1. Licensed health centre
The clinic appears in REGCESS, the national register of health centres, with a live authorisation number issued by its regional health authority. We record the number.
Public record
Six of the eight come from government records
Any directory can print the word verified on a card. Ours links to the proof. Where a check comes from an official Spanish register we publish the number and the source, so you can repeat the check yourself in about two minutes.
2. Surgery licence (U.47)
If a clinic advertises surgery it must hold the U.47 cosmetic surgery unit on its registry entry. No U.47, no surgical listing. There is no discretion in this one.
Public record
3. Anaesthesia on site (U.35)
General anaesthesia belongs in a unit licensed for it. We record whether the clinic holds U.35 itself or operates in a named accredited hospital, and we name the hospital.
Public record
4. Registered doctor
Name, medical college and registration number confirmed in the public register held by the General Council of Spanish Medical Colleges.
Public record
5. Board certified surgeon
For surgery we require the official Spanish specialist title in Plastic, Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgery, cross-checked against SECPRE or AECEP membership where it exists.
Public record
6. Quality accredited
Where a clinic holds a voluntary quality certification from its regional health agency we show it. Voluntary matters: somebody chose to be audited.
Public record
7. English confirmed
We telephone the clinic in English, without warning, using a fixed script. We record three things separately: whether reception handled the call, whether the treating doctor consults in English, and whether informed consent exists in English.
Our own check
8. Aftercare protocol
A named doctor you can reach, a written complications protocol and a stated policy on revisions and who pays for them. The single thing patients regret not asking about.
Our own check
What happens when a check fails
"A failed check is published, not hidden. If a clinic has no surgical licence and advertises surgery, that is exactly what the listing says."Estetica Finders verification policy
The registers we use
All of these are public, free and need no account. We publish them so that nobody has to take our word for anything.
- REGCESS, the national register of health centres, services and establishments held by the Ministry of Health.
- CGCOM, the public register of licensed doctors.
- Regional registers, including the Balearic census, the Canary Islands register, RSIPAC in Catalonia, and the registers of Madrid, the Valencian Community and Andalusia.
How often we re-check
Every listing is re-audited quarterly and the date of the last audit appears on the listing itself. A badge without a date is decoration. A badge with a date is a claim someone can hold us to.
What we counted
In September 2026 we queried the national register and counted every private centre authorised for the units that matter in aesthetics: 1,339 hold U.47 cosmetic surgery, 9,020 hold U.48 non-surgical aesthetic medicine, 1,885 hold U.46 plastic and reconstructive surgery, 2,810 hold U.35 anaesthesia and 2,732 hold U.8 dermatology. By region, U.47 breaks down as Madrid 292, Andalusia 237, Catalonia 186, Valencian Community 167, Canary Islands 84 and Balearic Islands 41. Anyone can reproduce this.
Run a clinic?
Verification is free and it is pass or fail. Send us your registry number and we will tell you what we find.
Apply to be listed →