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Current Driving licence info - consolidated
Legendary helpful member
I saw this elsewhere, this morning - it provides a good deal of information and reinforces some of what has already been said on this forum. If you are in any doubt as to your status / validity of licence, please take the time to read it, because it addresses a few issues that have previously been raised here. Bold / italics by me to illustrate / highlight certain points
DRIVING LICENCE UPDATE (posted by Cfv Tijola Olula DEL Rio)
Following my meeting with the British Embassy last Thursday it is clear that there really is no update to give. Negotiations continue between the UK and Spain and until any agreement is reached the UK licence for Brits with residency here ceased to be valid after 30 April.
There are a few points to clarify though.
The subject of driving licences was never part of the Withdrawal Agreement so each EU country has had to talk individually with the British government. Italy, Portugal and Spain have yet to reach bilateral agreements.
Apparently, even if you registered your intention to exchange before 30 Dec 2020, you cannot do it now. Unfortunately, those who did register their intention and then tried to exchange but were declined because they had renewed their UK driving licence in the meantime and the issue number is not the one that was validated by DGT. This was never explained and one would assume that if a licence reaches its expiry date it must be renewed.
Some EU residency holders believe they can still drive using their UK driving licence because they are not British passport holders. Incorrect. It is the country of issue - the nationality - of the driving licence that counts, not the nationality of the person.
There are always rumours, and given the enormity of losing the ability to drive here, I can understand that many are looking for loopholes but please be aware that there are NONE. Some are believing they can hire a car using their UK licence but not if in possession of a residency (TIE, old green card or A4 paper) here. Others think that having an International Driving Permit (IDP) replaces the UK driving licence - it does not. The IDP is not a stand alone document it must accompany a valid driving licence.
If you are caught driving with a now invalid UK driving licence the fines can be high (up to €6,000) and you could even incur up to 6 months imprisonment if involved in an accident because your insurance would also be invalid.
So, please be aware that you can only drive on your UK licence for 6 months from your date of arrival in Spain or from the date of your residencia, whichever is first. Otherwise, it is recommended that you enrol with an authorised driving school to study and sit your theory test which can be done in English and then you can apply to take a couple of practical driving lessons and sit your practical test which is in Spanish.
On a slightly different point, for British non residents who own or want to register ownership of a Spanish vehicle some regions insist a padrón is presented with the documentation. You should NOT be on the padrón if you are not a resident here. Being a non resident on the padrón equates to being a quasi resident in the eyes of the Spanish law and no British resident here is permitted to drive a UK-plated vehicle. We have had cases where the UK plated vehicles were impounded and huge fines imposed purely because they were on the padrón and driving their UK plated vehicle during their permitted 90 days here.
Unfortunate for the local councils who receive funding from central government for every person on their padrón list but this needs to be pointed out because many are on the padrón as second home owners but not residents in Spain and drive over in their UK plated vehicles which could cause problems for them.
