Driving licence: when to exchange or re-register

Whether you need to exchange your foreign driving licence depends on three things: which country issued it, whether Spain has an exchange agreement with that country, and how long you've been resident here.

EU/EEA licences

Valid in Spain as-is while they remain in force — exchanging is voluntary. The exception: if your licence has no expiry date, or is valid for an unusually long period (15+ years for car/motorbike categories, 5+ years for lorry/bus categories), you must exchange or renew it within two years of establishing residency here.

UK licences

Since Brexit, the UK isn't an EU licence anymore, but Spain and the UK have a bilateral agreement — UK licence holders can exchange for a Spanish one via the standard DGT process, no test required. The clock is the same as for non-EU countries with an agreement: six months from the start of your residency (generally dated from your empadronamiento or TIE, whichever comes first).

Everyone else

If your country doesn't have an exchange agreement with Spain, there's no direct swap — after six months as a resident, that foreign licence stops being valid for driving here, and the only route is a Spanish driving school and test from scratch. This catches a lot of people out, since a foreign licence is often still accepted informally for short tourist visits, which isn't the same legal situation as being a resident.

What the exchange process involves

• Book a DGT appointment (an online exchange system now exists, reducing how much needs to be done in person)
• Bring your original licence (it's surrendered — you don't get it back), passport, NIE/TIE, empadronamiento, and a medical fitness certificate (informe psicotécnico) from an authorised test centre
• Pay the DGT exchange fee
• You'll get a temporary document to drive on while the physical Spanish card is produced and posted

The safest approach, whichever category you're in: start the process well before your window closes, not after.