If you are a citizen of another country who wants to know how to validate a foreign driving license in Spain, you will be interested in knowing everything that we are going to explain to you below. However, before you begin, you should bear in mind that in order to drive a vehicle in Spain with a foreign permit, the conditions vary depending on the country you come from.
Depending on this, you will have to comply with one or other requirements, the main difference being whether it is a permit from a country of the European Union, or if it is not. In the latter case, it is also necessary to assess whether Spain has some kind of agreement with him.
Validate a driving license from a European Union country
In the event that you want to know how to validate a foreign driving license in Spain, you must take into account if it is a permit obtained in a country of the European Union or the European Economic Area (Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein).
In these cases, the permits issued in them are valid for Spain. That is, you will not have to carry out any type of procedure with them to make them valid, as long as they are in force.
In addition, according to Traffic regulations, the following are also considered to be valid driving licenses for Spain:
- Permits that have been issued in accordance with Annex 6 of the Vienna Convention or Annex 9 of the Geneva Convention.
- Permits recognized in particular international agreements of which Spain is a party.
- National permits from other countries that are duly written in Spanish; or that they are accompanied by an official translation.
In any case, it will always depend on whether they are valid permissions from:
- The driving license must be valid, that is, it cannot be expired.
- The holder of the same must have the minimum age required to drive in Spain.
- A period of 6 months must not have passed since the holders acquired their residence in Spain.
In any case, the most advisable thing to take into account is to contact the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) in all those cases in which there are doubts about the steps to follow to validate it.
In the case of EU countries there will be no problem, but in the event that it is not, the following steps must be taken into account to validate it. However, these are general for those countries with which Spain does not have an agreement.
However, it must be borne in mind that there is an exchange agreement with numerous countries, such as: Algeria; Argentina; Bolivian; Venezuela; Colombia; Chili; Ecuador; Morocco; Paraguay; Uruguay; Turkey; Tunisia; Nicaragua; Peru; Dominican Republic; Panama; Macedonia; Ukraine; Serbian; Guatemala; Philippines; Brazil; and El Salvador.
Instructions to validate a foreign driving license in Spain
To proceed to validate a foreign driving license in Spain you will have to:
- Request the official form at the Traffic Headquarters of the DGT or on the agency’s website.
- Fill out the form and collect all the documentation required for each case (we explain what you need in the next section).
- Request an appointment at the DGT and pay the corresponding fee.
- After these steps you will only have to wait for it to be validated by the authorities.
What do you need to validate a foreign driving license in Spain?
To validate a foreign driving license in Spain you need the following documentation:
- Request for official form of the DGT
- Proof of identity and residence. For this you will need the National Identity Document (DNI) or passport; and the valid residence permit for non-EU foreigners.
- Carry out a psychophysical examination to determine that you are in perfect condition to be able to drive. To do this, you just have to go to a recognition center.
- Original valid driving license and a photocopy of it.
- A current photograph of 32 x 26 mm.
- Photo voucher, which is provided by the Traffic Headquarters. This must be completed and duly signed in the corresponding box.
- Written declaration of not being deprived of the right to drive by court order; nor that this permit is subject to a suspension or intervention.
- Written declaration of not having another driving license issued in Spain or another community country of the same class as the one requested.
- Proof of payment of the fee.
- In the case of countries such as Korea or Japan, it is necessary to have an official translation of the permit, made by the Consulate or the Embassy.
- In those cases, in which the documentation is not going to be presented by the holder of the driving license; the person who is going to provide it must provide both their original National Identity Document (DNI) and an authorization from the interested party. In this way it will be possible to confirm that he has permission to carry out the validation process.
