Becoming an Expat in Spain: Volume 7

Your UK driving licence in Spain

If you are travelling to Spain under the Schengen rules (spending no more than 90 days in Spain in any 180 days rolling) then you can drive a Spanish or UK registered car while in Spain using your existing UK driving licence.

It is important to remember to take your UK driving licence with you to Spain to produce as an when required, which could be immediately you are stopped by the Police for any reason. As such, it is a good idea to keep a laminated copy of your driving licence with you at all times to show, which means you are not at risk of losing the original by constantly having it on you while you are out and about.

If you are becoming a resident then you will need to exchange your UK driving licence for a Spanish one and the following is a complete guide to doing this:

You or a representative will need to go to your local office of the Direcion general de trafico (DGT) and their website can be found here: https://www.dgt.es/inicio/

You will need:

• The original of your valid current passport and a scan of the photo page;

• The original plus a copy of both sides of your current TIE card  or EU residency card;

• Your original valid current UK driving licence (as per above advice keep a laminated copy).

• A Padron certificate issued no more than 90 days previously;

• A certificado de aptitude psicofisica which is a medical certificate issued by a registered medical centre and you must tell the medical centre which categories/class of vehicle you need to include on your licence – again, this certificate must be no more than 90 days old when presenting it to the DGT; - a full list of all approved medical centres can be found HERE;

• Photos of yourself to be used on your new Spanish licence and you are advised to use your local provider of photographs for official documents as these must conform to very strict rules as follows – 

  • 32mm x 26 mm in size

  • White smooth background

  • Your head clearly visible and uncovered (certain exemptions on the grounds of religion can apply)

  • No glasses

  • High resolution

  • Printed on high quality specialist photographic paper;

• A specific code issued by DVLA;

• Your National Insurance Number;

• Your completed DGT application form;

• A card to pay your fee which is usually 28.87€ or 94.05€ if you are adding categories that require additional testing;

Remember, at the end of your appointment, the DGT office will keep your UK driving licence and you will be issued with a temporary Spanish licence (note: this temporary licence is not able to be used outside of Spain or to hire a car within Spain).

Because your new Spanish licence will be posted to you it is extremely important to ensure that the address you put on your application is 100% correct.