---
title: "Hiring Contractors in Andorra 2026"
description: "Engage Andorra contractors without the fals autonom trap: the classification test, no advance status ruling, and CASS back-contributions on a misread."
canonical: https://www.teamed.global/contractor-hiring-guides/andorra
---

Andorra · Contractor hiring

Served by Teamed vetted partner-entity network in Andorra

# How do you *engage contractors* in Andorra compliantly?

Andorra has no advance ruling that confirms a contractor is genuinely self-employed, so the Servei d'Inspecció de Treball decides after the fact, and its inspection reports carry a presumption of accuracy. Misread it as fals autònom (false self-employed) and the engager owes back CASS contributions for up to 5 years.

Last reviewed 14 June 2026 · Andorra guide

## How Teamed handles Andorra contractor engagement for you

Teamed gives you one place to engage people in Andorra the right way.

Where the work is genuinely self-employed, you document and defend that position. Where it is employment in substance, Teamed becomes the legal [employer of record](/employer-of-record).

Andorra's hard part is not paying a freelancer. It is proving they were one. Teamed engages and pays your genuine contractors, and where the arrangement looks subordinate, employs the person through an EOR instead, for [**from $599 per employee per month**](/pricing), with **zero FX mark-up** in any currency.

**Real HR and legal experts** handle the classification call, the CASS registration check, and the paperwork. **An actual person**, not a chatbot or a pooled queue, runs your Andorra engagements on **one platform** alongside contractor onboarding, EOR, and entity payroll. There is **no setup fee** and **no exit fee**. Statutory employer cost **passes through at cost, itemised** on every invoice.

A genuine contractor who should really be employed can move onto an EOR, and that same person can later **graduate** to your own Andorra entity without re-onboarding. A contractor is the right model for some Andorra work, **until it isn't**. Teamed tells you which it is.

![A freelance contractor at a desk in Andorra la Vella, invoices and a laptop in view, the Pyrenees rising through the window behind.](/images/country-guides/andorra-contractor.webp)

Three things you won't find on any other Andorra EOR guide

- **Andorra gives you no advance status ruling for labour purposes.** The only binding pre-clearance is a tax ruling (consulta tributària vinculant, Article 65 Llei 21/2014). It confirms tax treatment, never whether an engagement is a genuine contractor for labour law. The status call happens after the fact, at inspection.
- **The worker's signature does not protect you on the criminal side.** Where CASS contributions over the criminal threshold are evaded, the Codi penal states the worker's consent is irrelevant. A signed self-employment contract is no defence if the substance is employment.
- **The practical lookback is shorter than the legal ceiling, and still long.** CASS contributions prescribe at 5 years, but on a fals-autònom finding the Inspecció typically reclaims a minimum of the last four years where the period cannot be proven, with surcharges of 100 to 150 percent of the unpaid contributions.

Answer.cite this

Engaging a contractor in Andorra is a classification call before it is a payment call. A genuine treballador per compte propi (self-employed worker) registers with CASS on their own account, invoices you, and runs their own affairs. If the working arrangement is subordinate, the Servei d'Inspecció de Treball can treat it as employment under Article 5 of Llei 31/2018, whatever the contract says.

Get it wrong and it is fals autònom (false self-employed). The engager repays the CASS contributions for the period, with a late surcharge of up to 20 percent, very-serious labour fines reaching €24,000, and, where evaded contributions pass €30,000 over twelve months, a criminal offence carrying up to 3 years in prison.

Teamed engages and pays Andorra contractors compliantly, or employs the person through an EOR where the classification is too close to risk. Real HR and legal experts run it, with from $599 per employee per month, zero FX mark-up, no setup fee and no exit fee, and statutory employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.

This page is the map. Each section takes one layer of the Andorra contractor question.

At a glance · Andorra

EUR · Catalan · Classification-driven

The risk

Fals autònom

false self-employed (Art 5 Llei 31/2018)

Who decides

Inspecció de Treball

ex post, by inspection report

Advance status ruling

None

tax ruling only, not labour status

CASS lookback

5 years

prescription; 4-year practical floor

Very-serious fine

up to €24,000

Art 163.3.c Llei 31/2018

Criminal threshold

€30,000

evaded CASS over 12 months (Art 244 Codi penal)

Max prison

3 years

CASS defraudation (Art 244)

VAT threshold

€40,000

IGI registration (Art 5.4 Llei 11/2012)

Andorra · CASS back-contributions · prescription ceiling

5

CASS contributions prescribe at five years. On a false self-employed finding the Labour Inspection reclaims them, with a surcharge of up to twenty percent and a fine that can reach twenty-four thousand euros.

