For foreign nationals living in Spain from the European Union (EU) or the European Economic Area (EEA) – EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – the Spanish government has approved new regulations that require those who have become Spanish residents to obtain a Spanish licence.

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Who needs to renew their driver’s licence?

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According to Article 15, paragraph 4 of the Spanish Regulation General Drivers, it is compulsory for drivers to renew their EU/EEA driving licences whose validity is:

• permanent (never expires);

• 15 years or more on date of issue for Group 1 (AM, A1, A2, A, B and BE);

• five years or more on date of issue for the Group 2 (BTP, C1, C1E, C, CE D1, D1E, D, DE).

 

In addition, the EU/EEA citizen must be living in Spain for more than two years.

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Therefore, there are two different scenarios to which the new law applies:

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1. Holder of an EU/EEA driving licence that never expires or with a validity of 15 years or more for Group 1 (or five years or more for Group 2) and having Spanish residency since 19 January 2013 or before. In this case, you must renew your driving license starting on January 19, 2015.

2. Holder of an EU/EEA driving licence that never expires or with a validity of 15 or more for Group 1 (or five years or more for Group 2) and having Spanish residency after 19 January 2013. In this case, you must renew your driving licence after having Spanish residency for two years or more.

 

In addition, holders of EU/EEA driving licences who have Spanish residency must also renew their driving licence if it’s already expired or close to the expiry date.

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Important notes:

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• You cannot exchange nor renew your EU/EEA licence without first having Spanish residency.

• If you only have an NIE number, this is not Spanish residency.

• If you only have ‘el padrón‘ registration (local census), this is not Spanish residency.

• The medical certificate is not an examination designed to refuse people, but to measure their basic capabilities for driving in Spain. Once done, a certificate states how many years the driver has until their next check-up, or restrictions, if necessary.

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