When you buy a car from a dealer in Spain, he usually arranges for the issue of the registration certificate ( permiso de circulación) or the transfer of ownership. If you buy a car privately, you can do the registration yourself or you can employ a gestor to do it for you.
When you buy a second-hand car, you must apply for a change of registration ( cambio de titularidad) within ten days of purchase at the vehículos counter of the local traffic department. The following documents are required:
- a completed application form ( notificación de transferencia de vehículos), obtainable from the local provincial traffic department;
- the current registration document ( permiso de circulación) with the transfer of ownership listed on the reverse, including the seller’s signature;
- the road tax ( impuesto municipal sobre vehículos de tracción mecánica/IVTM) receipt for the current year and a photocopy;
- the current ITV test certificate and card and photocopies;
- a receipt for the payment of transfer tax;
- your residence permit ( residencia) or a photocopy or the title deeds ( escritura) of your Spanish home if you aren’t a Spanish resident and your foreigner’s identification number ( NIE). It’s usually necessary to be a Spanish resident or own or rent a home in Spain in order to operate a car on Spanish plates, although you can also obtain a certificate ( certificado de empadronamiento) stating that you’re a registered inhabitant of a municipality.
- the receipt for the change of registration fee;
- a stamped, self-addressed envelope (for the return of the new registration document).
If a person other than the new owner makes the application, he must provide written authorisation from the owner and supply his own resident permit and a copy.
If your car is stolen or scrapped, you should complete a baja de matrícula form, available from your provincial traffic department. You require the same documents as for registration (listed above), with the exception of the receipt for payment of transfer tax. If the vehicle has been stolen, a copy of the police report ( denuncia) is required. If the vehicle is more than 15 years old, no fee is charged. The baja ensures that you no longer receive road tax bills or traffic fines, even if someone else puts the vehicle back on the road.
Registration Plates
Since 2001, Spanish registration plates have consisted of four digits followed by three letters, e.g. 1234 ABC, meaning that you cannot tell where a car is from, but there are thousands of cars on the road with old-style registration plates, which consisted of one or two letters denoting the province where the vehicle is registered (e.g. B for Barcelona and M for Madrid), followed by four digits and one or two more letters (e.g. M-1234-A). The original registration normally remains permanently with a car, although it’s possible to re-register a vehicle. If you’re buying a pre-2001 car and don’t want to re-register it, it’s best to buy one registered in the province where you live, or you will be permanently identified as a ‘stranger’ (which could cause you problems in some areas).
Since 1st July 1995, Spanish registration plates have incorporated the EU flag and an ‘E’ for España on the left-hand side of the plate. Tourist plates (see below) have a T followed by numbers and a date of expiry in red. Green plates signify an imported vehicle or one previously on tourist plates awaiting standard plates.
Tourist Plates
It’s possible for non-residents to register a vehicle under Spain’s ‘tourist registration’ scheme ( matrícula turística). It must have been bought outright with foreign currency or, if you paid for it in euros, you must provide proof that it was bought outside Spain. The vehicle will be issued with tourist plates, which cost €68 and must be renewed annually for a similar fee. They can be renewed indefinitely provided you don’t work in Spain.
If you’re a non-EU national, you must make a sworn statement ( declaración jurada) that you don’t reside in Spain for more than six months a year and the vehicle may be used only by you and your immediate family and must be ‘sealed’ ( precintado) by customs during periods of absence from Spain.
Spanish road tax must be paid on all cars kept in Spain on tourist plates. Most car dealers will handle the registration and renewal of tourist plates, as will a gestor, who should charge around €50 to complete the paperwork.
When a non-resident with a vehicle on tourist plates becomes a resident, he has three months from the date of receipt of his residence card to change to standard plates. Anyone who illegally drives a vehicle on tourist plates can be fined up to €3,000 and the vehicle can be confiscated.
This article is an extract from Living and Working in Spain.
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