Art 109 Llei 17/2008

Both shares owed

Up to 20% surcharge

Criminal exposure possible

## What separates a genuine contractor from an employee in Andorra?

No single factor decides it. Andorran law reads the whole working arrangement, not the contract title.

An engagement is employment where a person personally performs work for another, within that person's organisation and direction (subordination), for pay called salary [Article 5, Llei 31/2018].

The classification test is the determination of an employment relationship (relació laboral) under Article 5 of [Llei 31/2018, de relacions laborals](https://www.consellgeneral.ad/ca/fitxers/documents/lleis-2018/llei-31-2018-de-relacions-laborals). The statute defines an employment contract as one where a person freely commits to personally perform work on behalf of another, within that person's sphere of organisation and direction, in exchange for remuneration called salary. Where those features are present, the engagement is employment regardless of how the parties labelled it.

The fals autònom (false self-employed) is someone billed as self-employed but, in substance, an employee. The markers the Servei d'Inspecció de Treball weighs are: the company sets the instructions and directives on how the work is done (control); the worker depends on the company economically and organisationally; the worker uses the company's means and production methods; and the company sets the pay.

| Marker | Points to employment (risk) | Points to genuine self-employment (safer) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Control** | The company sets the instructions and directives: when, where, and how the work is done. | The contractor decides their own method and schedule. You agree a result, not a routine. |
| **Dependence** | The worker depends on the company economically and organisationally, integrated into how it runs. | The contractor serves several clients and is not built into one company's organisation. |
| **Means** | The worker uses the company's tools, systems, and production procedures. | The contractor uses their own equipment and works from outside the organisation. |
| **Pay** | The company sets the pay, like a salary. | The contractor prices their own work and invoices for it. |
| **CASS registration** | No self-employed CASS registration, yet working like an employee. | Registered and contributing to CASS as a treballador per compte propi on their own account. |

A genuine self-employed worker in Andorra carries their own CASS affiliation, separate from the employee (compte d'altri) regime. The absence of that registration, coupled with employee-like working conditions, is what exposes a fals-autònom situation.

[How the status gets decided in Andorra](#status-determination)

## Can you get an advance ruling on contractor status in Andorra?

Not for labour status. Andorra has no advance ruling that pre-confirms an engagement is a genuine contractor for employment-law purposes.

The Servei d'Inspecció de Treball decides after the fact, by inspection, and its reports carry a presumption of accuracy [Article 166, Llei 31/2018].

This is where Andorra differs from markets that offer a status check before work begins. Status is determined ex post. Article 166 of [Llei 31/2018](https://www.consellgeneral.ad/ca/fitxers/documents/lleis-2018/llei-31-2018-de-relacions-laborals) places labour-status control with the Servei d'Inspecció de Treball, which acts by inspection report (acta). Those reports carry a presumption of accuracy unless rebutted, which shifts the practical burden onto the engager to prove a genuine contractor relationship.

Andorra does have one binding advance ruling, but it is a tax instrument, not a labour one. The consulta tributària vinculant under [Article 65 of Llei 21/2014](https://leslleis.com/CVT20210223) binds the tax administration for the consulting taxpayer and can confirm whether an activity is treated as professional or business for tax. It does not confirm employment status. There is no equivalent pre-clearance for labour law.

In plain words

You cannot ask the state to bless a contractor arrangement before you start. The answer comes at inspection, and the inspector's report is presumed accurate. So the safe move is to classify honestly up front, or engage the person as an employee through an EOR where it is close.

[What misclassification actually costs](#misclass-cost)

## What does contractor misclassification actually cost in Andorra?

The engager carries the bill, in several layers. First, the CASS contributions for the period, with a late surcharge of up to 20 percent.

Then very-serious labour fines reaching €24,000, and on intent to defraud over €30,000 in twelve months, up to 3 years in prison.

