Driver’s License Spain

Background: Requirements and Loopholes?

Hi there, once again! Today I am sharing with you the process for obtaining my driver’s license in Spain, and some tips for you as your prepare to do the same. Yes, I said it- you are preparing to do the same, right? Some countries do have exchange agreements with Spain- whereupon the driver’s of that country can do a “canje” (a switch), of their driver’s license for a Spanish license, but not every country’s citizens are so lucky- mine included.

Do the the fact that every state in the United States has it’s own individual driving examination methods, Spain does not see the consistency aligned with what they want- just like many other European countries (insert Germany). In Germany, you can get your driver’s license from the United States exchanged in SOME CASES, depending specifically on which state your license is from. Once you have residency there, they will require either a full retake of their requirements, a driving exam online, a written exam only, or possibly a straight switch. Unfortunately, Spain is not the same. However, if you choose to reside legally in Germany first, that may buy you a few years on the process in Spain.

Let’s assume you don’t want to jump through those hoops- two international moves in a short amount of time isn’t easy. Trust me, I did two in less than three years! Starting over in a new country, with a new language, culture, and building relationships is not for the faint of heart, and it’s not easy to restart that process voluntarily.

From here, I will explain the process I went through to pass my Spanish driving exam, from Zaragoza, Spain.

Tip #1: International Driver’s Permit (IDP)

Before you arrive to Spain, obtain your International Driver’s Permit (IDP). This is not a license in and of itself. It is a translation document. It contains a translation of your current, valid driver’s license. Without your current, valid driver’s license, the International Driver’s Permit is useless. With it, you can driver internationally, in countries which allow it, with your IDP and your current, valid driver’s license (don’t forget that part!).

Here is the caveat: once you become a legal resident of a country, your rules change, and in Spain, that means you now need a Spanish Driver’s License.

My Process: Failures and Successes

So here is the back story to finally getting my Spanish driver’s license.

Failures: Failing twice in English in Murcia City

Back in 2022, I signed up in Murcia City to take the exam in english. I studied online with practica test, I made my own test taking appointment on the DGT website, I got my medical check completed, as shown in the video below. I said in this video that I would update on my progress, but my progress did not really update because after taking the test TWICE in english, I was “no apto”, FAILED. Did not pass. I was burnt out, irritated, etc. Studying for this test was a part time job, which I had worked at relentlessly, but still failed, so I was very much over it by that point.

I decided to take a break for while, focus on learning the language, and then come back down the road and take the test in Spanish. I set a goal for myself to reach the B1 level of spanish, and then to start studying again for the test, but this time in Spanish. The reason I made this turn was because the test was so badly translated, and I believed that was part of why I failed.

Within the translations, they completely change the meaning of the question, and they also used British english, which believe it or not, IS different than American english- not just in accent, but in vocabulary.

I signed up for online private Spanish classes that year, and continued those for a few months. Eventually, in 2023, we moved to Madrid, where I really wasn’t focusing so much on learning the language, but rather getting my kids adapted to school, and occasionally taking a private online Spanish class here or there. I also plugged myself into different social groups, women’s groups, book clubs, etc. I was redirecting my energy into socializing and relationship building, rather than strictly language learning. At the time, that was what I needed for my mental health. I was two years into living here, and knee deep in the trenches of that process.

Tip #2: Learn Spanish to at least the B1 Level

Learn Spanish: invest in the time it takes to learn Spanish, up to a B1 level. With the B1 level and a decent teacher who has some basic ideal of english, you can be successful. The closer you are to B2, the easier it will be to communicate back to the instructor, but in my opinion, B1 will get you there on a Spanish test, a lot easier than taking it in English. Studying in Epanish will advance your language even further.

Successes: Passed the test in Spanish in Zaragoza

In 2024 we moved to Zaragoza, and I decided to seriously get into Spanish classes. I joined a local place here in Zaragoza, and intensely studied the language for about 6 months. I increased my level to B1, and eventually took a break from that and refocused my energy into studying for the driving test in Spanish.

I began studying, once again, with the free version of PracticaTest, eventually moving into the paid version, and really investing a LOT of time once again, into this process. I did a mix of english and spanish studying through the website, slowly working my way up to only Spanish. I learned a ton of phrases, vocabulary, etc related to driving in Spanish during this process, and it did take me a lot of time to do that, but I DID IT!

