Hello all. I am just wondering if there is another way of getting a Spanish Driver’s License without having to go through the process of taking a written/driving exam and paying all that money. I have been driving for 20 years now and the thought of going through the entire process makes me nervous.
If there is no short cut, how difficult is it and how long can it take?
Thank you…
If you are an EU citizen your driving licence issued by your country is acceptable until its normal expiry date then as a resident of Spain you must apply for a Spanish licence - no driving test is necessary. Maybe eye sight test dependent upon your age.
According to DVLA you cannot keep your UK licence as it will not have your current address on it. Only UK residents can have UK licences. Yes it can be used to drive anywhere in the EU but if you live in another country permanently you should change your licence to an EU licence for that country.
Keeping your UK licence only causes problems. Why not just change it to a spanish one ?
Hi Kizzy, Yes I agree with you if people are serious about living in Spain why not obtain a Spanish driving licence - my ?pink blotting paper? Spanish licence now looks very tired and I look forward to my next renewal time to obtain a nice credit card type plastic one.
Back to the semantics - I think the DVLC must have now been over ruled by the EU - the EU latest info says it is perfectly legal to retain your licence until it expires. This I think is all part of their drive (excuse the pun) towards making things easier to move to another country and not be bogged down in admin at the start. I would agree it is illegal to apply for a UK licence when you have taken up residence elsewhere. If you want to EU info I can send it to you or look at their www yourself - its actually a more interesting site than it sounds!!
Yes, this is an interesting dilemma. One good reason why individuals may not wish to change to the Spanish license is because if you have groups C1E and D1E you?ll lose them on the Spanish license. According to the DGT there?s no equivalent of these groups in Spain or at least that?s what I was told several years ago.
Hola Don Carlos - To be honest with you I have no idea what C1E and D1E are. But they do appear in the EU document so I assume they will now will exist in Spain as part of the EU standardisation of licences. If you want a copy of the document email me.
Hola fastinjun, Check out http://www.dgt.es This is the Spanish Traffico site
Click on conductores (drivers) If you dont understand Spanish you will need a Spanish speaking friend with you
Hello ROBI. Could you send the link/info to the site that says you can retain your foreign driver’s license? I would like to make a hard copy of the document and leave it in my car. Gracias..
Hola Adobo - Visit http://www.eeau.eu Search on Driving Licence Click on 1st hit and see bottom left hand corner for 3rd Driving Licence directive and download the PDF. remember that if you are stopped by the Guardia they probably wont be to keen to be told the rules via an English document! I think the best thing is to have a Spanish Licence (especially now as it comes with a photo and so could be used as ID ? given the demise of the residencia card) but I know some people are wary of changing and getting involved with medicals etc.
I’ve been living here in Spain for several years now and driving on my American licence (NY State) I’ve been stopped a few times by both Guardia Civil and local police at checkpoints and they never said anything about the US licence. That said, it seems that things have been getting more restrictive as an American friend of mine got a huge ticket for not having a Spanish licence.
So I bit the bullet and decided to get the Spanish licence. I was pretty nervous about it since I heard about the cost of the driving schools the time involved in required driving lessons and the difficulty of the Spanish tests. I decided to do it while on vacation this summer, up north in Gij?n. I figured that it may be a bit easier in the provincias rather than Madrid. I was right…the driving school I went to was great, very helpful, they explained and organized everything including the physical, not much money at all, bought english study books and passed the exam on the first try without any problem (the test was in English) I still have to take the driving portion at the end of August since Traffico shut down for vacation at the end of July and open up again in August. You are also required to wait 10 days between the written test and the driving test. I’ll go back up to Gij?n the day before my scheduled test and take a driving lesson with the school to get the feel of how the driving portion of the test is. The charge for that is only 27 Euros.
Overall, the experience has been much easier and less painful than I antiticipated.
How and where can one get books or other material on getting a drivers license here.. in ENGLISH? I have searched at various times and come up blank. I have “heard” they can give the test in English, but how to study for the darn thing? I have asked at a few schools near me.. but have come up blank
...the driving school I went to was great, very helpful, they explained and organized everything including the physical, not much money at all, bought english study books and passed the exam on the first try without any problem (the test was in English) ...
Would you post the title of the book and authors, isbn etc.? I am in Madrid and the driving school instructor doesn’t think there are any English study materials. It would be a great help.
...the driving school I went to was great, very helpful, they explained and organized everything including the physical, not much money at all, bought english study books and passed the exam on the first try without any problem (the test was in English) ...
Would you post the title of the book and authors, isbn etc.? I am in Madrid and the driving school instructor doesn’t think there are any English study materials. It would be a great help.
