Changing your UK Driving Licence

Now that the Ministry of the Interior in Spain has announced the bilateral agreement between Spain and the UK to enable those taking out residency in Spain from UK to exchange their driving licence, there are a few procedures to go through.

Those now coming to Spain and those already here will have a period of 6 months in which to exchange their licence as from March 16th 2023. You can do this even if you licence has expired since you have been here but not if it expired before taking out residency. Those coming to Spain after that date will have a period of 6 months in which to exchange their licence from the date they take out residency. Failure to do so will mean you will not be able to drive in Spain and we don't want to have to go through the taking of driving tests again.

Firstly, you need an appointment with trafico. This can be done with the DGT at Alicante or Elche. You will need to make a cita previa (prior appointment) before attending. You can do this by calling 060 or completing a request online.

The updated page to obtain the appointment is now Cita Previa DGT

You will need to complete the application form which is here Exchanging Foreign Driving Licence

Once you have the appointment, you need to take the completed application form.
You need your passport and a copy.
Your NIE certificate and copy
Your residence card and copy. If you have a TIE this may obviate the need for your passport and NIE certificate but take them to be safe.

The medical and psychological test certificate. There are loads of posts on here where to get them done but this map shows you the recognised centres. Just enter your province (Alicante) and town. This will cost approximately 40 euro. Note it is only valid for a certain time so don't get it until your appointment is confirmed.
Your current UK licence and a copy.#
Two photographs 32x25mm.
The fee of €24.78. This can be paid at a bank or at the actual appointment.
If you are over 70 the fee is not applicable.

The British Embassy is advising that you do this straight away and do not wait until the 6 months approaches as you will not be able to change your licence nor drive in Spain once that 6 months is up.

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marcliff

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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:44pm

Tomred

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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:44pm

Just a note - at the time of writing the DGT online application / appointment site has not been updated to include yesterdays announcement - I assume this will happen in the coming days once the 2 governments exchange the agreement documentation (which is supposed to be today) so for now we're unable to request an appt online to exchange as UK not yet on the drop down list of countries to exchange a licence. We've waited an eternity so a few more days wont hurt but as of midnight tonight we're legal - again !!

Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 1:04pm

marcliff

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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 1:04pm

Tomred wrote on Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:44pm:
Just a note - at the time of writing the DGT online application / appointment site has not been updated to include yesterdays announcement - I assume this will happen in the coming days once the 2 governments exchange the agreement documentation (which is supposed to be today) so for now we're un...

Read more...

...able to request an appt online to exchange as UK not yet on the drop down list of countries to exchange a licence. We've waited an eternity so a few more days wont hurt but as of midnight tonight we're legal - again !!

If you look it says it will be possible to exchange the licence after 16th March 2023. So UK should appear on that application as from tomorrow.

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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:31pm

Douglas57

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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:31pm

Tomred wrote on Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:44pm:
Just a note - at the time of writing the DGT online application / appointment site has not been updated to include yesterdays announcement - I assume this will happen in the coming days once the 2 governments exchange the agreement documentation (which is supposed to be today) so for now we're un...

Read more...

...able to request an appt online to exchange as UK not yet on the drop down list of countries to exchange a licence. We've waited an eternity so a few more days wont hurt but as of midnight tonight we're legal - again !!

Unfortunately you are NOT legal from midnight of the 15th? British licence holders waiting to exchange must wait until the official BOE is uploaded and issued which they have promised will be the 16th March. As soon as the BOE is issued you are then legal to drive for six months on a valid british licence. During this period you should start the process to exchange. This way you can drive yourself to the DGT office where your appointment is, they will give you a temporary spanish licence.

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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 5:35pm

Golandrina

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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 5:35pm

Full details of the process, as they are currently known, are in the posting that was put on the N332 Facebook page yesterday, 15/03/2023. Their website and Facebook page are for English speaking people and are run in conjunction with officers of the Guardia Civil.

Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 6:54pm

marcliff

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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2023 6:54pm

On the page for exchanging a foreign licence to a Spanish one, the DGT has now included the United Kingdom in the list of authorised countries.

"As of March 16, 2023, holders of driving licenses issued by the UK authorities who currently reside in Spain will be able to drive for a period of six months.

