Ukrainian driving licence in Spain: temporary protection and exchange

In short: if you are looking at a Ukrainian driving licence in Spain, your status comes first. With temporary protection in force, your valid Ukrainian licence is recognised across the EU and you do not have to exchange it (Regulation (EU) 2022/1280, art. 3). Without that protection, or once you move to ordinary residence, the 2010 Spain-Ukraine agreement applies: exchange at the DGT, no exam except for truck and bus, which have a driving test. The texts do not say from when the 6-month period runs once temporary protection is lost: ask the DGT.

In person or by representative? According to the DGT page for Ukraine, the application can be made by the holder or by anyone authorised on their behalf. To authorise someone, you appoint them in the DGT register of powers of attorney (procedure “Canjes de permisos extranjeros”). If they go in person, the DGT form “Otorgamiento de representación” signed by you and stating that the representation is free of charge also works. It is filed online with a digital certificate or Cl@ve, or in person at a Traffic Office (Jefatura u Oficina de Tráfico) with an appointment (phone 060 or the electronic office). When booking, both people's ID documents are given. If the application goes online, at the end the original Ukrainian licence is handed in at the chosen Jefatura, where the provisional licence is collected. The medical report is done in person at a driver assessment centre. With temporary protection in force there is no procedure to do.

Your status and what the texts say:

1. You have temporary protection in force. Regulation (EU) 2022/1280 (art. 3.1) recognises valid Ukrainian licences in the Union while the holder has temporary protection, until it ceases to apply. You do not have to exchange it. A state cannot require a sworn translation or an international permit, but may ask for a passport, a temporary residence document or another document to check your identity (art. 3.2). Each state may check the licence and refuse to recognise it if the Ukrainian authorities answer negatively or do not answer, or if there are serious doubts about authenticity (art. 7). If your licence is electronic only and the state cannot check its authenticity, integrity and validity, the regulation does not apply to it (art. 7); confirm with the DGT which document to carry. Recognition also does not stop national rules on withdrawing or suspending the right to drive (art. 3.1). If your licence expired after 31 December 2021, art. 5 treats it as valid only if Ukraine has decided to extend it and has told the Commission and the states. Temporary protection runs until 4 March 2028 (EU extension); the regulation stops applying the day after it ends (art. 9.2).
2. You lost your licence or it was stolen (art. 6). The state where you live may check with the Ukrainian authorities and issue you an EU-model licence of the same category with code 99.01, valid only while temporary protection lasts. It is an option for the state, not a right of yours, and it may first require a medical fitness exam. The texts reviewed do not say whether Spain applies it.
3. You drive trucks or buses as a professional (art. 4). If you hold the Ukrainian driver qualification card, the state may offer extra training and an exam to enter code 95.01. This is optional too and stops being valid when temporary protection ends (art. 4.7). The Commission guidelines (13 February 2025) clarify that codes 95.01 and 99.01 are valid for as long as the protection lasts, even beyond 6 March 2025, and that the mention "(máx. 6.3.2025)" is no longer needed. They are not binding: only the Court of Justice of the EU gives binding interpretations of EU law.
4. You have no temporary protection, or you move to ordinary residence. The SEM Instructions 2/2026 explain that move. For the driving licence, the Spain-Ukraine agreement applies (exchange of notes of 11 January 2010, in force since 31 October 2010): both parties recognise valid licences, and anyone who establishes legal residence in the other country must exchange the licence for the equivalent, using the class table in annex I, if they want to drive. The exchange is done with no theory or practical exam. Only classes C1, C1+E, C, C+E, D1, D1+E, D and D+E (truck and bus, with trailer) require a driving test on open roads. In Spain the competent body is the Directorate-General of Traffic (DGT).
5. Conditions of the agreement to check. All licences issued up to the entry into force of the agreement (31 October 2010) to people who were already legal residents can be exchanged. Licences issued after that can be exchanged only if they were issued in the country where the applicant had legal residence (clause 3). The DGT sums it up in its foreign-licence information (version of 28/04/2025): a licence you obtained when already resident in Spain cannot be exchanged. The agreement does not apply to licences Ukraine issued in exchange for another obtained in a third country (clause 11). An official translation may be required and, as each country's formalities, a form, medical certificate, criminal-record certificate and fee (clauses 5 and 6).
6. General rules of the General Drivers Regulation. RD 818/2009 (art. 21.2) sets 6 months as the maximum for driving with a foreign licence from when you acquire normal residence, unless an agreement says otherwise. The exchange can be requested as soon as you acquire normal residence, without waiting for that period to run out (art. 22.2). The DGT returns the original licence to the issuing country unless the agreement says otherwise (art. 23.3), and the Spanish licence notes that it comes from an exchange (art. 23.4). More on the period: driving in Spain with a foreign license; the exchange and other countries: exchanging foreign licences.

What the texts do not say (ask the DGT before deciding):

• From when the 6-month period runs once temporary protection is lost or you move to ordinary residence.
• Whether you can ask for the exchange while your temporary protection is still in force: the regulation says it is not needed, but neither bans nor regulates it.
• Whether Spain applies the optional measures in arts. 4 and 6 of the regulation.
• How the DGT checks the authenticity of the licence with Ukraine today. In 2010 an answer from the Ukrainian authorities within 30 calendar days was planned.

Documents (exchange under the 2010 agreement; the DGT may ask for more, check its current list on its website):

• NIE or DNI number (or a copy of the TIE if you do not authorise the check) and a recent photo of 32 by 26 mm, in colour with a light background.
• Original Ukrainian licence and a photocopy, handed in for the exchange.
• Medical fitness report from an authorised driver assessment centre.
• Written declaration that you are not barred by court order from driving and that you do not hold another licence of the same class from the EU or EEA.
• Declaration that you answer for the authenticity, validity and currency of the licence and, if needed, an official translation into Spanish.
• Official form and fee. We do not give the amount: look it up on the DGT website.

Steps:

1. Check your status. With temporary protection in force there is no compulsory exchange: carry your Ukrainian licence and your passport or temporary residence document in case you are asked to identify yourself.
2. If you have no temporary protection or you move to ordinary residence, check that your Ukrainian licence is valid and which classes it matches in the table in annex I of the agreement.
3. Get the medical report at a driver assessment centre.
4. Book or file the application at the DGT website (in 2010 the protocol asked for: residence card number, province, ID document number and details of the Ukrainian licence).
5. Hand in the documents and the Ukrainian licence. If you apply for truck or bus, prepare for the driving test.
6. The DGT decides and gives you the Spanish licence, which notes that it comes from an exchange.

If you also bring your car, see the guide on registering a Ukrainian vehicle.

Official sources: Regulation (EU) 2022/1280, Commission guidelines (2025), Spain-Ukraine agreement (BOE-A-2010-14841), RD 818/2009, DGT: exchange of foreign licences.

Informational only; check the official source and a professional for your specific case.