Guided preparationRegional rules
Foreign driving licence
Check recognition, exchange or renewal with DGT according to issuing country and residence.
Responsible authority
Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT)
Rule level
España · comunidad / ciudad autónoma
Application route
online, in person, appointment may be required
Last reviewed
September 20, 2026
What is this for?
The issuer, licence category, validity and residence dates determine the route. This plan does not certify that you may drive or that an exchange agreement applies.
When can it be useful?
- Check recognition, exchange or renewal with DGT according to issuing country and residence.
Where do I arrange it?
- DGT: Conducir con un permiso extranjero
- DGT: Canjes de permisos extranjeros · elegir país
- Unión Europea · Your Europe: Permisos de conducir en la UE
What may I need first?
- Issuing country group
- Country and licence categories
- Is your normal residence in Spain?
- Is the licence currently valid?
- What do you want to check?
Documents to prepare
- Original driving licence, issuing country, categories and validity dates.
- Own identity, residence evidence and the date normal residence began, as requested by DGT.
- For exchange: the application and country-specific evidence requested by DGT; medical fitness evidence where applicable.
- Current fee, photograph and appointment/submission confirmation only for the selected procedure.
Practical route
- Open DGT's foreign-licence validity page and match country, categories and residence dates. Record questions that remain unclear before driving.
- For an exchange, select the actual issuing country in DGT's current catalogue; check agreement conditions and excluded cases.
- Confirm whether validation by the issuing authority, a medical examination or additional tests are required.
- Collect only the evidence for that country and procedure; check fees and available online/in-person channels.
- Submit through DGT and track validation or missing-document requests. For a digital exchange, confirm when the original must be handed in.
- Check the temporary/final document, its territorial limits and expiry. Do not assume a Spanish provisional document permits driving abroad.
What comes next?
- Keep submission, original-surrender and collection evidence.
- Track the Spanish licence's renewal date and any conditions on categories.
Important to check
Preparation aid, not an official form or decision. The competent authority confirms eligibility, required evidence, fees and the outcome. Items marked for confirmation remain unresolved.
Official sources
SpainForm records the authority and review date so this content can be checked and updated manually.