There are two possible scenarios when it comes to obtaining a Spanish driving licence for foreigners:
- Take the necessary examinations (For non-EU citizens and EU citizens that do not have a driving license). In other words, getting a Spanish drivers license from the start. The best and a hustle free solution in this case is to find an English driving school near you that will provide you with the necessary training and resources to successfully obtain your driving license.
- To Exchange your national driving license to a Spanish one (For EU/EEU citizens, non-EU nationalities whose country of origin has an agreement with Spain and individuals of special occupation).
Here below we will go in more details on each of these two ways on how you can get a Spanish driver’s license.
You can also check our DGT test in english free simulator for free practice tests of the spanish driving theory exam.
Who can drive in Spain?
Any person that is at least 18 years old and has a valid national driving license from their country can legally drive in Spain.
Foreigners who are residents in Spain have a right to use their national driving license during the first 6 months (Non-EU nationalities) or the first 2 years (EU/EEA nationalities) counting from the first day of receiving an official Spanish residence permit. In case if your drivers license is not in Spanish, you should always carry an official translation or an International Driving Permit(IDP) with yourself while driving in Spain.
After this initial period, residents must obtain an official Spanish drivers license through taking the theoretical and practical driving examinations (Non-EU Citizens) or by simply exchanging their home country driver’s license for the Spanish driving licence (EU citizens; citizens of countries that have an agreement with Spain and holders of special occupations).
Although citizens of other EU countries can legally drive in Spain with their national driving license for 2 years, they must register their details with the Traffic Department (DGT – Dirección General de Tráfico) after initial 6 months.
How to obtain a Spanish driving licence for a Non-EU citizen with national driving licence or an EU citizen that has no driving licence.
As mentioned previously citizens of countries outside of (EU)European Union and (EEA)European Economic Union can use their national driver’s license for only a period of 6 moth starting to count from the first day of registering as a resident. Be aware that if your driving license is not in Spanish, you should always carry an official translation or an International Driving License(IDP) with yourself.
International Driving Permit(IDP) is an official document that translates your national driving license into 10 languages, including Spanish. The IDP by itself is not valid, you must always carry it with your national driver’s license. IDP is valid for a year and must be applied for outside of Spain.
After 6 moths of your residence in Spain your national driving license will no longer be valid, therefore you will have to obtain a Spanish driving licence. At this point you can either take driving test examinations (theory and practice) to acquire your drivers license or exchange your national driving licence to Spanish one if you are from one of those lucky non-EU countries that have an agreement with Spain (For more details on exchanging your driving license procedure please read below).
Spanish Driving Test Examinations
Yes, unfortunately even if you are a holder of a driving license from your home country, you will still need to go through all the procedures of getting a Spanish driver’s license from the start. It is a pain but what to say, this is the only way you can obtain it. At least we are given an option to do the spanish driving test in english, be patient and just go for it. Below are all the steps you should be aware of while obtaining your drivers license in Spain.
Driving Exam consists of two parts:
- A theory exam that takes place in a form of 30 multiple choice questions from which you must have 27 correct in order to pass
- A practical driving exam of around 30 minutes that includes a driving by following the directions of the driving inspector that will sit in the back seat and a 10-minute free drive on your choice of directions.
Note: You have a choice to take the theory exam in English as well as to pass the practical driving test on an automatic car. (In this case your driving license only permits you to drive vehicles with automatic transmission.)
Where to Apply for the Driving Exams
Applications for both theory and practical driving exams are made at the Traffic Department (Dirección General de Trafico – DGT)
You can do the whole process on your own or through a local driving school that will guide you through all the steps of the process. It is a common practice in Spain that driving schools also offer all the paperwork submission and registration services as part of their course packages. This makes the driving license process a less overwhelming story and allows you to purely focus on your exam preparations.
Documents necessary to sign up for the test:
- Medical Certificate on Your Mental and Physical condition obtained from a authorized Drivers Check Center (See the list here.)
- Spanish Residence Permit – NIE/TIE card
- Application Form and the Application Fee
- Two passport-size Photos
- Confirmation of your domicile address (Certificado de Empadronamiento, obtained in Ayuntamiento)
- Signed self-declaration that you do not hold a similar drivers License
- Signed self-declaration that you do not have any suspensions or legal proceedings that prevent you from driving
Study materials you will need:
- Driving Theory Manual in English (Includes 16 chapters covering all the theoretical driving content)
- Multiple Choice Tests for each chapter of the Theory Manual
- Exam format tests (Substantially helps for theory exam preparation, you basically see many variations of possible questions in the 30 question multiple choice exam format; great practical preparation)
- Practical driving lessons with English speaking instructor. (number of classes depends on your previous driving experience and familiarity with the Spanish roads)
- You may also wish to attend on-site Intensive Driving Theory Classes. (classroom format theory lessons are so far the most effective type of education when it comes to exam preparation, especially if you are taking a driving exam in a foreign country. Interaction with tutor gives you an opportunity to ask questions and brings clarity on tricky aspects of the spanish driving regulations)
Expenses that you should consider:
- Traffic Department Fee/Tax( 93 euros)
- Driving School fee for the classes and study materials
- Practical Driving Classes
- Practical Driving Exam fee
- Medical Certificate Fee
Consider these:
* Check with your local driving school, they most of the times have package deals that include several services at a time at a discounted price saving you funds and lots of mental energy of figuring things out yourself.
* You have two attempts (that go together) to pass both of your exams. If you fail your first theory exam you will be automatically disregarded from first practical driving exam, thus left with only one attempt for each, theory and practical driving exams.
* Once you passed the theory exam, it will be valid for a period of two years. Meaning you must pass your practical exam within these 2 years
* In case you failed your practical exam you will need to take the next one in no later than 6 months after the previous attempt, in case of missing to do so you will need to pay Traffic Tax again.
