Foreign plates in Spain: how long you can drive and when to register (2026)

In short: with foreign plates in Spain you can drive as a visitor; as a resident, only within the time limit to register it: if you live here, the car you use must be registered in Spain. Driving it becomes subject to the registration tax (IEDMT) if you have not applied for Spanish plates within 30 days of starting to use the car in Spain. It is 60 days if you are moving and the transfer-of-residence exemption applies. For EU cars, the official guide says one month from the day you become a resident. If you live outside the EU and visit with your own car, registered outside the EU, it can go in temporary import: generally up to 6 months. It enters without customs duties and must leave again.

In person or by representative? Mixed. The ITV (technical inspection) requires the car to be physically presented at the station; the sources do not say whether the owner must take it in person. The DGT (traffic authority) registers online, in its electronic registry, or at a provincial office (Jefatura) with a prior appointment. For temporary import, if Customs asks for a normal declaration, the traveller or a customs representative can file it (NI GA 15/2022). For the rest, the sources do not say whether someone else can act for you: check with the DGT or a gestor.

Depending on your situation:

• EU citizen passing through with an EU car: according to the official guide, no formalities are needed to drive.
• You live outside the EU and visit Spain with your car, registered outside the EU in your name: it can go in temporary import. The general limit is 6 months; for students, the length of their study stay; for people on a fixed-term mission, the length of the mission (arts. 212 and 217 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446). It can be declared orally or by implied act (acto presunto), without a guarantee, unless there is a serious risk of non-compliance (for example, the car staying in the EU): then Customs can require a normal declaration with a guarantee.
• You become a resident with an EU-registered car: it must be registered in Spain in three steps: ITV (technical sheet in the Spanish format), taxes (registration tax at the AEAT, with proof of payment, exemption or non-liability, plus the municipal circulation tax) and the application at the DGT. The official guide gives one month from the day you become a resident.
• You become a resident with a non-EU car: Customs first, then ITV, taxes and DGT (full guide). With the transfer-of-residence exemption, the AEAT gives 12 months from when you establish your normal residence for the customs clearance; until then, while you are not yet a resident of the EU, the car can stay in temporary import. These are two separate clocks: Customs (12 months) and plates plus IEDMT (30 days, or 60 with the exemption). The 12 customs months do not extend the 30 or 60 IEDMT days, and Customs clearance must come before registration.
• You hold Temporary Protection and a car with Ukrainian plates: see the card for Ukraine, with the transfer of residence and Form 05.

When the 30 days start: if the car was in temporary import or on tourist plates (matrícula turística), when it leaves that regime. Otherwise, when it enters Spain. If that date cannot be proven, the later of the purchase date and the date from which you are considered a resident (art. 65.1.d of Ley 38/1992).

If you do not register in time: the registration duty set by this law is not enforced if, within the 30 or 60 IEDMT days, you do one of three things: self-assess and pay the tax; ask the AEAT for prior recognition of non-liability or exemption; or file an exemption declaration (additional provision 1, paragraph 2). Nor is it enforced if the tax office has already assessed the tax and you paid it (paragraph 3). The law says this applies without prejudice to the specific registration rules: traffic rules still apply and, according to the official guide, a resident with an EU car must register it. If you do none of this, when the tax authority or the traffic authority detects the breach, they give you 5 days to register the car or lodge a bank guarantee or surety insurance covering the tax. After that, they can immobilise the car until you regularise your situation (additional provision 1, paragraph 4, Ley 38/1992). If you will not make it in time, the DGT can issue temporary green plates (placas verdes) for 2 months, renewable, while you finish the process (official guide).

Insurance:

• With Spanish plates, permanent or temporary (green plates too), the car has its "habitual parking" in Spain and Spanish third-party liability insurance is mandatory (art. 2 of RDLeg 8/2004). According to the DGT, with green plates you can drive while you process the definitive registration as long as the car is insured. More in car insurance for foreigners.
• With foreign plates: a compulsory policy issued in an EU country guarantees in another member state the minimum cover that state's law requires, according to the OFESAUTO FAQ. If you enter from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) with a car from a country that has not joined the agreement between national insurers' bureaux, Customs can require compulsory insurance meeting the terms of Spanish law. If you do not have it, it must deny entry. OFESAUTO handles international insurance certificates and border insurance. Ask your insurer what your policy covers in your case.

Driving licence: a foreign licence has its own deadline and procedure: exchanging a foreign driving licence.

Steps:

1. Check your case in the list above. If you are a visitor, there is nothing to register; if your car is in temporary import, respect its time limit. If you are a resident, continue.
2. Non-EU car: Customs and, if it applies to you, the exemption for transfer of residence (Form 06 for the IEDMT).
3. ITV: first-registration ITV. For EU cars you get the technical sheet in the Spanish format (no Customs step; documents are in the official guide).
4. Taxes and DGT: final steps: registration tax, circulation tax and the application at the DGT, online or with an appointment (for EU cars, no Customs step; documents are in the official guide).
5. If you will not make it in time: ask the DGT for green plates (2 months, renewable; with the car already insured in Spain).
6. Insurance: take out the mandatory Spanish insurance (car insurance).

The documents for each step are in the linked cards; this summary may be incomplete, so compare it with the official DGT page.

Official sources: BOE: Ley 38/1992, DGT: import a vehicle from outside the EU, Tu espacio europeo.

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