catalunya

Catalunya is the second Spanish region by ratio of certified innovative SMEs: 2.72 per thousand companies, behind only Navarra (2.92). Together with Madrid and Valencia it accounts for more than 62% of all certified companies in Spain (Autonomosyemprendedor, 2023).

Certified companies in Catalunya can also combine the national incentives with ACCIÓ programmes (R&D projects, Cupons, productive investment), multiplying the return on their innovation spending. For a full picture of the Catalan schemes, see our guide to grants for SMEs.

The next step

The Sello PYME Innovadora is free, the application is electronic and it unlocks compatibility between tax deductions and Social Security contribution reductions. With only 4,000 certified companies across Spain, most SMEs doing R&D are leaving money on the table.

At Tecnocim Innova we manage the whole process: from obtaining the informe motivado to registering the certification and applying the combined incentives. Contact us to see whether your company meets the requirements.