In Andorra the cost of false self-employment falls on the engaging company, and it is built from distinct layers.

| Cost layer | What it means | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Back CASS contributions** | On a fals-autònom finding the Labour Inspection requires the company to pay the social-security contributions for the period. Where the period cannot be proven, the practical floor is the last four years, with surcharges of 100 to 150 percent of the unpaid contributions. | [gestoria de pimes](https://gestoriadepimes.com/que-es-un-fals-autonom-i-quines-son-les-seves-consequencies-legals/) |
| **5-year prescription ceiling** | CASS contributions prescribe at 5 years, unless a debt is acknowledged. That is the outer recovery window for the contributions owed. | [CASS (Art 109 Llei 17/2008)](https://www.cass.ad/cotitzacions-recarrecs-sancions) |
| **Late-payment surcharge** | The CASS surcharge is tiered on the unpaid contributions: up to one month 5 percent, one to six months 10 percent, and over six months up to 20 percent. | [CASS (Art 93)](https://www.cass.ad/cotitzacions-recarrecs-sancions) |
| **Labour fines** | Using contracts in fraud of law and CASS contribution irregularities are graded as serious infractions. Very-serious infractions reach €24,000 at the top band; serious infractions start at €501. | [Art 163 Llei 31/2018](https://www.consellgeneral.ad/ca/fitxers/documents/lleis-2018/llei-31-2018-de-relacions-laborals) |
| **Criminal liability** | Failing to declare workers' salary to evade CASS contributions, where the amount defrauded over twelve months passes €30,000, carries three months to 3 years in prison. The worker's consent is irrelevant. | [Art 244 Codi penal](https://legislationline.org/sites/default/files/2025-09/L2005009.pdf) |

Read the layers together. The company repays the contributions with a surcharge, faces a labour fine that can reach €24,000, and where intent to defraud is found above the €30,000 threshold, the people who run the company carry criminal exposure. The cost of classifying right up front is small by comparison.

[How to engage and pay a contractor cleanly](#engage-pay)

## How do you engage and pay an Andorra contractor compliantly?

Decide the status honestly before you sign. If the work is genuinely independent, contract for a result and let the contractor run their own affairs.

If the work is really employment, engage the person as an employee through an EOR instead.

A clean Andorra contractor engagement follows a simple sequence.

1. Assess the status before you sign Hold the planned arrangement against the Article 5 markers: control, dependence, use of your means, and who sets the pay. If it leans toward subordination, stop and treat it as employment.
2. Check the CASS registration A genuine contractor is affiliated and contributing to CASS as a treballador per compte propi on their own account. If they are not registered yet work like an employee, that gap is the fals-autònom signal.
3. Contract for a result, not a routine Define deliverables or an outcome. Avoid fixed hours, a fixed desk, and language that puts the contractor under day-to-day instruction. A contract describing managed, on-site work is itself evidence of employment.
4. Keep the contractor independent in practice Let them use their own equipment, set their own schedule, and keep serving other clients. The reality has to match the contract, because the inspection report reads the reality.
5. Pay against invoices The contractor issues an invoice, with IGI where they are above the threshold. You pay it. You do not run them through payroll or set their pay like a salary.
6. Keep the evidence Hold the contract, the invoices, the CASS registration, and the record of how the work actually ran. If the Inspecció de Treball ever asks, that file is your defence against a presumption-of-accuracy report.

[Does an EOR fix a past misclassification?](#eor-does-not-cure)

## Does an EOR fix prior contractor misclassification in Andorra?

No. Moving an at-risk contractor onto employment is forward-looking. It does not undo the earlier period.

The CASS back-contribution exposure for the time the person was treated as a contractor still stands [Article 109, Llei 17/2008].

An EOR turns the relationship into formal employment going forward. That is the right answer when the work is genuinely employment from day one. It is not a patch over a past misclassification.

Switching an at-risk contractor to employment can read as confirmation that the person was an employee all along, which is the finding you were trying to avoid. And it does nothing for the prior period. The 5-year CASS prescription window still covers the time the person was billed as self-employed, with the four-year practical floor the Inspecció applies where the period cannot be proven. Putting someone on an EOR on one date does not erase the months or years before it.

|  | Genuine contractor | Employment via EOR |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Right when | Independent, multi-client, own tools and CASS registration, you buy a result. | Subordinate, integrated, instructed, paid like a salary in substance. |
| Who pays CASS | The contractor, on their own account. | Teamed, as the legal employer, correctly from day one. |
| Fals-autònom risk | Carried by you if the reality drifts toward employment. | Removed. It is employment by design. |
| The past | Prior exposure stays with the engager. | EOR is forward-looking; it does not erase the prior period. |

The one-line version

An EOR prevents the next misclassification. It does not erase the last one. Classify right at the start.

[VAT and invoicing basics](#vat)

## VAT and invoicing basics for Andorra contractors

A genuine Andorra contractor invoices you and handles their own tax. Andorran VAT (IGI) runs at 4.5 percent as the standard rate.

A person is not treated as a business for IGI where annual turnover stays at or below €40,000 [Article 5.4, Llei 11/2012].

VAT is separate from the classification question, but buyers ask, so here is the short version.

