Spanish Driver License

romano1963 New member

6POSTS

8 years ago

Hi,
We are considering moving to Barcelona and have California driver licenses. Do any of you know what the process is for getting a Spanish license? Is it automatic or do we need to go thru the whole process of written and behind-the-wheel tests?
Thanks,
Jorge

See also

Driving in Spain - Guide
Exchanging Irish Drivers License for Spanish one - 10 Replies
Canadian Drivers License - 11 Replies
Driving License - 46 Replies
New drivers license and rental cars - 10 Replies
Drivers license conversion - 7 Replies
Car insurance + road license cost - calculator - 4 Replies

claxnes Contributor

182POSTS

8 years ago

Unless things have changed very recently, there is no treaty or agreement to validate your California licence in Spain. I believe that you can use an international tourist driver's license for the first 6 months you are here, but if you buy a car you will need to find out if the insurance is valid for an owner with a tourist license. I am presently studying for my Spanish driver's license by taking practice tests online on the todotest site (permiso B). The tests aren't easy and a score of 90% is required to pass. The laws here are much more complex than when I got my license at 15 years old in the US (I am 66). The driving test is also difficult and one of my Spanish family members has failed it twice. You will need to sign up for lessons as taking the test requires using a drivers instruction car with two sets of pedals. Having a car in a large city can be pain as finding a parking place can be difficult. However, I have lived in Barcelona, Valencia, and Alicante off and on for 22 years without a license, and am only now getting one because my wife has poor night vision.

wagonersabroad Active member

96POSTS

8 years ago

the USA has 50 states, each with a different license, so no reciprocation in Spain.聽 You need to go through the entire process.聽 We have an ebook on driving in Spain which details it all out, but I am sure you can piece things together through internet searches as well.聽 Good luck, and make note that is is time consuming and expensive too.聽 :-)

romano1963 New member

6POSTS

8 years ago

Thanks, but I do know how many states there are in the US. I was asking because in Germany you get automatic reciprocation for most states. California is not among those, unfortunately, but other states such as Florida, Alabama, New Mexico, etc. are. And the only reason I can think if is that California makes everyone take at leas the written exam, so this might be payback. So I was wondering if Spain had something similar. Any idea if there is reciprocation between Germany and Spain? I could go for the German license before we move.

Thanks!

jenniferO Active member

26POSTS

8 years ago

If your driving licence is issued by an EU country, it's recognised throughout the EU.

So if you move to another EU country, you won't usually have to exchange your licence. You can drive in your new country on your current licence as long as:

聽聽 it is valid
聽聽 you are old enough to drive a vehicle of the equivalent category
聽聽 it is not suspended or restricted and has not been revoked in the issuing country.

The categories AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, B1, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE are also recognised in other EU countries.

Johncar Spain Expert

1412POSTS

8 years ago

There are a number of countries, outside the EU who's licenced drivers can exchange their D/Ls in Spain.聽聽As far as I know no USA States are on that list.

In passing:聽聽An Internacional Driving Permit (IDP)聽聽is not a DL.

It is an official translation of one's DL and thus one must have the DL and IDP with them when driving in a country where that is permitted.

extracts:-

Canje de los permisos de conducci贸n expedidos en pa铆ses no comunitarios (Andorra, Corea, Jap贸n, Suiza y M贸naco

Canje de permisos de conducci贸n de pa铆ses con convenio
Los pa铆ses con convenio de canje son los siguientes:聽 Rep煤blica Argelina Democr谩tica y Popular, Rep煤blica Argentina, Rep煤blica de Bolivia, Rep煤blica de Chile, Rep煤blica de Colombia, Rep煤blica de Ecuador, Reino de Marruecos, Rep煤blica de Nicaragua, Rep煤blica de Per煤, Rep煤blica Dominicana, Rep煤blica de Panam谩, Rep煤blica de Paraguay, Rep煤blica de Uruguay, Rep煤blica Bolivariana de Venezuela, Rep煤blica Federativa de Brasil, Rep煤blica de El Salvador, Rep煤blica de Filipinas, Rep煤blica de Guatemala, Rep煤blica de Serbia, Rep煤blica de Turqu铆a, T煤nez, Ucrania, Macedonia.

See also:-