How to exchange a foreign driving licence for a Spanish one

Those of you planning to move to Spain permanently will need to exchange your driving licence for a Spanish one after a certain period of time, as detailed in our article Can I drive in Spain with a licence from another country?

To exchange a licence issued in an EU member State, or any other country Spain has a direct licence exchange agreement with, you will need to make an appointment with the General Directorate for Traffic (Dirección General de Tráfico), or DGT. This is a department of the ministry for highways and transport. You will need to attend in person and present the required paperwork. The DGT will then make enquiries with the driving licensing authority in the country where your licence was issued. Your new Spanish licence will then be sent to you by post.

The process may take several months, so you will be given a temporary licence – normally an A4 photocopy – to enable you to drive legally in the meantime. This is essential, since you must always have your licence with you when driving and be able to show it if you are stopped by the police. Failure to do so could result in a fine.

You should check with the foreign office in the country your licence was issued whether it has an agreement with Spain covering licence exchange, and what to do if this is not the case. The process may differ depending upon your country. This may involve having to take another driving test. For those countries which do have such an agreement, however, this article will guide you through the exchange process.

How to book an appointment with the DGT

1. You should go to the DGT website's section Solicitar Cita ('book appointment')
2. Choose your preferred DGT office from the drop-down list.
3. In Tipo de Trámite ('Type of Transaction'), choose Canjes de permisos de conducción ('Driving licence exchanges').
4. You will then be prompted to choose the country your licence was issued in.

   

   If your country does not appear in the list, go back to Tipo de Trámite and choose Trámites de Oficina ('Office Transactions').

   

5. After you have verified the Captcha code and pressed Continuar, you will be able to choose the option to exchange your licence and select its country of issue.

What paperwork will you need to take to your DGT appointment?

• Your residence card – your TIE or, if you are an EU citizen, your 'green certificate' - proving you are registered as living in Spain. As a 'green certificate' does not have a photo, though, you should also show your passport.
• Your existing driving licence, including both parts if it has a paper as well as a plastic card element.
• A recent photograph of yourself, measuring 32 x 26mm, in colour against a blank background. Only certain types of photograph are accepted, though, so you should make sure yours meets the requirements set out below.
• You will need to take a medical and coordination test at a specialist centre and present the certificate issued by the centre proving you have passed.
• The correct form must be completed and signed. Then, you will need to pay the fee at one of the listed bank branches on the form given to you at your DGT office visit. You must show proof of payment of the licence exchange fee, which is currently €28.87.

Photographs accepted for driving licences

Your photo must be taken from the front, showing your full head and face, without spectacles or any other element that might impede your being identified. Headscarves are permitted for medical or religious reasons, but your face must remain uncovered, from the hairline to the chin.

Photo studios in most towns will be able to take one for you, or a coin-operated photo booth in a shopping centre may offer a 'passport' or 'driving licence' option. Don't forget the photograph must be in paper format – a digital copy will not be accepted by the DGT.

What does the medical and coordination test involve?

This test has to be carried out every time you renew your Spanish driving licence. That is currently every 10 years for categories A and B if you are aged under 65, and every five years if you are aged 65 or over. It includes a basic eye test, and a simulation machine to check your reaction time – such as pressing a button to stop a moving icon on a screen before it crosses a line, to represent braking a vehicle before it hits an obstacle. You may be asked about any health conditions you have and medication you are taking. Depending upon what these are, the testing centre might ask for more information, such as a copy of your prescription sheet from your usual doctor.

It is not a driving test, nor a driving theory test, and most motorists say it is very straightforward. But if you fail the test due to reasons that may be temporary, you can reapply as soon as these issues are resolved – such as if you do not pass the eye test due to cataracts, but later have surgery to remove these.

How to complete the form

The form required for exchanging your licence is only available in Spanish, but we will explain each section in English here, step by step, to help you. You can book an appointment to change your driving licence at the website shown above, and you can find the form you need to complete at Trámites de Vehículos ('Vehicle Transactions').

1. In the first section, you need to give your full name, NIE number, date of birth, country of birth, telephone number, and your email address if you have one.

