Your Local Legal Magazine
Page 8 Valid Driving Licences to drive in Spain.
Female Focus by Ana Gay
There seems to be a certain amount of confusion surrounding which licences are valid to drive in Spain. I shall try and clear up these doubts once and for all. Firstly, I must point out that you cannot drive any vehicle in Spain on an English Provisional Driving licence.
Licences issued in countries of the European Union and the EEC (Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway) are valid. In certain cases there are licences that are valid in Spain, under the following terms:
- Licences issued issued in other countries according to Annex 9 of the Geneva Agreement, or Annex 6 of the Vienna Agreement, or that differ from said licences only in the suppression of certain non essential seals. - Licences issued in other countries that are in Spanish or accompanied by an official translation of the same. - International licences issued abroad according to Annex 10 of the Geneva Agreement, or in line with the model of licence in Annex E of the International Agreement of Paris, in the case of countries party to this Agreement that have not subscribed to the Geneva Agreement. - Those recognised in certain international agreements to which Spain is a party and under the terms that are indicated in the same.
Conditions for Validity The licences
previously
mentioned are conditioned by the validity period, that the holder is of legal driving age in Spain in order to obtain the equivalent of a Spanish licence, and that it is not more than 6 months since the holder has obtained residency in Spain.
Once this six month period has expired, the mentioned permits are no longer valid in Spain, and if the holders wish to continue driving in Spain they must obtain a Spanish licence, adhering to the requirements and passing the corresponding tests, except in the case where there is an agreement in place with the country that issued the permit and an exchange is possible.
Exchanging your licence
Driving licences issued in any country of the European Union or in countries party to the EEC Agreement, in accordance to the community laws will maintain their validity in Spain, under the same conditions where the licence is issued, with the exception of the age limit required to drive which should be in line with the requirements of their Spanish equivalent.
However, you cannot drive in Spain with a licence issued in another country that has been withdrawn or restricted.
The holder that has acquired their licence in one of these countries and that becomes a Spanish Resident will be subject to Spanish laws regarding the periods of validity of the licence, the psycho-technical test, and the points system.
When the licence is not subject to a determined validity period, the holder must renew the licence once they have been resident in Spain for two years.
For more information you can consult
www.dgt.es (General Traffic Office), and there you will find information in various languages.
If you have questions on this or any other legal or tax matter, please do not hesitate to contact me on
anagay@linkpointlegal.com or on 966 260 500.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60