Hi all,

Changing my U.K car licence over to Spanish shortly which is no problem but I also I want to buy myself a high powered scooter soon, can you do a separate motorcycle test or is it just one driving licence in Spain which has to be a A1 licence to drive cars and ride motorbikes above 125cc ?

im a bit confused as in the U.K. it’s two completely different tests and licences etc, I’m thinking do I need to do it all together when changing my licence over ?

anybody on this forum who rides motorbikes on a Spanish licence with any knowledge on the subject or anybody that knows please let me know 😆

thanks

T

It's exactly the same here in Spain as in UK. You need at least two tests. One BIG difference is that if you have passed your car test ("B") then after 3 (?) years, you can drive any bike up to 125cc

However, to get an "A" licence (all bikes), you would first need to get an "A1" and then wait for a couple of years before taking the "A" test.

If you already have other categories (A, A1 etc.) then these are carried over when you exchange your licence. Remember though that UK licences can no longer be exchanged!

What a great question & something i had not thought about maybe cause our retirement plans are 1-3 years away. We already have a property in Spain & the plan was to retire in Spain.My partner & i have full UK driving Lic's with full motorcycle lic's for our garage full of sports bikes from 600cc to 1000cc. Is it a case of us having to do the car test & motorcycle test again if we were to take up SPanish residency ?
Any links appreciated & i will go off & read

thanks
a

At the moment any UK licence holder who becomes a Spanish resident will need to do a test. This might change in the future but current regulations require a Spanish test ( the practical which is done in Spanish)

Thanks for reply Chipmonk - once this test is done, do you know if that allows us the entitlement we had on our UK Lic ie M/bikes etc , sorry to be a pain

You would need to pass Spanish driving test for bike and car. Spanish car licence allows you to ride up to 125 only. Not sure if you do separate theory test for bike and car .

Thanks Bobd22 - unhappy now...... boo hoo

Also, you would have to take at least three (3) tests.

(1) firstly for the car
(2) then for A1
(3) then after 2 or 3 years you would need to take A to allow you to ride bigger bikes.

It's a bit of a mess given you have already proved competency

That would gives you time to sit the tests before you make the move?

Doesn't work like that I'm afraid, Spanish residency comes first, driving licence(s) second.

You can certainly study in advance for the theory test though.

If you have passed your test once in the UK then it really shouldn’t be that hard to pass again in Spain especially if you have been driving or riding for a while.

Apart from having to learn Spanish!!

should know basic castellano if your living in Spain this day and age.

That's a bit of a throwaway comment. What's basic Castiliano? to take a driving test one would need to speak sufficient to not only answer questions but receive and respond to specific instructions quickly. Also ones ability to learn a new language is different for all of us. You may have found learning Spanish easy many don't, we are all different.

My ex did her Spanish test and she spoke C1 level Spanish. She said that it was stressful as the examiner had a strong accent from Murcia and she said she was asked questions about oil, wheel changing etc so I very much doubt basic Spanish ( whatever that means) would be sufficient