   

2. In the second section, you need to give your home address in Spain.

   

3. The third section asks which transaction you wish to carry out – here, you should tick the box that says Canje ('exchange').
4. Section four asks details about your driving licence – type of licence, number, country of issue, date of issue, and expiry date.

   

5. The fifth and final section asks you if you consent to give the DGT permission to check your details on the padrón, your identity, and your legal residence status. You may be asked if you want to tick one or all of these boxes when you attend your appointment.
6. By signing the form, you are declaring that you have not been banned from driving and are not involved in a court case that might lead to your being banned from driving, nor do you hold any other licence of the same type from another country which has an exchange agreement with Spain.

   

How to pay the fee

If you have a smartphone, you can download the traffic authority App – called miDGT – and enter Mis Trámites ('My Transactions') then Tasas ('Fees'). Otherwise, payment can be made during your DGT office appointment by credit or debit card, but as public sector workers are not permitted to handle cash, you cannot pay in notes and coins.

If you want to pay in cash, the DGT staff member attending you will give you a Modelo 791 ('Form 791'), which you then take to one of the listed banks to pay over the counter. They will give you a receipt, which you must show to the DGT personnel on your return.

Licences which cannot be exchanged for a Spanish one

In some cases, you will not be able to exchange your licence for a Spanish one directly, and will need to meet other requirements, such as taking a test. Here are some examples of situations where licences cannot be exchanged:

• If you were already registered as a Spanish resident and later applied for or renewed a licence in another country. Your foreign driving licence must have been obtained before becoming resident in Spain, or you will not be able to exchange it.
• If the licence has expired. In some countries, the photo card part of the licence may expire, but your driving categories do not. For example, the expiry date for categories A and B – motorcycles, cars and lightweight vehicles – may be on your 70^th or 75^th birthday, but perhaps the front part of the licence with your photograph bears a renewal date of 10 or 15 years after it was issued. Where the photo part has expired, the licence is no longer legal, so you will not be able to drive until it is replaced. But if the driving categories described have not expired, you can still exchange it for a Spanish driving licence even if the photo card part is out of date.
• If your licence was issued in a country which does not have an international agreement with Spain. This is even the case if the original licence was exchanged for one in a country that does, indeed, have an international agreement with Spain. For example, if you held a licence from a country without an agreement with Spain in place, and then moved to France and changed it for a French licence, you would not be able to exchange this new French licence for a Spanish one. Your licence is always considered to have been issued in the country where you first became a legal driver, whether or not your current one is from that country

Professional drivers from countries without an agreement with Spain may be able to exchange their licences for a Spanish one without taking a complete new test, if they can:

• Show proof that they have been employed as a professional driver for at least six months by a company legally established in, or with a legal branch in, Spain.
• Have a clean driving history: never been banned from driving categories A and B vehicles or been found in breach of road traffic law by a court.
• Pass an aptitude test, which is simpler than a full driving test.

Should I do it myself, or get a gestor to handle it?

It is normally recommended you approach a legal and financial advisor, known as a gestor or asesor, to exchange your licence. They will carry out the process on your behalf for a fee. You can exchange your licence yourself, at your nearest DGT office, after booking an appointment, but these are normally in provincial capital cities, so may be a long way for you to travel.

Also, your gestor does it electronically, but you would have to go to the DGT office in person. You would need to have all the right paperwork with you to avoid a wasted journey. Additionally, most DGT branches currently have a backlog, meaning you would have to keep trying to get an appointment on the website until one eventually becomes free.

Although it may cost a little more, we strongly recommend you use a gestor to exchange your licence – it's more convenient and less stressful for you, and you will be able to ask them questions or explain any concerns you may have. They will also be able to help you find your nearest specialist centre for the medical and coordination test – most towns in Spain have at least one of these.

Fees for a gestor changing your licence can vary considerably, as each one charges differently. You might have to pay anything from €50 to €300 for the process. We recommend you ask several gestores how much they charge before you proceed with your licence exchange.

Owning and using a vehicle on Spanish roads may be different to what you're used to, so it's important you know the laws that apply. You can find out more in our article on Rules for driving in Spain.