Someone may be able to put up a link, but there are centres in most big towns that will do the licence test. It seems to vary from place to place, but basically consists of reaction / sight tests from what I can see. Best check with Trafico maybe

Try this

http://www.dgt.es/portal/oficina_vir...conductores.do

Click on ¿Dónde se puede solicitar? and enter your province in the drop down box. That will give you a list.

Be aware that they charge anything fro 18 to 50 Euros so it might be a good idea to get some quotes.

Hi

Thanks to everyone who helped out here

I am going to use the services of the British Expats Office in Torre del Mar - they take away the stress and the queueing at Traffico.

Sounds good to me



Beeba

they have you all ways.if you look at your uk licence they could fine you 1000 pounds for not having the correct address on the licence.it says you cannot hold a uk licence without a uk permanent address. it does not say last known address.you are in a no win situation when you come across the big mean mr plod

betris, all that is required is a valid UK contact address. It does not have to be your principal residence but it does have to be a current contact address for you. DVLA for example will send reminders out when you need to update the photo.

I can confirm this from an email I have from the DVLA.

National licences may only carry an address from the country which issued that licence. We are therefore unable to re-issue your British licence with a foreign address. It is accepted that drivers who move to another part of the EC/EEA could be holding driving licences showing an incorrect address. This is permissible under the terms of the EC Directive on Driving Licences.

Thank you Fred, although (their words not yours) I would say that a current contact address in the UK is not strictly "incorrect".

Sorry to ask again, but so many things have been said that I have lost track. To sum up:
I can drive with my UK licence (with a current contact address on it)
I am 34, do I need to have a medical or is it for over 45´s??
When I have the medical i need to send it to Traffico??

Please confirm, I know where the medical centre is that I need to go to, so if I need it I can head down there next week!

Thanks all

It is easy to lose track. There is much debate and it is unclear from wording of the law, when you should have a first medical check after you move to Spain. The law says you have to comply with the same checks as if you had a Spanish licence. If you exchange your UK licence for a Spanish one then normally they do not require a medical but only at first renewal. The "safe" option is to do the medical at your convenience some time after you have first arrived which shows that you are trying your best to comply. When you have the medical certificate, there are two options. Some people simply keep the certificate with their licence to show on demand. Others, me included, take the certificate to Trafico and ask for it to be noted. They dont have a system to do this but they can give you some sort of confirmation that you have "holologated" your licence with medical with them.

Hi All

Well I never expected so much info and now the old grey matter is very confused??

If I used the services of the British Expats in Torre-del-Mar then surely I cant have problems??

I am wondering too if the Spanish recognise the DVLA solution...

Beeba

:curse:

Ok, I will say it as it looks like nobody else will! How will you know that what they tell you is correct? Especially as they are likely to charge for their services?

yes ok.but that is living and driving outside the uk.but what happens when you visit the uk and get pulled driving in the uk.or you hire a car in the uk.you now have a blag address on your licence.

Simple - if you are a Spanish resident and can prove it (residencia card or certificate) then you are a visitor to the UK and can use your UK licence without any problems even though it does not show your permanent address (which is in Spain).

But once again this possible confusion can be avoided by GETTING A SPANISH LICENCE.

Apologies for shouting but that is the easiest way of dealing with the situation.

If you live in Spain why on earth would you want a UK licence?

Well said and agree with you, we have never regretted changing our UK licence to a Spanish one.

Rosemary

Quite simply, Fred, because it's easier! If it's still legal to keep the English licence, why go to the hastle of changing it.

I generally would agree with you though.

Living in Spain = doing things the Spanish way

but, is it easy to convert a UK licence to a Spanish one?