If you bring your vehicle to Spain, note that you will have to have it registered if your period of residence here is longer than six months. This is a formality that will result in the allocation of a valid license number for your vehicle's identification in Spain. You will also have to take out an insurance policy for the new license number your vehicle has been assigned.

Note too that all vehicles are subject to periodic inspections here (ITV, which stands for Inspeccion tecnica de vehiculos). Vehicle owners are responsible for booking appointments for the service in advance at one of the centres established for such inspections. You can be fined for not being up to date with your ITV.

You must also check the validity of your driver's license before you attempt to drive in Spanish territory. Depending on whether you’re from an EU country or a country with an agreement with Spain, you may be able to exchange your license for a Spanish one. However, if your country does not have an agreement with Spain, we regret to inform you that you will have to get a Spanish driver's license.

Vehicles in Spain are generally registered in person by prior appointment, which you can request by calling 060.

Although you can also request it online, from the electronic register, provided your vehicle has an ITV card in electronic format (NIVE). You must have a valid electronic National ID or electronic certificate or your cl@ve credentials for accessing the register. In addition, as the submission of your document will have to be signed, it is important you check, before you register, that you have downloaded the programme AutoFirma.

In order to register your vehicle you must complete some formalities, mainly in person, related to the inspection of the vehicle, the payment of taxes and the registration itself.

For more information, please see here: https://www.barcelona.cat/internationalwelcome/procedures/vehicle-registration

You must exchange your driving license in person at a traffic directorate office. Even so, some arrangements may be made over the Internet.

For more information on how to exchange you driving license please see here: https://www.barcelona.cat/internationalwelcome/procedures/exchange-driving-licences

As with most continental European countries, we drive on the right in Spain.

In general, the speed limit inside the city is 50 km/h, although you will also see it reduced to 30 km/h in some areas where cars and motorcycles share public spaces with pedestrians.