Bringing your car from the UK to Spain
Customs, ITV, the registration tax exemption and Spanish plates
Written by the UK–Spain Removals editorial team. Regulatory detail describes Spanish, UK and EU rules as we understood them on the review date, and links to the official source for each. Check anything you intend to rely on against those sources: the rules change, and we are movers rather than legal or tax advisers. What changed at the last review: Added the registration-tax exemption; corrected the historic-vehicle inspection note; removed fixed deadlines and lead times in favour of the DGT and AEAT sources.
The short answer
A UK car brought to Spain by a new resident must be imported through customs and re-registered on Spanish plates with the DGT within the short period after you become resident that the rules allow. It can often enter free of duty and IVA under the change-of-residence relief, and may be exempt from the registration tax (IEDMT).
Is it worth bringing a UK car to Spain?
Physically moving a car to Spain is the easy half. It travels on a transporter or alongside the household goods, and the transport is a solved problem. What takes effort is the paperwork after it arrives, which draws documents from several sources: the V5C from the DVLA, the European certificate of conformity from the manufacturer, a Spanish ITV inspection, the customs import declaration and the tax position from the Agencia Tributaria.
For an ordinary car of middling age and value, the combined cost of transport, inspection, any homologation work and registration often outweighs what the car is worth in Spain, especially as right-hand-drive cars are harder to sell there. For a nearly new car, a classic or something with sentimental value, the calculation can go the other way. Ask us for a vehicle relocation quote and compare it honestly with selling in the UK and buying in Spain.
What has to happen to a UK car when you become resident in Spain?
Once you are resident, a UK-registered car must go onto Spanish plates within the short period the rules allow; it cannot simply be driven on UK plates indefinitely. Because the UK is outside the EU, the car is first imported through Spanish customs, then inspected at an ITV station, then registered with the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT). The DGT describes the import route for vehicles from outside the EU on its vehicles from abroad page. Confirm the current deadline and document list there before you rely on any date.
Your driving licence is a separate matter. UK guidance explains how long a UK licence can be used after you become resident and how to exchange it (GOV.UK: Living in Spain).
Do you pay Spain’s registration tax on an imported car?
Not necessarily. Spain charges a one-off registration tax on the first registration of a vehicle in Spain (Impuesto Especial sobre Determinados Medios de Transporte, IEDMT), based on CO2 emissions. Vehicles registered in Spain as a result of their owner transferring residence from abroad can be exempt, provided the conditions in Ley 38/1992 de Impuestos Especiales are met, including a minimum period of prior ownership and use. The exemption must be recognised by the Agencia Tributaria before registration, using modelo 05 (AEAT: registration tax exemptions).
The same change of residence can also relieve the car from import duty and IVA at customs, subject to its own conditions, which for vehicles include a longer ownership period on the IVA side. The customs guide explains the relief.
How does the registration process run?
The usual order is: import the car through Spanish customs and obtain the customs document; apply to the Agencia Tributaria for the registration tax exemption, or pay the tax; take the car for an ITV inspection at a Spanish station with the certificate of conformity, or complete homologation if no certificate exists; pay the municipal vehicle tax where you live; then apply to the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico for registration, receive the permiso de circulación and fit Spanish plates.
You will need the V5C, proof of ownership, your passport and TIE, a padrón certificate, the customs document, the ITV report, the certificate of conformity and the tax forms. Many people use a gestoría for the DGT stage. How long it takes depends on ITV and DGT appointment availability in your province.
The certificate of conformity is the item that most often causes delay, because it comes from the manufacturer rather than a government body, and for older or grey-import vehicles it may not exist. Without it, homologation replaces it, which is slower and more expensive.
Specialist cases
Classic cars: older vehicles can be registered as vehículos históricos, which have their own inspection schedule depending on the vehicle’s age and their own registration requirements.
Right-hand drive: UK right-hand-drive cars can be registered in Spain, but headlights must be adjusted or replaced for driving on the right, and the ITV checks this.
Electric vehicles: registration follows the standard route. Public charging is well developed in the large cities and thinner in parts of the interior.
Low-emission zones: Madrid, Barcelona and an increasing number of Spanish cities restrict access by environmental label (distintivo ambiental). Check that your car will qualify for a label once registered before deciding to bring it.
Sources
Official pages and legislation this guide relies on. Each loaded on the review date; the bodies that publish them are the authority, not this page.
Planning a move? Request a written quote and we will set out the paperwork order for your route alongside it.
More guides
on UK to Spain moves
Customs declarations UK to Spain
Export, transit and Spain’s change-of-residence relief, explained for household moves
paperworkBrexit and UK to Spain moves
What changed for households moving to Spain, in summary
paperworkThe complete guide to moving from the UK to Spain
Visas, NIE, customs relief and the route itself: a practical handbook for British households