Hollyhock

Moving to Spain imminently and want to know what we need to do regarding our UK driving licences when we arrive?The address on ours is a UK one, so do we just get a Spanish licence?Do we need anything from DVLA before we move?

Fred James

You don't need to do anything. The licence will be valid for use in Spain until it needs renewing. It is acceptable to have a UK address on it even if you don't live there any more.

You would be advised to change it for a Spanish licence after you arrive, but it is not compulsory. That is quite straightforward.

Lots of info in this thread

http://britishexpats.com/forum/spain...thread-786975/

snikpoh

We are, of course, assuming that it's the plastic version and not the old paper licence.

snikpoh

What if one looses a (Spanish) driving licence - my daughter has just had her purse stolen at a local fiesta?

Can she notify someone locally or must it be a visit to trafico some 1 hour away?

Fred James

It's a visit to Trafico, I'm afraid.

About the only thing you can do locally is register a change of address, usually your town hall can do this. One reason is that your address is not shown on your licence (unlike a UK licence) so it is just a data update.

snikpoh

Thanks Fred, we've just been told that we have to go to the Guardia to do the denuncia and they will then 'order' a duplicate - I'll let you know if this turns out to be the case.

Fred James

Yes, I can see that it might be different for a theft rather that the dog eating it!

snikpoh

Update:

Went to the Guardia only to be told that this was how it used to be. So many people were going there for 'free' replacements that they stopped doing it.

You now have to go to trafico.

We asked the GC for a denuncia so that we had paperwork if my daughter is stopped and asked to show her d/l - they would NOT give us one! We were told that if she's stopped, then she may be fined !

To replace the SIP (health) card, we had to pay 3€ as we didn't have a denuncia. If we had one, it would have been free.

All other credit/debit/petrol cards stopped and, luckily, no one had used them - result!

calidana

Like so many things in Spain, there are grey areas and inconsistencies all over. About 2 years ago I got stopped in a Guardia roadblock and showed my documents. I handed over my valid Norwegian EU approved driving licence with photo only to be told it was not valid as I lived in Spain. Had never had this problem in the preceding 10 years during which I had been stopped a few times. I was given a 500e fine, reduced to 250e if paid within 20 days.
I was pretty irate but there is only so much protesting you do when the other guys have guns. I then incurred more costs getting a Spanish driving licence via a gestor as visiting traffico in Malaga is not something I want to do if I can help it.
All the time I felt I should not be having to pay these things, but what can you do when the powers that be seem to make things up as they go along?

Fred James

Yes, it does happen and it is pretty difficult to argue your way out of it.

There is no doubt that the vast majority of posters on here agree that exchanging is the sensible thing to do, if only to avoid hassle and also, a Spanish licence with your NIE on it is an excellent ID document in most cases.

Yes, it is the more expensive option, but as you found to your cost, it may be cheaper in the long run and it will have to be exchanged when it expires anyway.