Importing a motorhome from Europe: what you need to know

Importing a motorhome from Germany or another EU country follows the same steps as a car: documents, a prior ITV (Spain's roadworthiness inspection), taxes and registration with the DGT (Spain's traffic authority). What changes comes down to three points: the registration tax (impuesto de matriculación), which depends on its category and its CO2 emissions (and can reach the highest rate if they are not documented); the driving licence, because with a B licence you can only drive vehicles of up to 3,500 kg maximum authorised mass; and the frequency of the ITV, which changes depending on whether it is approved as a passenger vehicle or as a goods vehicle.

What counts as a motorhome under the regulations

Spain's General Vehicle Regulations (Reglamento General de Vehículos) define a motorhome as a special-purpose vehicle, including living accommodation and containing, at least, seats and a table, beds or bunks that can be converted into seats, a kitchen and cupboards or similar (translated from the Spanish). The European type-approval legislation, Regulation (EU) 2018/858, includes it among special-purpose vehicles as a category M vehicle with a living area that has that minimum equipment.

The category matters, and a lot. A motorhome approved as such belongs to category M, the category for passenger vehicles, but a converted van may still be registered as a goods vehicle (category N). Before buying, look at the category on the registration certificate and on the certificate of conformity: the tax and the ITV depend on it, and the licence you need depends on its maximum authorised mass.

Registration tax: category and CO2

A category M1 motorhome is taxed like any passenger car: on its official CO2 emissions. With the national rates set by the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) for the mainland and the Balearic Islands:

Official CO2 emissions	Bracket	Rate
Not more than 120 g/km	1st	0.00%
More than 120 and less than 160 g/km	2nd	4.75%
From 160 and less than 200 g/km	3rd	9.75%
From 200 g/km or not documented	4th	14.75%

Watch the last row: Spain's Special Taxes Act (Ley de Impuestos Especiales) sends to the 4th bracket the vehicles for which a CO2 emissions measurement is required, when those emissions are not documented. Make sure the vehicle's documentation records its official emissions. And in some autonomous communities the 4th bracket is higher: according to the Tax Agency, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia apply 16%, Murcia 15.9% and Cantabria 15%.

In return, motorhomes have an advantage in the tax base. According to the Tax Agency, the taxable base will be reduced by 30% for vehicles defined as motorhomes in the General Vehicle Regulations and for vehicles fitted out to be used as living accommodation, both adaptable mixed-use vehicles and those in categories N1, N2 and N3.

If it is a camper van or lorry conversion registered as a goods vehicle, take care: although goods vehicles can fall outside the tax, the law establishes that the first definitive registration in Spain of these vehicles is subject to the tax when they are fitted out to be used as living accommodation. And vehicles in categories N2 and N3 fitted out as living accommodation go straight to the 4th bracket. How the base is calculated for a used vehicle is explained in the registration tax on an imported car.

Which licence you can drive it with

This is the question that causes the most surprises. According to Spain's General Drivers Regulations (Reglamento General de Conductores):

• B licence: motor vehicles whose maximum authorised mass does not exceed 3,500 kg that are designed and built to carry no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver.
• C1 licence: motor vehicles whose maximum authorised mass exceeds 3,500 kg and does not exceed 7,500 kg, designed and built to carry no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver.

What counts is the maximum authorised mass shown in the documents, not what the motorhome weighs empty. Some motorhomes exceed 3,500 kg, so check before falling in love with one.

VAT: the same rules as a car

For VAT, a motorhome is treated like any motorised land vehicle: it is new if it is delivered within six months of its first entry into service or if it has not travelled more than 6,000 kilometres. If it is new, VAT is paid in Spain even if you buy it from a private seller. If it is used and you buy it from a private seller, there is no Spanish VAT. We explain this in VAT on a vehicle bought in the EU.

ITV: the prior inspection and the frequency by category

Like any imported vehicle, it will go through the inspection before registration with its original documents and the certificate of conformity if it has one. We explain what they ask for in the ITV for an imported car.

After that, the schedule depends on the category. According to Spain's Royal Decree 920/2017:

• Category M1: up to 4 years, exempt; over 4 years, every two years; over 10 years, annual.
• Category N1: up to 2 years, exempt; from 2 to 6 years, every two years; from 6 to 10 years, annual; over 10 years, every six months.

It is another reason to look at the category before buying: a camper van still registered as N1 will have more ITV inspections than a motorhome approved as M1.

Checks specific to a motorhome

In addition to what you would check on any car (go over it in what to check before buying a used car in Europe), on a motorhome it is worth looking at:

• Damp in the living area: walls, roof, window seals and roof lights.
• The gas installation and the heating, with their inspections and documents.
• The travel seats: how many appear in the documents, which do not always match the number of beds.
• The weights: the maximum authorised mass, the unladen weight and the payload you have left with the equipment and water.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• ¿Existe alguna reducción al valor al que aplicar los tipos impositivos?. Agencia Tributaria.
• Real Decreto 2822/1998, Reglamento General de Vehículos (texto consolidado), anexo II. BOE.
• Reglamento (UE) 2018/858 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo, de 30 de mayo de 2018, sobre la homologación y la vigilancia del mercado de los vehículos de motor. BOE (DOUE).
• Ley 38/1992, de 28 de diciembre, de Impuestos Especiales (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Primera matriculación de medios de transporte: tipos impositivos. Agencia Tributaria.
• Real Decreto 818/2009, de 8 de mayo, Reglamento General de Conductores (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Ley 37/1992, de 28 de diciembre, del Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Adquisiciones y entregas intracomunitarias. Agencia Tributaria.
• El IVA en la compraventa de vehículos. Comisión Europea (Tu Europa).
• Manual de procedimiento de inspección de las estaciones ITV, versión 7.9. Ministerio de Industria y Turismo.
• Real Decreto 920/2017, de 23 de octubre, por el que se regula la inspección técnica de vehículos (texto consolidado). BOE.