283 days to a decision — the law gives the administration six months

What the Carta de Servicios is — and what it is not

A Carta de Servicios is an administration's self-imposed commitment to measurable standards, not a law. The Resolución of 11 August 2026, published in gazette no. 170 of 25 August and effective the day after, promises to decide 90 per cent of the procedures for recognition and for the Individual Care Programme (PIA) "dentro del plazo máximo legalmente establecido de seis meses", measured twice a year and published annually. Director general Concepción Ramírez called it, in the government's statement, a "compromiso público". What is new is not the deadline but its measurement.

Where the deadline comes from — and what silence does

The basis is Ley 39/2006; its disposición final primera, paragraph 2, allows no more than six months between the arrival of the application and the decision. In the Canaries Decreto 46/2025 of 21 April repeats this in article 11.1, counted from entry in the register.

Article 12 of the same decree is the decisive one: if the period is exceeded, the silence is estimatorio. Under article 24 of Ley 39/2015 that counts "a todos los efectos" as an administrative act ending the procedure, one a later decision may only confirm. It does not replace the assessment.

Retroactivity — and death during the procedure

The same disposición final primera, paragraph 2, fixes when the entitlement arises: from the decision or, where none has been issued within six months, from the expiry of those six months. The Defensor del Pueblo relies on this against administrations that would pay only from approval of the PIA.

The Tribunal Supremo held on 11 April 2024 (Contentious-Administrative Chamber, Fourth Section, rapporteur José Luis Requero) that where someone who already holds the right dies while the PIA is still pending, a credit right may arise in favour of the heirs, who can require the procedure to be completed. What is reimbursed is what was advanced; the benefit itself remains strictly personal.

Application, assessment, grades

The application goes to the Dirección General de Dependencia: through the Sede Electrónica, at any registry of the Canary administration, or via the municipal social services. Required are the form, an identity document, the doctor-signed informe de salud and the residence certificate.

The valoración is carried out by a multidisciplinary team in the person's usual surroundings, using the instrument of Real Decreto 174/2011: below 25 points no grade, 25 to 49 grade I (moderate), 50 to 74 grade II (severe), 75 to 100 grade III (major dependency); Real Decreto-ley 17/2026 of 23 June added a grade III+. Only the PIA then fixes what comes: catalogue services under article 15 of Ley 39/2006 — teleassistance, home help, day centre, residential place — or a cash benefit, by grade and income.

Step by step, once the six months have passed

1. Secure the date of entry. The clock runs from entry in the register, not from the assessment visit; keep the justificante. The Carta de Servicios counts from the application or from the complete documentation.

2. Demand the certificado acreditativo del silencio. Under article 24.4 of Ley 39/2015 the silence takes effect from expiry of the period; the certificate must be issued of the authority's own motion within 15 days, otherwise within 15 days of your request.

3. Keep demanding the express decision. The duty to issue one is not removed by the silence (article 21 of Ley 39/2015). A queja to the Dirección General costs nothing, has no deadline and goes on the record.

4. Recurso de alzada — only against a decision. If the grade or the benefit turns out otherwise, the Sede Electrónica names this route: one month from notification (article 122 of Ley 39/2015). It does not lie against inaction.

5. Bring in the Diputado del Común. The Canary ombudsman and the Defensor del Pueblo examine cases free and without a lawyer; they can annul nothing, they recommend.

6. Court action for inactivity. Article 29.1 of Ley 29/1998 allows you to demand performance of an obligation owed; if it is still not performed three months later, the way to court is open. Where a final decision is simply not carried out — the limbo — article 29.2 applies: request execution, wait one month, then sue.