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DRIVING LICENCES

UK – Spain driving licence deal: Britons urged to take medical exams

The British Embassy in Madrid has updated Brits in Spain on the latest UK driving licence negotiations, urging them to get a medical certificate in advance of an agreement.

Published: 17 January 2023 10:31 CET
UK - Spain driving licence deal: Britons urged to take medical exams
Britons in Spain urged to get medical exams ahead of licence deal. Photo: Paul Diaconu / Pixabay

The previous update came just before Christmas when British Ambassador Hugh Elliott posted a video on the British Embassy Facebook page. 

At that time, he confirmed that the deal on UK driving licences had been made and that they were waiting on a few changes to be made to the technical wording of the agreement before it could be passed on to the Spanish cabinet.

The new Facebook post on Monday followed on from this saying: “Work continued over the holidays and we are pleased to tell you that the legal checks have now been completed on both sides and the final processes required for an international treaty are now underway”. 

It also confirmed that the agreement was now ready to be passed on to the Spanish Cabinet for final approval, although still didn’t give an exact date on when drivers might be able to get back on the roads. 

“These [cabinet] meetings take place each week and, while we have no control over the scheduling, we hope it will be tabled very soon,” they added.  

The next step will be a formal exchange of notes before the final deal is published in the BOE or official state bulletin.

But, instead of just waiting for the deal to pass, the British Embassy has urged Brits without a valid licence to get their psicotécnico or medical tests done in anticipation. 

“We recommend you get your psicotécnico test in place, as you will need a certificate showing you have passed the test in order to exchange your licence,” the post stated. 

The psicotécnico test is a test approved by the Ministry of Health in compliance with world standards, which measures whether drivers are competent enough to use their physical and psychological abilities. 

It aims to test your visual, auditory, coordination and reaction skills. It may also require you to have a brief interview with a doctor. 

If you pass, you will be issued with a medical certificate confirming that there is no physical or mental problem to stop you from being able to drive. 

“Certificates are valid for three months and if you fail it you can retake as many times as you need,” the post added. 

The Directorate-General for Traffic or DGT has a list of centres where you can get these tests done here.

Those with UK driving licences, who were unable to exchange them in time, have been unable to drive in Spain since May 1st 2022, a total of 8.5 months. 

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DRIVING

How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

If you move within Spain and change address, you'll also need to change the registered address for your car in order to pay vehicle tax. Here's how to do it.

Published: 25 March 2024 15:31 CET
How to change the registered address for your car if you move in Spain

When you buy a car in Spain the driving authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), asks you to register your car so that you (and they) can have a reference of where it is, who owns it and, crucially, where you’ll pay tax on it.

This information is necessary because paying vehicle tax in Spain (known as Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM) depends on where in the country you live, and differs slightly depending on the municipality where you are registered.

You pay the tax in the municipality in which the vehicle is registered, and though the exact amount depends on your area and the type of car you have, generally speaking the annual tax is between €112 and €300 for the year.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What you need to know about road tax in Spain

IVTM is a tax you pay at the municipal level, that is, to your local town hall. According to the DGT, “the Traffic Tax of a vehicle is a mandatory tax that is applied on all motor vehicles, allowing them to circulate on public roads throughout the country”.

But what happens if you move?

Well, it depends. If you’re moving but staying within the same municipality, not much, but if you’re moving across the country to a new part of Spain, you’ll need to change your car’s registered address with the DGT.

How can you request a change of tax address for your car in Spain?

Any change of tax address must be requested by the owner of the vehicle or a duly authorised person on their behalf. There are four ways to request it:

Online – this is done through the DGT’s website, which you can find here. If it’s a general application, you shouldn’t need to attach any documentation. You can simply change the address of all your vehicles or select only those you wish to modify, choosing between the registration address or the tax address of the owner.

For vehicles moving from the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla to the Spanish mainland peninsula or the Balearic Islands, or agricultural vehicles or those with any type of legal limitations or restrictions, you must make the application through the special cases option (supuestos especiales on the DGT website).

In this case, you essentially need to get documentation proving that the car has been cleared through customs. If it is an agricultural vehicle, you will need to provide the document showing that you have reported the change in Spain’s Official Register of Agricultural Machinery (ROMA).

By phone –- call 060, which is the number in Spain to get through to the Servicio de Información de la Administración General del Estado, essentially the go-to contact number for all things public services and administration. You can contact the DGT through this number, where they will check that the address you indicate coincides with the one on the INE register and, if so, make the requested change for you.

READ ALSO: The tricks drivers use to pay less in car taxes in Spain

DGT App — If you have the miDGT app, you can also change your address through the platform.

In person — you can also change your vehicle’s tax address at your town hall (ayuntamiento) where you are currently registered (pre-move) or at any DGT traffic office, though you will need to make an appointment online or by phone beforehand. You can do that here.

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