Can I drive on my UK licence?

Visitors can drive in Spain on a UK photocard licence. Once you become resident, it is only valid for 6 months, so exchange it for a Spanish one early. Under the 2023 UK–Spain agreement there is no test for a car licence.

Visitors and residents

As a visitor you can drive on a UK photocard licence and must carry it with ID. A provisional licence isn’t valid. If you use UK insurance, carry the certificate: the FCDO says it is generally valid only for stays under 3 months. Once you are resident, the DGT says a foreign licence is valid for up to 6 months from the date you became resident. After that you need a Spanish licence to keep driving.

Exchanging your UK licence

Spain and the UK agreed in March 2023 to recognise and exchange each other’s licences without a theory or practical test, using tables of equivalent categories. Licences issued after the agreement can be exchanged only if issued in the country where you lived at the time, so don’t take your UK test after moving to Spain.

1. Get a medical fitness report (informe de aptitud psicofísica) from an authorised driver medical centre (Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores). It is valid for 90 days
2. Apply online at the DGT electronic office (sede), using Cl@ve (the government login) or a digital certificate. UK licences go straight to the application, with no prior check
3. Upload your passport and TIE (residence card) as proof of identity and residence
4. Take your original UK licence to the provincial traffic office (Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico). You get a provisional permit and the card arrives by post, usually in about six weeks
5. Car and motorbike categories (A and B) exchange without tests; lorry and bus categories may need one

The fee (tasa 2.3) is €28.87 in 2026. Check the live fee on the DGT website Getting your NIE, TIE and Cl@ve sorted first makes this much easier: see NIE, TIE and padrón.

Rules that catch Britons out

• Drink-driving: 0.5 g/l in blood (0.25 mg/l in breath). In the first 2 years after passing, and for professional drivers, it is 0.3 g/l (0.15 mg/l)
• Phones: illegal while driving, even pulled over at the roadside. Earpieces are banned too; only fully hands-free units are allowed
• Fines: police can fine you on the spot. Pay within 20 days and it is cut by 50%
• Since 1 October 2026: when overtaking a cyclist outside towns, slow to at least 20 km/h below the limit and leave 1.5 metres; in towns keep at least 5 metres behind a bicycle. In motorway jams, leave an emergency corridor (carril de emergencia) between lanes
• Motorcyclists and passengers must now wear gloves outside towns and closed shoes everywhere
• More in Laws that catch people out

The V16 beacon

Since 1 January 2026, cars, vans, buses and lorries must carry a connected V16 beacon, the only legal way to signal a breakdown. Keep it charged in the glovebox, switch it on and put it on the roof without getting out. It sends your location to the DGT’s system. Only certified models count: check the DGT’s list before buying. Leave the car only if there is a safe place off the road, on the side away from traffic.

Low emission zones and stickers

Since 1 January 2026, municipalities with more than 50,000 people must have a low emission zone (zona de bajas emisiones, ZBE). Each council sets its own area, hours and exceptions. Access depends on the DGT environmental sticker: 0 emisiones (blue), ECO, C (green) and B (yellow). The older half of vehicles get none. A sticker costs €5 from post offices, garages and other sellers. In Madrid, cars without a sticker can’t enter anywhere inside the M-40, at any time. Málaga began fining by camera in November 2025, and fines are typically €200 (€100 if paid early). Foreign-plated cars can’t get the sticker; some cities, such as Barcelona, ask you to register the car in advance.

Buying and owning a car

• Insurance: every car kept in Spain must have at least third-party insurance. Driving uninsured is a very serious offence with fines of €601 to €3,005. Kelisto’s 2026 index puts the average policy at €1,412 (about £1,200); a UK no-claims letter may help
• Transfer tax (ITP): on a private sale the buyer pays it to the region within 30 working days. Rates are about 4% to 8% depending on the region, on the price or the tax authority’s value tables, whichever is higher
• Change the registered owner at the DGT; a gestor (an agent who handles paperwork) can do it for you
• Road tax (impuesto de circulación, IVTM): paid each year to your town hall. The national base is €12.62 to €112 for cars, depending on engine power, and councils can multiply it by up to 2
• ITV (MOT): first at 4 years, then every 2 years, then every year once the car is over 10 years old

Not sure you need a car? See Living without a car.