If you previously exchanged your UK driving licence – or any other – for a Spanish one you’ll probably know that you have to renew it at least every ten years. Here we take a look at how to renew your Spanish driving licence when it expires.
Note: If you need to exchange your current driving licence for a Spanish one check out the Spanish government info.
While Spanish driving licences are valid for up to ten years the expiry date does vary and will depend mainly on your age, but also vehicle classes. It may also be reduced if you are taking certain medications.
The Dirección General de Tráfico (Directorate-General for Traffic or DGT) may notify you when your licence is due to expire. But my experience is that they don’t.
You’ll find details of what you can drive and expiry dates on the reverse of your driving licence. But be aware that you may have different expiry dates for different vehicles classes.
How often do you need to renew your licence?
For cars up to 3500 kg in weight, mopeds, motorcycles and light goods vehicles:
- Below 65: renew after ten years
- 65-70: renew after five years
- 70+: every three years
To drive heavier vehicles you need to renew your licence more often:
- Below 65: renew after five years
- 65+: renew after three years
How to renew a Spanish driving licence
The driving licence renewal isn’t granted automatically. You’ll need to have a medical and your hand-eye coordination tested.
There are a couple of ways in which you can apply for your driving licence renewal:
- Directly with the DGT: you, or an authorised representative, can apply in person with completed paperwork and medical certificate.
- The medical centre where you go for your check up can complete the paperwork and apply for you.
This latter is by far the easiest option. It’s how I recommend doing it so what I’ll focus on below. To find an authorised medical centre near you go here and download the PDF document.
Documents required for Spanish driving licence renewal
There are two documents you’ll need to take with your for renewal. These are:
- Current driving licence
- Residence document
On the day
When I last renewed my licence (August 2021) I booked an appointment at a local clinic registered with the traffic department the prior week. I took along my documents and went through the following process:
General admin
- Photo taken
- Asked to provide information about medications taken or any surgical procedure
- Confirmed address
- Short computer test for hand-eye coordination
Total: 10 mins
Medical
- Confirmation of meds/surgery
- Blood pressure and heart checked
- Eye test
Total: 10 mins
The total cost was €90 and I was issued a slip of paper as a temporary driving licence.
The full driving licence was posted to me and took a number of weeks to arrive. That may have been impacted by the fact that I renewed in August, when much of Spain closes down.
So that’s it, it’s pretty simple, especially if you get your medical centre to do all the paperwork for you. There’s an additional cost, of course, but for €90 all in is well worthwhile.
Any questions?
Let me know below and I’ll do my best to answer you.
