a friend of mine, driving a van, was pulled by the guardia and was fined because he didn't have a Spanish driving licence, apparently, the guardia said the rules had changed December 31st 2009, can anyone tell me what the rules are?

Well, there's the rub. Go down a page or so and look at this

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=656513

&

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=658126

I haven't heard of any new rules from that date.
Bil is right, sadly it seems to depend on if the GC know their stuff or not.
Not so long ago I was stopped by 2 GC, I showed my UK license and one said this is illegal then his colleague took him to one side to explain to him it wasn't, this is Spain.
Not sure when you say fined, was this an on the spot fine? If they had resedencia then it should not have been an on the spot one.
There again if they do not have resedencia there is no prob driving in Spain on UK license.
Best if they go to local GC or trafico to get it cleared up.
P.S. Should have pointed out that if they are resident UK licence should be registered at trafico and they should have med cert.

At the end of the day, if you are going to stay here long term, a Spanish licence is a good idea. It doesn't cost a huge amount as you already have to pay for the medical, and it protects you from so much. If you do get stopped by a Civi who isn't up to date, and you do get fined, it will be at best a pain in the wotsits to get the money back.

I think you'll find that this is open to debate (see previous threads). My local trafico weren't interested in it being registered, simply required the medical.

I think it's yet another of those grey areas (like passport ID) that Spain do so well.
When I registered my licence some years ago now, I spent most of the day there as no one seemed to have a clue what I was talking about. Eventually the manager got involved, he must have called head office and then they did it.
One thing I soon learned when I first came to live here is that it's a cultural thing to make things up as you go along or just leave it till manana, which as you know, never comes.

No, it should not be open to debate.

The recent law on this is quite clear, you have the option to exchange your licence or to have the details entered onto the drivers database.

In both cases it is optional.

As for the requirement to have a medical certificate if you continue to use a UK licence, this is also a clear requirement, the only part of this that is debatable is exactly when you need to do this - the law is written in a slightly ambiguous way.

As has been said before, many times, the only sure-fire way to escape the vagaries of the Guardia Civil when stopped is to have a Spanish licence.

I agree Fred, but you hit the nail on the head, it's the vagaries of the GC and other official institutes that cause all the chaos and hence the debate here.
Therefore the problem is with the implementation and dissemination of these laws and rules to avoid the confusion.

Absolutely.

It happened when the residencia law was changed in 2002 and also when the new certificate was introduced. You got different answers from different locations.

As for driving licences and ID rules, the Guardia are just as bad and make the rules up as they go (sorry - I mean interpret the rules) - the big difference is that they can fine you or impound your car at will!

That said, it is important to know exactly what the legal requirements are in all these areas - if only to realise just how far you are being screwed by the jobsworths!

I've just been stopped by the Policia Local and the Guardia and told in no uncertain terms that if I didn't go to the traffic office pronto I would get a 400€ fine and 6 points on my licence. I tried to get a Spanish licence about 2 years ago and was told then that I didn't need to and that the Brit licence was OK. I was told this again only about a year ago. I didn't know that anything had changed - how could I?

I would gladly comply with this kind of thing if I knew anything about it!

I would be glad if spanish bureaucracy knew anything about anything

It seems that over the past year the GC have been going crazy doing folk for anything and everything, maybe they have been given a quota to fill.
Most recently they fined an old fella 1,200 for no crash hemet or insurance riding on the dirt tracks round his land, another for having 3 sacks of Yeso in his boot and the parents of a 10 year old for letting off small bangers when it's not a fiesta.......keeps them busy when they are not in the bar having a beer.

Nothing has changed in the last two years apart from the fact that Spain is now nearly bankrupt and will try anything to raise more money so that the politicians can still afford to drive their Mercedes.

Now, now Fred..................you know full well they like Audi over here. lol

I went to my lawyer the other day to ask him to change my driving license (UK photo license) to a Spanish one. He told me it would be about 60 euros. When I showed it him he said hold on. Then he rang his friend at trafico in Malaga, explained which license I had. (English photo license). Trafico man said, "Tell him not to bother changing it, that the driving license is legal and to save myself 80 euros" (as he had quoted me a little too cheaply).
I now still want to change my license but will go to trafico myself and get it done. Maybe I will ask some questions to find out what the laws are.
The only time the law changes with the GC seems to be when they have spent all their money on Christmas presents and they are looking for a little extra cushion for the new year. Did the OP's friend get a receipt for the fine???

That sounds expensive! I can't remember what I paid but it was circa 10 euros I think. That was 7years ago.