I had been living in Spain a few years had. Spanish driving license but I had it stolen reported it to Spanish police, now I’m in UK wanting to get UK license back, but they say I need a certificate of entitlement ? Any idea how I can get this and where from. As I say I’m not in Spain so where can I email to get this?

Basically it is details of your driving licence validity, points, classes etc

Start with DGT . In theory they have a phone number which you can ring from abroad +34 902 887 060.
Alternatively go to their website and look up personal details
https://www.dgt.es/inicio/
Nuestros servicios
Permisos de conducir
Informacion de tu permisos y puntos.

To access that site you will need either a digital certificate or a (the) Spanish mobile phone number you have registered with them to receive a PIN number.

A CoE is a document the country which issued your current licence (Spain) provide to another country (UK) in order to show that you are entitled to be holding that licence and not disqualified.

Normally DVLA would acquire that themselves using the information and numbers from your Spanish licence but absent that they cannot thus they are putting the onus on you to provide it.

Assuming you do have an electronic certificate or a Spanish phone number to expand on the previous post here are the full steps.

https://www.dgt.es/inicio/
Nuestros servicios
Permisos de conducir
Informacion de tu permisos y puntos.
Inform y datos de tus permisos

On the next page click Acceso a miDGT where you will be asked for either Cl@ve, an electronic certificate, or be able to request a one time PIN number, for Cl@ve or a PIN you will require the Spanish mobile phone number you have registerd with DGT.

Once you're in then half way down the RH side you will see Verification de certificados
On the next page click Inform de datos actuales.

This takes you to a page where you enter your DOB, then click Confirma then Obtener el informe which should generate a downloadable .pdf of your CoE.

I am trying to do this too but don’t know what mobile number they hold for me if any as I’ve never had to use them before I got my license 20 years ago! How do I get around this?

How many Spanish numbers have you had?

Probably a few to be honest but I have no access to them anyway as I haven’t lived in Spain for a while

Hi, have u resolve the problem? Can you tell me how u do it i as have the same problem like you

Why on earth cannot the DVLA retrieve someone’s details via their DOB / NI number / Full name and last registered address in the UK ?

Agreed or even if you give your old drivers number.

When I go to the DVLA website with mine it tells me I have surrendered my licence and have one from another authority. So they know I have swapped it and I bet its on file.

They can but that's not issue here.

As pointed out in post #2 DVLA require a CoE from the authorities in the country which issued your current driving licence, that being Spain and DGT.

Even if DVLA do hold details of that licence, which I very much doubt beyond the fact that it's Spanish, it's for certain they will have no record of any infringements or disqualifications etc. hence the need for the CoE which will, at it's time of issue, confirm the status of the holder.

Essentially DVLA are only concerned about disqualifications not infringements as there is no mechanism for converting points which are lost on a Spanish licence into points awarded on a UK one. A disqualification however is just that and would result in a refusal by DVLA to issue a UK licence.

If you are in UK without access to a Spanish phone number I'm not sure how, or even if, you can proceed. I find it hard to imagine there being a DGT procedure for such a niche situation. Maybe contact a Gestor in Spain as there would be nothing to prevent them from using their own Spanish number with DGT.