Andorra's general indirect tax (impost general indirecte, IGI) carries a standard rate of 4.5 percent under [Article 57 of Llei 11/2012](https://portaljuridicandorra.ad/L2012011). A contractor above the registration threshold charges IGI as a separate line on the invoice. Below it, a person whose annual goods and services turnover does not exceed €40,000 is not treated as a business or professional for IGI purposes under Article 5.4 of the same law.

Don't confuse the two

VAT and classification are different questions. A contractor can invoice you perfectly, with correct IGI, and still be a fals autònom. Clean invoicing does not make someone genuinely self-employed. The working arrangement does.

## Frequently asked questions

What is fals autònom (false self-employment) in Andorra?

Fals autònom means a worker is billed as self-employed but, in substance, works like an employee. Andorran law reads the real working arrangement, not the contract title. Under Article 5 of Llei 31/2018, an engagement is employment where a person personally performs work for another, within that person's organisation and direction, for pay. The markers the Inspecció de Treball weighs are control, economic dependence, use of the company's means, and the company setting the pay.

Can you get an advance ruling that a contractor is genuinely self-employed in Andorra?

Not for labour status. Andorra has no advance ruling that pre-confirms an engagement is a genuine contractor for employment-law purposes. The Servei d'Inspecció de Treball determines status after the fact, by inspection, and its reports carry a presumption of accuracy. The one binding advance ruling, the consulta tributària vinculant under Article 65 of Llei 21/2014, confirms tax treatment only, not employment status.

How far back can Andorra reclaim CASS contributions on a misclassified contractor?

CASS contributions prescribe at 5 years under Article 109 of Llei 17/2008, unless a debt is acknowledged. In practice, on a fals-autònom finding the Labour Inspection reclaims the contributions for the period, and where the period cannot be proven, a minimum of the last four years, with surcharges of 100 to 150 percent of the unpaid contributions. A late-payment surcharge of up to 20 percent also applies.

Is contractor misclassification a criminal offence in Andorra?

It can be. Failing to declare workers' salary to evade CASS contributions, where the amount defrauded over twelve months passes €30,000, is an offence under Article 244 of the Codi penal carrying three months to 3 years in prison. Liability falls on the company's de facto or de jure administrator or the employer, and the worker's consent is irrelevant.

Does putting an Andorra contractor through an EOR fix prior misclassification?

No. Moving an at-risk contractor onto an Employer of Record turns the relationship into formal employment going forward, which can read as confirmation that the worker was an employee all along. It does not undo the prior period. The CASS back-contribution exposure for that earlier time still stands. An EOR is the clean answer when the engagement is genuinely employment from the start.

What is the VAT threshold for an Andorra contractor?

Andorra's general indirect tax (IGI) standard rate is 4.5 percent. A person is not treated as a business or professional for IGI where annual goods and services turnover does not exceed €40,000, under Article 5.4 of Llei 11/2012. Above that threshold, the contractor charges IGI as a separate line on the invoice. VAT status is separate from the classification question.

Teamed Legal Operations

In Andorra the contract is the least important document in the room. There is no advance ruling to bless it, and the inspection report is presumed accurate. If the work looked like employment, it was employment, and the bill for back CASS contributions lands on the company, not the contractor.

A note from Tom Price-Daniel

Andorra gives you no advance ruling to confirm a contractor is genuinely self-employed.  
The Inspecció de Treball decides after the fact, and its report is presumed accurate. Get it wrong and the engager owes back CASS contributions for up to 5 years.  
Classify right at the start, or engage through an EOR. An EOR prevents the next mistake. It does not erase the last one.

Tom Price-Daniel · Co-founder, Teamed

## Keep reading

- [Hiring contractors in Germany](/contractor-hiring-guides/germany)sibling
- [Hiring contractors in the United States](/contractor-hiring-guides/united-states)sibling
- [Contractor hiring guides overview](/contractor-hiring-guides)cluster
- [Employer of Record overview](/employer-of-record)core
- The Graduation Modelcore
- [Teamed pricing, Zero FX Fixed](/pricing)core
- [Employer Cost Calculator](https://www.teamed.global/tools/employer-cost?country=AD)tool
- [Talk to an expert](https://www.teamed.global/contact)CTA

A note on this page.

This is a guide, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Andorran labour, social-security and tax rules change and turn on the facts of each engagement. Verify current requirements with the Servei d'Inspecció de Treball, the Caixa Andorrana de Seguretat Social (CASS), and the tax authority, or speak to a qualified professional, before relying on any specific framework.