I followed the same process in Zaragoza, as I had done in Murcia, except this time I made it even further into the process:

• PracticaTest,
• Medical Check,
• DIY Appointment making at the DGT (the website had changed by now and I had to relearn how to do that),
• Take the Test (PASSED IT on the first try!), then I FINALLY
• Signed up for the actual driving lessons, which are required by law to be through a school
• The school scheduled the driving exam
• Took and passed the driving test

Here is a run down of my process in Zaragoza. I am including the locations that I went to for:

• the medical check,
• websites for studying,
• youtube channels that I used to supplement my learning with,
• what driving school and went to, and
• a general timeline of my process.

Multiple stage process

Studying for the Written Test: DIY or In a School

Step one in Zaragoza is to study for the written test. You can choose the pay a local driving school for this process. The will provide you with in-person or online classes, the course material, the picture taking, making your appointment at the DGT for you, and other paperwork requirements. It is an option, but it is expensive.

The DIY option is the self study on PracticaTest. You can register for free. The program issues one test per day for free. I began with this option each time. As I built up my studying length and routine, I signed up for the paid subscription. This gave me access to many more questions. They show you a wheel of how close you are to being “ready” for the exam. The suggestion is to get to around 85-90%, but this is what I did the first go around, so this time, in Spanish, I did not make my test taking appointment until I was past 90%. As that point, I felt I was “ready” for the written test. And if I wasn’t, there was not much to do about it. lol

The DGT now has easily accessible information online, including details about the specific requirements for the driver’s license, study material, and more. I have linked it here.

Make the DGT appointment: Links, Images, How To

I made the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) appointment online through their website. It now includes a built in translator at the top right, where you can switch it into your language of choice. If it doesn’t, then you can use the google translator plugin to change the language.

The appointment itself was relatively easy to get. I think it took me a couple of weeks of checking every day, until a date came up, which is an easy timeframe compared to other cities.. There were times in the past, when I was trying to make a timing plan for the process, that I could find appointments on any random day that I tried, so it probably depends on the time of year and demand.

Selecting the button for “application for exam test”, will take you to this link for making an appointment to take your written test in Spain, on your own. This option is called “por libre”. If you sign up with a driving school, they will do this for you. This is the DIY option.

Selecting “Presencial” will take you to this link.

Selecting “online” will take you here. The website image that comes next is shared below. It is the “NEW DGT” website. Once you get to this website, you need to SCROLL DOWN a little bit.

After you scroll down one little bit, the next frame looks like this:

At this point, you need to select your center that you want to take the written test at (“CENTRO/CENTER”), and then an option for the type of appointment will populate to the right hand side. I believe you need to select “otro/other” when this happens, BUT the website is not functioning properly at the time of this writing, so I will have to continue to check it to be able to include some more images for the process. This is the nature of Spain. Sometimes things don’t work as they should, but they eventually will. This is the last step in getting to the page where you need to make an appointment in Zaragoza, or whichever city you are in.

Here is what populates after you select Zaragoza.

At this appointment, I received a test date for 6 weeks out. I was shocked, because two years prior, in Murcia, the test date had been given for the following week, so this was unexpected. I went for this appointment when I felt I was ready for the test, so I still had six weeks left to wait, as in six weeks to continue studying to increase my percentage on practicatest. While you are making the appointment, they will ask you if you want to take the written exam in english or spanish.

Tip #4: DGT has some study materials

The DGT now includes some study materials. They are here. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, past all of the videos, you will find some links to written resources. With the google translator installed on your computer, you can read these in your language of choice.

Medical Exam: Easy Appointment Making Online

I took the medical exam for the Spanish driver’s license in Zaragoza at this location.

https://renovarcarnetconducirzaragoza.com/

It was not technically a walk-in appointment, because I did make an appointment through their website, but the appointment was available right away- so I made it for “ten minutes from now” and went. I did this after making my written test appointment online, but before actually going to it.

Pinned link of the location of the medical center: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZBYoU22y4qtJP1id8

I went into this center, had my TIE ready. I gave that to them, answered their questions, had my picture taken, and then waited for my turn for the exam. This video includes that I went and had my picture taken separately, but that is no longer required. I showed up with those pictures and didn’t need them. I did not know at the time, that a rule had recently changed, whereby the images were not needed. Spain always keeps you guessing.

