Foreign driving licence

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.

Steps in order

1. 1Open DGT's foreign-licence validity page and match country, categories and residence dates. Record questions that remain unclear before driving.
2. 2For an exchange, select the actual issuing country in DGT's current catalogue; check agreement conditions and excluded cases.
3. 3Confirm whether validation by the issuing authority, a medical examination or additional tests are required.
4. 4Collect only the evidence for that country and procedure; check fees and available online/in-person channels.
5. 5Submit through DGT and track validation or missing-document requests. For a digital exchange, confirm when the original must be handed in.
6. 6Check the temporary/final document, its territorial limits and expiry. Do not assume a Spanish provisional document permits driving abroad.

After submitting

• Keep submission, original-surrender and collection evidence.
• Track the Spanish licence's renewal date and any conditions on categories.

Useful question in Spanish

Mi permiso fue expedido en este país y mi residencia habitual comenzó en esta fecha. ¿Qué reglas de validez, renovación o canje se aplican a mis categorías?