Car registration

Car registration in Spain

What you have to do depends on where the car comes from. A new car from a dealer is mostly handled for you; a used car already on Spanish plates is a change of ownership with a deadline on it; a car brought in from abroad has to pass an inspection and be cleared for tax before the DGT will register it.

Buying a new car

The dealer normally handles everything: the technical inspection file, the registration tax, the municipal road tax and the registration itself. You end up with a circulation permit (permiso de circulación), a technical sheet (ficha técnica) and Spanish plates.

The DGT fee is €99.77 — tasa 1.1 — or €27.85 for a moped.

Buying a used car in Spain

The car is already registered, so what changes is the owner. Two separate things have to happen, and they have different deadlines.

The seller must notify the DGT of the sale within ten days. The fee is €8.67 — tasa 4.1. Until it is filed, the seller stays on the record as the owner for traffic purposes, which means their fines and their liability.

The buyer must apply to have the circulation permit reissued in their name within thirty days of the purchase. The fee is €55.70 — tasa 1.5. The car may not be driven until the new permit is issued, and if the thirty days pass without an application, the DGT can immobilise the vehicle and open a penalty procedure.

Before the DGT will process it, you need:

  • the purchase contract, signed by both parties on every page, or an invoice if the seller is a business
  • proof that transfer tax (ITP) has been paid, is exempt, or does not apply — form 620 or 621
  • the previous year's municipal road tax (IVTM) paid; the DGT checks this and will not proceed otherwise
  • a valid roadworthiness certificate, since the new permit is only valid while the ITV is in date

It is worth requesting the DGT's vehicle report before you pay. It shows whether the car is subject to a finance lien, a seizure or any other bar on transferring it.

Bringing a car in from abroad

Four steps, in order, and none of them can be skipped.

  1. Roadworthiness inspection. An ITV centre inspects the vehicle and issues the technical sheet that Spanish registration is built on.
  2. Registration tax. File the IEDMT — form 576 to pay it, or form 05 or 06 to claim an exemption or non-subjection — with the Spanish Tax Agency.
  3. Municipal road tax. Pay the IVTM, or obtain the exemption, at the town hall where the car will be registered.
  4. Registration. Apply to the DGT with the paperwork, and pay tasa 1.1 of €99.77.

The deadline is 30 days from the day you start using the car in Spain, extended to 60 days if you are moving your residence here and qualify for the tax exemption.

What the DGT asks for depends on where the car has come from:

  • Used, from the EU — the original foreign vehicle documents, the ITV technical sheet, and proof of the purchase, with a translation of the contract
  • New, from the EU — proof that VAT has been accounted for, and the ITV technical sheet
  • From outside the EU — the customs import certificate (H1), unless the import is already endorsed on the ITV sheet

The DGT has up to three months to resolve the application. Once it does, you are given the registration number and take it to an authorised centre to have the plates made.

Moving to Spain

Transferring your residence to Spain exempts the car you bring with you from the registration tax, on conditions: you lived outside Spain for at least twelve consecutive months, the car was bought and taxed normally where you lived, you used it there for at least six months before leaving, you apply within the sixty-day window, and you do not sell it for twelve months after registering it.

What you will need

  • Identification — DNI, or a NIE and residence document for a foreign national
  • A digital certificate, electronic DNI or Cl@ve credentials to file online
  • The vehicle's documents, which vary with where it comes from
  • Proof that the relevant taxes are settled
  • Valid insurance

Roadworthiness testing (ITV)

Inspection is periodic and the interval depends on the vehicle's age, counted from its first registration. For an ordinary car:

  • Up to 4 years — exempt
  • 4 to 10 years — every two years
  • Over 10 years — every year

Driving-school cars, taxis, ambulances and school transport are inspected more often. Vehicles classified as historic are inspected less often: every two years from thirty years old, every three from forty, every four from forty-five, and not at all beyond sixty.

References