How to exchange a driving licence from outside the EU in Spain

What it is

A driving licence issued outside the EU and EEA is only valid in Spain for six months after you become resident here. After that you need a Spanish licence. There are two ways to get one:

• Exchange (canje): if Spain has an agreement with the country that issued your licence, you swap it for a Spanish one at the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico), usually without a test.
• Pass the Spanish tests: if there's no agreement, you take the Spanish theory and practical driving tests, like a new driver.

Have a UK licence? Follow our UK licence guide instead: the steps are a little different. Licences from EU and EEA countries don't need exchanging.

Can you exchange yours?

Spain exchanges licences from these countries (DGT list, October 2026):

Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Serbia, South Korea, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uruguay.

• Venezuela: the agreement is suspended, so Venezuelan licences can't be exchanged for now.
• Not on the list (for example the United States, Canada, Australia, Mexico, India or China)? There's no exchange: you'll need to pass the Spanish tests.
• When you got it matters. You can't exchange a licence you got in that country while you were already a legal resident in Spain (South Korea is the exception).
• Car and motorbike licences (classes A1, A, B, B+E) are exchanged without a test. Lorry and bus licences (C and D) need a practical test, and sometimes a theory test too.

While you wait: driving on your licence

During your first six months as a resident, you can drive on your foreign licence if it's in Spanish or you carry an official translation or an International Driving Permit with it. The DGT advises getting the international permit in your home country before you come.

Before you start

You'll need:

• ID: your passport.
• Proof you live in Spain: your TIE (residence card).
• Proof you weren't living in Spain when you got the licence: your residence card or registration certificate usually shows this, as its date is after your licence's issue date.
• Your original licence, valid and in date.
• A medical fitness report (informe de aptitud psicofísica) from an authorised driver medical centre (Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores). It's valid for 90 days. The centre sends your photo to the DGT, so you usually don't need photos.
• Proof you paid the DGT fee (tasa 2.3).
• Extra documents for some countries:
  • Argentina: a certificate of the licence's authenticity and validity with the Hague Apostille.
  • South Korea: an official translation of the licence.
  • Japan: a translation and a verification, arranged through the Japanese consulate.

Steps

1. Get the medical report at a Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores.
2. Check whether your country needs a verification first. For many agreement countries (from Algeria to Turkey on the DGT's list), the DGT first asks the country that issued your licence to confirm it. You request this on the DGT electronic office and get an email when the country replies.
3. Pay the fee (tasa 2.3) online on the DGT website.
4. Apply:
   • online on the DGT electronic office (canje digital), with Cl@ve or a digital certificate, uploading your documents; or
   • in person at your Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico, with an appointment (cita previa) booked online or on 060.
5. Hand in your original licence at the traffic office. You get a provisional permit that lets you drive in Spain only while you wait.
6. Your Spanish licence arrives by post, usually about six weeks later.

No agreement? Getting a Spanish licence

1. Get the medical report at a Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores.
2. Prepare for the tests, at a driving school (autoescuela) or on your own. The DGT has practice tests online.
3. Pass the theory test, then the practical test. A driving school books the exams for its students; on your own, you apply at the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico.

Start early: preparing and getting exam dates takes months in many provinces, and you can't drive on your foreign licence after the six months.

Cost

The DGT fee (tasa 2.3 for an exchange without tests), shown when you pay it online, plus the medical centre's fee. Taking the Spanish tests costs more (exam fees, and lessons if you use a driving school).

Common pitfalls

• Assuming your licence can be exchanged. US, Canadian, Australian and many other licences can't. Check the list before your six months run out.
• Leaving it to the last month. Appointments and verifications from the issuing country can take weeks.
• Getting or renewing the licence back home after you moved. A licence obtained while you were already resident in Spain can't be exchanged.
• Driving abroad on the provisional permit. It's only valid in Spain.

When to ask a helper

Ask someone from your country who exchanged their licence (or took the Spanish tests) in your province recently: they'll know how long the verification and appointments take there.