Exchange Your Driving Licence in Spain (Canje): Full Guide

Who must exchange — and the 6-month rule

• Tourists and non-residents do not exchange anything: a valid foreign licence works for visits. If your licence is from outside the EU, the DGT recommends carrying an international driving permit alongside your passport and the licence itself.
• The clock starts with residence. A licence issued outside the EU/EEA is valid in Spain for a maximum of six months counted from the day you acquire normal residence. After that, driving on it is driving without a valid licence.
• Within those six months you must either exchange the licence (canje) — possible only if your country has an agreement with Spain — or obtain a Spanish licence through the exams.
• One more trap: a licence is not exchangeable if you obtained it after the agreement with that country was signed while you were already legally resident in Spain. Licences "collected" on a trip home after moving to Spain are excluded.

EU and EEA licences: valid as they are — with a two-year catch

• A licence issued by an EU or EEA state (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) is valid in Spain while it remains in force. Exchanging it for a Spanish card is voluntary.
• The catch: if your EU licence has no expiry date or a validity longer than 15 years (for classes AM/A1/A2/A/B/BE) or longer than 5 years (lorry/bus classes), you must renew it in Spain once two years have passed since you established normal residence — in practice you receive a Spanish licence.
• You can also voluntarily register or exchange an EU licence at any time — useful when it is close to expiry, lost or deteriorated, since renewal and replacement then happen through the DGT anyway.

Agreement countries — and the prior verification phase

Spain exchanges licences from EU/EEA states plus a list of countries with bilateral agreements — the DGT publishes the authoritative, dated list on its "countries with exchange agreements" page. Among them: the United Kingdom (agreement in force since 16 March 2023 — post-Brexit exchange works again), Ukraine (since 31 October 2010), Morocco, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland and others. Always check your country on the DGT list rather than trusting a blog — agreements are added and each has its own conditions.

• For a long list of agreement countries (mostly Latin American plus Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia, North Macedonia, the Philippines, New Zealand and others) the exchange runs in two phases: first the DGT sends a verification request (solicitud de verificación) to the country that issued your licence, asking it to confirm the licence is genuine and valid.
• Only when your country answers positively can the exchange itself proceed. You are notified by email with a locator number confirming the validity of your original licence.
• Budget real time for this: the DGT itself warns the answer can take days or even weeks, depending on how fast your country responds. Start well before your six months run out.
• Licences with lorry (C) or bus (D) classes usually require additional tests in Spain even for agreement countries.

The DGT procedure step by step

1. Check your country on the DGT agreement list and confirm your licence was issued before you became a Spanish resident.
2. Get the medical fitness report (informe de aptitud psicofísica — the "psicotécnico") at an authorised drivers' check centre (Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores). It is valid for 90 days, so do not get it months in advance.
3. If your country is on the verification list, file the verification request — online through the DGT's digital exchange service or by booking an appointment (cita previa) at a traffic office; the request itself starts the verification.
4. Wait for the confirmation email with your locator number, then submit the exchange application, pay the fee and upload or present your documents. Since May 2025 the DGT runs the whole exchange for third countries digitally: you only visit the provincial traffic office (Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico) once.
5. At the office, hand over your original foreign licence (it is withdrawn) and collect a provisional authorisation to drive in Spain.
6. Your definitive Spanish licence arrives by post in roughly a month and a half.

Documents, medical report and fees

• Identity: passport or DNI/NIE document, in force.
• Residence: your residence card (TIE) or, for EU citizens, the certificate of registration in the foreigners' register.
• Proof that the licence was obtained before your Spanish residence — some countries (Argentina, for example) require a specific certificate of legality/antiquity, apostilled.
• Your original foreign licence, valid and in force — it is surrendered at the exchange.
• The medical fitness report (informe de aptitud psicofísica) from an authorised centre — valid 90 days.
• The fee: tasa 2.3, €28.87 for exchanges without extra tests (motorbike and car classes A1/A/B/BE). If your exchange requires tests (typically C/D professional classes), it is tasa 2.1, €94.05, which covers two attempts.

No agreement with your country? Your options

• If your country is not on the DGT list (for example, Russia does not appear on it at the time of writing), the licence cannot be exchanged. After your six months as a resident you must obtain a Spanish licence the ordinary way: theory exam + practical exam.
• Your foreign driving experience is not "lost" for insurers — some accept documented licence history for the no-claims record — but for the DGT you are a new driver applicant.
• The theory exam can be sat in several languages at the DGT; check availability in your province when you register for the exams.
• Do not drive past the six-month mark "while sorting it out": driving without a valid licence is a serious offence and voids your insurance cover in practice.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Official sources