Interest

Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico de Málaga

C/ Max Estrella, 12 - 29071 Málaga
Tel: +34 952 040 70 - From Spain General Info: 060
Fax: +34 952 041 630
Web: www.dgt.es

Patronato de Recaudación Provincial - Marbella

Avda. Ricardo Soriano, 68
Tel: +34 951 957 285
Fax:+34 951 957 436

Patronato de Recaudación Provincial - San Pedro de Álcantara

Avda.Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Conjunto San Luis - Local 12
Tel: +34 951 957 320
Fax:+34 952 780 357

Spanish authorities are very concerned about road safety, so failure to comply with the law may even carry a prison sentence for offences such as drunk driving or causing injury to others.

Certain offences incur a financial penalty, meaning that you must pay a fine that depends on the severity of the offence and may amount to several thousand euros. You also stand to lose a certain number of points from your driving licence for each offence committed. You can check current legislation for details of the offences plus the corresponding fines and loss of points.

Driving offences committed by foreign nationals not normally resident in Spain may involve their vehicle being impounded by the authorities until the fine has been paid.

Once an offence has been reported by the DGT, the regional police or the local police, the penalty procedure is started, in which you will be given the chance to make your own statement and provide any evidence you may consider to be relevant. You can appeal to the authorities or the courts against the final decision You can benefit from substantial discounts if you opt to pay your fine promptly within the legally established period.

Failure to pay a road traffic fine may incur seizure of earnings, bank accounts, vehicles and even property, together with any surcharges and interest arising.

In order to identify and track vehicles on Spain's roads, every vehicle normally driven in Spain must have a Spanish registration plate. it is the owner’s responsibility to start the procedure for obtaining a Spanish registration number.

To register your car, you must pay the appropriate fee plus the registration tax [Impuesto de Matriculación] and the tax on motorised vehicles [Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM] if applicable. Your vehicle may also have to pass an ITV inspection and you will have to process your application at the provincial traffic headquarters [Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico, JPT].

Failure to comply with this requirement may incur fines and result in your vehicle being immobilised by the police.

Once your vehicle has reached the end of its useful life, you must inform your local JPT and deliver the vehicle to an authorised centre for its correct disposal. Abandoning a vehicle on a public highway is illegal and you may be prosecuted.

The basic documentation that you should have with you while driving, apart from your driving licence, is the vehicle traffic permit [Permiso de Circulación del Vehículo] and the vehicle technical inspection certificate [Ficha de Inspección Técnica].

The vehicle traffic permit contains specific information enabling your vehicle to be identified, plus details of who owns it and their address.

The technical inspection report contains details of the power and other features of the vehicle and it is proof that all the regular vehicle technical inspections have been carried out (known as the ITV). Vehicles registered in Spain have to pass regular inspections to check their overall condition and safety features. The frequency of these checks depends on the age of the vehicle. Vehicles registered abroad can undergo voluntary technical inspections in Spain and although a report will be issued, this is not an official Spanish technical inspection report [Ficha de Inspección Técnica].

Alongside these documents, you should also have with you proof that your vehicle is insured. This insurance is compulsory for all vehicles and the best way of demonstrating that your insurance policy is fully up-to-date is by carrying the receipt from your last premium payment, which shows the insurance renewal date.

When transferring a vehicle to another owner, a full set of documentation must be transferred with it, plus the yearly tax on motorised vehicles [Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica or IVTM] payable to your local council, must also be up-to-date. You must also have no outstanding fines for traffic offences. The procedure is carried out at the seller’s or buyer's provincial traffic headquarters [Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico, JPT] following payment of the asset transfer tax [Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales, ITP] to the autonomous community authority. You will also have to pay a fee to the provincial traffic headquarters.

The tax on motorised vehicles, or IVTM, is paid to the local council where the vehicle is registered and the amount, broadly speaking, depends on vehicle power. In Marbella the local tax is collected by the Patronato de Recaudación de Vehiculos.

Spain introduced the driving licence points system (the so-called carnet por puntos) .

