Summary
British residents in Spain with a UK driving license who have not yet made the exchange for a Spanish one will have two more months - until 31st December 2021 - to do so and until that date they will be able to continue driving with their current license throughout the Spanish territory.
Spanish law establishes that exchanging a foreign driving license for a Spanish one is mandatory for residents of Spain. Non-community permits must be exchanged for a Spanish one within 6 months of obtaining residence. UK driving license holders are treated as third country nationals for license exchanges and, since early 2021, have been in exceptional circumstances due to Brexit.
Since the beginning of this year, the governments of Great Britain and Spain have held talks to try to reach an agreement on the exchange of licenses for drivers with licenses from the United Kingdom who reside in Spanish territory. The absence of any agreement until today, this week has forced the governments of both countries to extend again, now until December 31, 2021, the deadline for the exchange. Therefore, resident drivers with British licenses will be able to continue driving in Spain for the rest of the year and their licenses will be 100% valid until December 31.
It should be remembered that the original term to carry out the exchange was until June 30, 2021, then it was extended to October 31 and now it has been extended until the end of the current year with a view to reaching an agreement before the start of 2022.
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As bilateral talks continue, the current legal situation establishes three categories for citizens with British driving licenses:
Pre-registered drivers
1- Citizens protected by the withdrawal agreement pre-registered before January 1, 2021.
British driver's license holders who pre-registered for the license exchange before December 31, 2020.
These licensees have until December 31, 2021 to complete the final stage of the exchange. For this they must have the TIE or residence documentation. People in this situation should know that their British driving license will be valid in Spain until 31st December 2021, after the two-month extension has been approved (from October 31 to December 31).
Not pre-registered drivers
2- Citizens protected by the Withdrawal Agreement not pre-registered
UK license holders who started to reside in Spain in 2020 but did not register with the Directorate General for Traffic (DGT) for license exchange before December 31, 2020.
Currently, these holders must retake their driving test to exchange their British license for a Spanish one. This must be done before December 31, 2021, as UK permits lose their validity for residents protected by the withdrawal agreement as of that date.
Third countries
3- Nationals of third countries
Citizens of the United Kingdom who have arrived in Spain as of January 1, 2021 and, therefore, have obtained residence in Spain through a visa.
The pre-registration system does not apply to them and they cannot benefit from the withdrawal agreement. Therefore, they have to exchange their driving license in the normal way for third-country nationals, that is, they have to take the driving test again. This must be done within 6 months after the completion of the residency process in Spain.
Links of interest:
For more information on the procedures necessary to exchange, renew or replace your driving license: consult this link to the Traffic Authority.
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