Driving licence in Spain
How to get a Spanish driving licence as a foreigner
A UK licence can be exchanged. A US, Canadian, Indian or Nigerian one cannot: you take the Spanish exams.
Whether you can swap your licence for a Spanish one depends on the country that issued it. With an agreement, you exchange it at a traffic office. Without one, you sit the same two exams as any learner in Spain, theory and then practical — and meanwhile you can keep driving on your own licence for your first 6 months as a resident.
Driving on the licence you have
What applies depends on where your licence was issued and whether you live in Spain. A licence from outside the EU must also be in Spanish, follow the international model, or come with an official translation or an International Driving Permit.
EU or EEA licence
Valid in Spain while it is in force, and you never have to exchange it. Once you live here, Spanish rules apply to renewing it: one with no expiry date is renewed in Spain two years after you settle.
Any other licence, living in Spain
Valid for 6 months from the day you become a resident. After that you need a Spanish licence: by exchange if your country has an agreement, by exam if not.
Any other licence, visiting
A valid licence lets you drive for up to 6 months from the day you entered Spain. The DGT advises getting an International Driving Permit at home before you travel.
Can you exchange it?
Spain exchanges licences from the countries it has an agreement with — the canje. Only a licence you obtained before you became a legal resident qualifies (South Korea is the exception), and a car or motorcycle licence is exchanged without a test. You can apply as soon as you are a resident, online or with an appointment at a Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico; you bring a medical report and hand in your licence, which the DGT keeps.
| Licence from | Exchange |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Can be exchangedNeeds a check code from the DVLA or the DVA |
| United States | No agreement: take the exams |
| Canada | No agreement: take the exams |
| India | No agreement: take the exams |
| Nigeria | No agreement: take the exams |
| Philippines | Can be exchangedThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country |
All countries Spain exchanges licences with (33)
- AlgeriaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- Andorra
- ArgentinaNeeds an apostilled certificate of the licence's legality and seniority
- BoliviaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- BrazilThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- ChileThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- ColombiaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- Costa RicaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- Dominican RepublicThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- EcuadorThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- El SalvadorThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- GeorgiaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- GuatemalaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- HondurasThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- JapanNeeds an official translation
- MoldovaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- Monaco
- MoroccoThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- New ZealandCar and motorcycle licences only
- NicaraguaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- North MacedoniaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- PanamaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- ParaguayThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- Peru
- PhilippinesThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- SerbiaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- South KoreaCan be exchanged even if obtained after you became a residentNeeds an official translation
- Switzerland
- TunisiaThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- TürkiyeThe DGT first checks it with the issuing country
- UkraineWith temporary protection you can drive on it as it is
- United KingdomNeeds a check code from the DVLA or the DVA
- Uruguay
A licence from a country outside the EU and the EEA that is not on this list cannot be exchanged. Its holder gets a Spanish licence by passing the exams.
Getting a Spanish licence, step by step
This is the route when your licence cannot be exchanged, or when you have none. You need to be 18 or older and normally resident in Spain, which means living here at least 185 days a year.
- 1
Medical check
A short psychophysical aptitude test at a Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores. The report is valid for 90 days, so register for the exams before it runs out.
- 2
Register for the exams
Through a driving school, or on your own at the DGT. Either way you pay the DGT exam fee — €94.05 in 2026 — which covers two attempts.
- 3
Theory exam
30 questions in 30 minutes, and you pass with 3 mistakes or fewer. It is written in Spanish; many offices also offer it in English, French and German. A pass stays valid for two years.
Which languages the exam is in - 4
Practical exam
You learn to drive at an authorised driving school; the only other route is a learner licence (licencia de aprendizaje). The test is on public roads with a DGT examiner, in a dual-control car with an instructor beside you.
- 5
Your first years
New drivers start with 8 points instead of 12, carry the L plate for their first year — unless they have held another licence for at least a year — and keep to a lower alcohol limit for two years.
Costs and documents
DGT fees in {feeYear}
- Exams for a new licence, two attempts (fee 2.1): €94.05
- Exchanging a licence without a test (fee 2.3): €28.87
Driving-school lessons and the medical check are paid separately, at the price each centre sets.
What you usually need
- Your passport or ID and your NIE; from outside the EU, your residence card (TIE)
- The report from the Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores
- The DGT application form
- Proof you paid the DGT fee
Where these rules come from
Every rule on this page is the DGT's or the BOE's, as those pages read on September 30, 2026.
- DGT · Conducir con un permiso extranjero
- DGT · Países con convenio de canjes
- DGT Sede · Canjes de permisos extranjeros
- DGT Sede · Canjes de países sin convenio
- DGT · Requisitos, preparación y presentación a examen
- DGT Sede · Solicitud de prueba de aptitud de examen
- DGT · Cómo funciona el permiso por puntos
- BOE · Reglamento General de Conductores (Real Decreto 818/2009)
- BOE · Suspensión del canje de permisos con Venezuela
ViaReady is independent of the DGT. Rules and fees change, and your traffic office has the last word, so check the DGT's page before you book.
Pass the theory exam in your own language
The exam is in Spanish. ViaReady teaches the same rules in your language, with the exam's Spanish wording beside each one, and rehearses the official format: 30 questions, 3 mistakes allowed.
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