Every driver starts out with a fixed balance of points (normally 12 and 8 for novice drivers). Each time a driving offence is committed, in addition to a monetary fine, a certain number of points are subtracted, depending on the severity of the offence (for example, driving without a seat belt would mean you lose 3 points).

Over time, if you have not lost any points, your balance increases up to a maximum of 15 points.

The DGT web site shows the table of offences involving loss of points, plus you can check the balance of points on your own driving licence.

Losing all your points means you lose your driving permit or licence and you will be required to attend a series of retraining courses to get it back.

You can also do these courses to recover lost points, without having to wait until you lose them all.

Spain has agreements with a large number of countries, so by fulfilling a series of requirements and completing certain paperwork, you can hand over your foreign licence and get a Spanish one.

Each agreement sets out the requirements for that particular country and even for each type of permit or licence. Basically, you need to be resident in Spain, demonstrate you have the necessary mental and physical skills, show your original foreign driving licence, not have had your licence confiscated in your home country and provide documents such as photographs.

Please note that if you obtained your licence abroad after the exchange agreement was signed and you lived in Spain before that agreement was signed, your licence cannot be exchanged.

Licences issued in the following countries can be exchanged, in accordance with the terms of the agreement in place:

• EU countries, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
• Andorra, Korea, Japan and Switzerland - Algeria, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Morocco, Peru, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil, El Salvador, Philippines, Guatemala, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia, Ukraine and Macedonia

In Spain, as in other countries, there are various types of driving licence depending on what kind of vehicle you want to drive (motorbike, private car, truck, and so on). Sometimes, you need to hold one class of licence already in order to obtain another, for example, to drive more powerful or heavier vehicles. There are also certain age limits for driving more powerful vehicles or those that are more difficult to handle.

Los The basic requirements for obtaining the appropriate driving licence or permit in Spain are as follows:

• You need to be the established legal age for that particular permit or licence


• You must pass the theory or practical tests


• You must pass the appropriate psycho-technical aptitude tests


• Other additional requirements: in some cases, you will need to have held a previous class of permit or licence, or you may need to have held a licence for a certain period of time

In Spain, driving permits and licences are issued by provincial and local traffic headquarters [Jefaturas Provinciales y Locales de Tráfico] once they have checked that you fulfil the mental and physical requirements and you have demonstrated that you have the knowledge, skills, aptitude and behaviour required. The main classes of permits or licence are:

• AM: two or three-wheeled motorcycles and light four-wheeled vehicles. The minimum age is fifteen. You may not carry passengers if you are under eighteen.


• A1: motorcycles up to a maximum of 125 cc, with a maximum power of 11 kW and motor tricycles with maximum power not in excess of 15 kW. The minimum age is sixteen.


• A2: motorcycles with a maximum power of 35 kW. The minimum age is eighteen.


• R: for driving motorcycles and motor tricycles. The minimum age is twenty, although you may not drive motor tricycles with a maximum power in excess of 15 kW until the age of twenty-one.


• B: for the following vehicles:
  
  • Motor cars with a maximum weight not in excess of 3,500 kg and seating no more than eight passengers plus the driver. They can tow a trailer weighing up to 750 kg.
  
  
  • Class B vehicle and trailer weighing more than 750 kg provided the whole does not weigh in excess of 4,250 kg.
  
  
  • Motor tricycles and four-wheeled motor vehicles. Minimum age is eighteen, although you may not drive motor tricycles with a maximum power in excess of 15 kW.
  
  

BTP: vpriority vehicles when on emergency service, school transport vehicles when carrying schoolchildren and public passenger transport vehicles, all weighing a maximum of 3,500 kg and with seating for no more than nine people, including the driver. Minimum age: eighteen.

B + E, C1, C1 + E, C, C + E, D1, D1 + E, D, D + E: other classes of licence for driving lorries and trucks of various weights, for buses carrying more or less passengers and for certain special vehicles. To drive these vehicles professionally, you must comply with a set of specific requirements contained in the regulations for professional drivers.