The driving licenses of residents in Spain that have been issued in countries with which there is an agreement can be exchanged for an equivalent Spanish permit. However, this is subject to a series of administrative requirements being met.
If your permit is not from the EU, EEA, or Andorra, Switzerland and Monaco, and your country does not appear in the list of countries with an agreement, it is not possible to exchange your permit and you will be required to take a Spanish driving test (theoretical and practical) in order to obtain a new permit. For more details on how to obtain a new permit, see below.
Carrying out the exchange requires prior verification of the equivalence and authenticity of driving licenses with your country of origin, with the exchange always being subject to confirmation of the validity of your license by the authorities of the country that issued it to you. Given this, the exchange process can be quite lengthy.
The steps you must follow to exchange your permit:
- Request an appointment at the Provincial Traffic Headquarters (Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico) through the third-country swap request application, make sure you request the option “Driving license swaps”.
- If your country has made the relevant verifications, the DGT will then proceed to exchange your permit.
On the day of your appointment, you must bring all the required documentation:
- Exchange request form completed.
- Original copy of ID (DNI, residence card, or valid passport).
- Residence accreditation (for non-EU citizens this is a valid residency card and for citizens of Barcelona this is a certificate of registration in the register of foreigners).
- Proof that you didn’t reside in Spain when the permission to exchange was obtained.
- Foreign driving license to be exchanged.
- Number or proof of payment of having paid the corresponding fee (you can pay by card at the DGT).
- Psychophysical aptitude report, issued by an authorised Driver Recognition Center.
- Current original photograph (32x26mm).