Once you passed your Driving Examinations
After successful pass for both of the tests you will receive a temporary driving licence that allows you to drive freely in Spain. Temporary driving license will be a substitute to your original Spanish drivers license until it arrives. Original Driving license normally arrives to your mail box in one month (may vary, we are in Spain 🙂 You will also receive your L sign that you should put on the rear window of your vehicle for a year, you can choose not to do so but it is highly recommended to keep you from possible dangers while circulating on Spanish roads.
How to obtain Spanish driving license by exchanging your national driving licence.
Who Can Exchange their driving License?
- EU/EEA citizens that are national driving license holders
- Citizens of non-EU Countries that have an agreement with Spain
How to get Spanish Drivers License for EU/EEA citizens.
As mentioned in the very beginning of the post, all the EU/EEA citizens can freely use their national driving licence in Spain. However, after the period of the initial 6 months they must register with the Traffic Department(DGT). Once registered they will need to undertake a medical checkup at an Authorized Driver’s Check center (Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores Authorizado). Moreover, after the initial 2 years of being a resident they must get a Spanish drivers license, which they can obtain through simply exchanging their national driving licence into Spanish driving licence. Refusing to change your drivers license after the first two years of residence and caught driving can cause you a fine of 200 euros. If you wish to, you can exchange your driving licence any time, it is not an obligation to wait for 2 years but rather not to surpass this period.
If you are an EU citizen and are willing to exchange your drivers license, there are some things to consider. First of all, you must adhere to the same conditions of a Spanish license holder.
This encompasses:
- Going through necessary medical checks
- Once you Exchange your driving licence, you national driving licence will be converted into Spanish EU driving licence.
- You will have to renew this licence every 10 years until the age 65 and every 5 years after age of 65. You might be forced to obtain a new Spanish drivers license if you have issues with penalty points
Process of application for the driving licence exchange also takes place in the Traffic Department. Here is the list of necessary documents for the procedure:
- Valid Passport or a National ID card
- Proof of Spanish Residence (your NIE card or the NIE number will be necessary here)
- Application form (Filled in and printed)
- Paid Tax Form Modelo 791(can be obtained from the Traffic department in Person or on the official website, you need to choose 2.3 from the list
- Proof of payment of the Modelo 791 Form (28.30 euros)
- Two Photos(32x25mm)
- Your current driving license that you wish to exchange (copy and original document)
In case you are collecting all the documents and planning to go through all the procedures on your own without an assistance of a driving school, we strongly advice to check with your local Traffic Department on all the details. Be it list of documents, application forms, and the taxes to be paid. Rules change quite often and it is highly recommended to double check the info with your Local Traffic Department. In many of the traffic departments you will first need to book an appointment.
Here is the link to book an appointment with a Traffic Department
How to get Spanish Driving License for non-EU country citizens that have an agreement with Spain
Spain has an agreement with more than 20 non- European countries that allows citizens of those countries to exchange their national driving licence for a Spanish drivers license without taking any driving examinations. List of countries changes quite dynamically and therefore it is advised to double check with your country’s consulate/embassy or the Traffic Department of your locality. The list of required documents for some of the countries is slightly different, with this in mind we had put them in separate categories so it is easier for you to follow.
Andorra, Switzerland, Korea and Japan citizens can exchange their national driving license for a Spanish driving licence. Here is the list of documents they will need to present in order to do so
- Original Passport or a National Identity Card
- Spanish Residence Permit
- Application Form
- Medical Certificate from one of the Authorized Drivers’ Check Centers
- Your national driving license that your wish to exchange
- Two Photographs (32x25mm)
- Signed self-declaration that you do not hold a similar driver’s license issued by another EU country
- Signed self-declaration that you do not have any suspensions or legal proceedings that prevent you from driving
- Official Translation of the national driving license by a consulate or embassy (Korea)
- Official Translation of the national driver’s license (Japan)
Also citizens of the countries in the following table can exchange their national drivers license for a Spanish drivers license without taking any driving examination. List of documents is slightly different in comparison to those mentioned above, see the list of documents that is right below the country list.
| Algeria | Nicaragua |
| Argentina | Peru |
| Brazil | Panama |
| Bolivia | Paraguay |
| Chile | Philippines |
| Colombia | Serbia |
| Dominican Republic | Turkey |
| Ecuador | Tunisia |
| Guatemala | Ukraine |
| Macedonia | Uruguay |
| Morocco | Venezuela |
List of Necessary Documents:
- Application Form
- Valid Passport
- Spanish Residence Permit/Card
- Medical Certificate from one of the Authorized Drivers’ Check Centers (See the list here.)
- National Driving license of your home country that you wish to exchange
- Two (32x25mm sized) recent photographs
- Signed self-declaration that you do not hold a similar driver’s license issued by another EU country
- Signed self-declaration that you do not have any suspensions or legal proceedings that prevent you from driving
There is also a category of people based on their professional occupation that are allowed to exchange their national driving license for a Spanish driving license regardless of their nationality. In this case the citizenship of the individual does not matter as long as he/she meets the professional occupation criteria. See the Categories below.
Diplomats and International Organisation Members
Diplomats and members of international organisations that are headquartered or have an office in Spain, have a right to get a Spanish driving license without a requirement to undertake any driving theory or practical driving examinations. Here is the list of documents to be submitted for the driving license exchange for this group.
- Application Form
- National Identity and Passport
- Medical Certificate from one of the Authorized Drivers’ Check Centers
- National Driving licence from the applicant’s home country attached with an official translation
- Two (32x25mm sized) recent photographs
Note: Requests are done through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that send the application to the Headquarter Traffic Department located in Madrid. For more details on this specific driver’s license exchange please refer to your embassy.