Here is how the process went:

• I had a hearing test,
• had my blood pressure taken and then
• did a reaction time test.
  • This was the most nerve wrecking part, and it is included in the video below:

Spanish Driver’s License Study DIY Video

Written Test Taking Appointment Location

1. Go to the test date appt.
   • Here I arrived early, had my TIE with me, took more practice test on my phone before I went inside. Inside, there is no talking. There is security. You will be assigned a place to sit. You fill out the different screens on the computer that you are assigned to. All of the verbal instructions are given in spanish to the class. I took the test, and then I went through and double checked myself for errors that were common to the ones I was making on the practice test, due to the language being in spanish for this test. I made quite a few corrections before leaving. I finished with seconds to spare.
2. That same day, by 6pm, I received my results.
   • As seen in this video, along with some tips on how I studied. This occurred on a Thursday.
3. On the following day (Friday), I went to some local driving schools that I had emailed to ask if they had automatic cars. I visited two places, and signed up at the second place because they said they could start me the following week in an automatic car, and that I could test in one month. My original plan was to visit three places before making a decision of where to go, but when they told me I could start the following Tuesday (in two business days), I decided to go with them. I paid about 550E for a pack of 10 classes, including the fees for the exam. This is the school I went with. It is called My Autoescuela, and they have a lot of locations throughout Zaragoza. You should choose a school near you, but know that when you do the actual practice driving with an instructor, everyone meets at the same location and practices on pretty much the same routes.
4. I started the driving classes the following Tuesday. I took the classes a couple of times a week, sometimes doubling up on certain days when space was available. Each class is 45 minutes long, so two classes back to back is 1.5 hours.
5. I ended up buying 4 additional tests, to fill the space between when the 10 were done and the date of the actual driving test & to build my confidence up. I continued to test throughout the week of my test, up until the day before. I also watched a lot of videos that I found on youtube, which came from other driving schools. I attempted to predict what they would do while they were driving, so see if I was correct. I listened to their instructions in Spanish, etc. This helped me to reinforce what I was learning, but in another method. It also meant that if I wasn’t outside driving in the classes, then I was inside virtually driving. This studying process was not AS intense as studying for the written test, but I really tried not to waste a moment. I was DREAMING about this stuff in my sleep!!
   • Here are two links to two of the youtube channels I used, to get you started. Maybe you can find more. I suggest you watch as many as possible, from as many resources as possible. My driving school also had videos built in to their course on their online platform. I watched those first, then when I was finished with that, I went to these.
     • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wxwra14aJ3g
     • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jVICY8NXnc
6. I arrived to the test taking site on a Thursday, one month after I had passed the written test. I rode with the instructor, the evaluator, and one other person. They were very considerate of my language learning and gave me easy instructions. They offered to repeat anything I needed, and were okay when the girl before me asked for them to repeat the instructions. I actually did not need them to do this for me. After the test, they asked me if I had driven before and we had a short talk. He told me the results would be online later that day. The total time from passing one test to the other was right at 30 days.
7. Before the time came to find out if I had passed or not (6pm), my driving instructor had already been notified that I had passed. He texted me, so I found out a few hours early that I had passed. I waited for 6pm and printed out the provisional license. I could now legally drive in Spain with this piece of paper that had just come out of my home printer. I went to the office that same day and collected my L plate. Once I got my evaluation results, I was able to see what I got points off for. They literally barely passed me LOL. They said I stopped for too long at the pedestrian crossings. I also didn’t get the full number of points for parallel parking.
8. A few months later, in September, I received my actual driver’s license.

This was an intense process, but after I had increased my spanish level, I was determined to do it. I set goals throughout the process. I wanted to be able to drive for many reasons, and once I completed this process, I set out to make them happen! These were my rewards for completing this journey.

1. Go to the Beach from Zaragoza for the day!

2. Take my kids to the mountains on a hot summer day to escape the heat and visit a cool “swimming hole”.

We also wanted to visit Canfranc and Jaca, which we did.

We took a weekend trip to France to see the fall leaves changing.

We still have many trips planned. I want to make one each season to places that are 2-3 hours from Zaragoza, before embarking on longer drivers through other areas in Spain and France.

How I Rent A Car in Spain, as a “NEW” Spanish Driver

coming soon