British Embassy urges UK licence holders to exchange their licence before cut-off date

On March 15^th of this year, the UK and Spain reached an agreement for the exchange of driving licences, which enables UK licence holders living in Spain, including the Canary Islands, to swap their UK licence for a Spanish one without needing to take a practical or theory test. 

The agreement gave existing residents who had not exchanged their UK licences for a Spanish one previously, six months to do so until September 15th, during which time they could continue to drive on their UK licences.

As for newly arrived residents, the agreement gave them six months from the date they acquired their residency documents to exchange their UK licence. After these six months, the UK licence will no longer be considered valid for driving in Spain, so you will be driving illegally, but you can still exchange it.

The British Embassy has been urging UK licence holders to make the exchange by the cut-off date. On 29th March, the Ambassador hosted a ‘Facebook Live’ to address frequently asked questions, whilst the Embassy has advised that anyone struggling to get an appointment at their local Dirección General de Tráfico office (DGT) go to their neighbouring one instead.

Last week, the British Embassy announced a resolution had been found to an issue which some holders of expired UK licences (typically those over 70) had been experiencing when trying to exchange their licences. Those affected should follow the established process for exchange, requesting their check code via the UK Government’s website, gov.uk.

 His Majesty’s Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott said: “It is very important that UK licence holders who lived in Spain prior to 15th March 2023 and want to drive here exchange their licences on or before 15th September. We want this message to reach as many UK licence holders as possible, so please spread the word and refer to our Facebook page and the Living In Spain Guide on gov.uk for more information.”

“UK licence holders who moved to Spain before 16th March 2023 and fail to make the exchange by 15th September will no longer be able to drive on their UK licence. If they wish to continue driving in Spain, they will need to go through the licence exchange process.” 

The process for completing the exchange is not difficult and is run by the Dirección General de Tráfico, so see their website for more information: www.dgt.es where you can also change the language into English.