Those who enter Spain or acquire residence in our country later, will continue to apply the period of validity of their British permit of six months from the date of entry or from the date of obtaining residence.

As of this date, the exchange of these driving licenses can also be requested, as the Agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom on the reciprocal recognition and exchange of national driving licenses and on the exchange of information on infractions is provisionally applicable. of traffic in terms of Road Safety , in relation to reciprocal recognition and exchange of driving licences."

The link in my original post doesn't appear to have been updated so I have now changed it to the link that does allow you to select United Kingdom.

The updated page to obtain the appointment is now Cita Previa DGT

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:17am

Swimmer57

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:17am

marcliff wrote on Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:46pm:
Now that the Ministry of the Interior in Spain has announced the bilateral agreement between Spain and the UK to enable those taking out residency in Spain from UK to exchange their driving licence, there are a few procedures to go through.
Those now coming to Spain and those already here will have a period of 6 months in which to exchange their licence as from March 16th 2023. You can do this even if you licence has expired since you have been here but not if it expired before taking out residency. Those coming to Spain after that ...

Read more...

...date will have a period of 6 months in which to exchange their licence from the date they take out residency. Failure to do so will mean you will not be able to drive in Spain and we don't want to have to go through the taking of driving tests again.
Firstly, you need an appointment with trafico. This can be done with the DGT at Alicante or Elche. You will need to make a cita previa (prior appointment) before attending. You can do this by calling 060 or completing a request online.
The updated page to obtain the appointment is now Cita Previa DGT

You will need to complete the application form which is here Exchanging Foreign Driving Licence

Once you have the appointment, you need to take the completed application form.
You need your passport and a copy.
Your NIE certificate and copy
Your residence card and copy. If you have a TIE this may obviate the need for your passport and NIE certificate but take them to be safe.
The medical and psychological test certificate. There are loads of posts on here where to get them done but this map shows you the recognised centres. Just enter your province (Alicante) and town. This will cost approximately 40 euro. Note it is only valid for a certain time so don't get it until your appointment is confirmed.
Your current UK licence and a copy.#
Two photographs 32x25mm.
The fee of €24.78. This can be paid at a bank or at the actual appointment.
If you are over 70 the fee is not applicable.
The British Embassy is advising that you do this straight away and do not wait until the 6 months approaches as you will not be able to change your licence nor drive in Spain once that 6 months is up.

There seems to be a problem with the map...... It shows no centres in the entire Valencia province, and won't let me enter my town (Gandia). Any suggestions?

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:40am

marcliff

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:40am

Swimmer57 wrote on Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:17am:
There seems to be a problem with the map...... It shows no centres in the entire Valencia province, and won't let me enter my town (Gandia). Any suggestions?

Does Gandia have a trafico office? It only lists places where the DGT office is to go for the appointment If you go down to V (for Valencia) it lists Valencia, Alzira and Valladolid as centres. There's also Zaragoza,

I think Alzira would be the closest to Gandia

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:22am

Gillyt59

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:22am

Hi Thank you for taking the time to write all the information required to renew licence. Can I ask has anyone been able to do this yet as everytime I go into site UK is NOT shown Thanks Gillian

Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:17pm

marcliff

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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2023 12:17pm

Gillyt59 wrote on Fri Mar 17, 2023 11:22am:
Hi Thank you for taking the time to write all the information required to renew licence. Can I ask has anyone been able to do this yet as everytime I go into site UK is NOT shown Thanks Gillian

Click on my link. If you use Google Chrome it will automatically translate to English.

On the right is Canjes de Permiso Extranjero (Foreign Permit Exchanges)

That takes you to Exchanges of Foreign Permit and asks you to select the country.

United Kingdom is on that list and has been since yesterday.between Portugal and Dominican Republic.

Then you opt for Face to Face then, on the next page, select appointment request.

Annoyingly, UK does not come up on that page. It tells you you have to select Office Formalities and then complete the next page.

I have contacted DGT to find out why it has to be done this way and not just select UK. If they reply I'll post the answer.

I know it's a new system and they may not have got around to it yet but you'd think they'd have been ready for it.

It also says that, if you are over 65, you can just turn up at the office without a prior appointment and they'll do it for you. Whether that works or not is down to Spanish bureaucracy.