Registering an imported car in Spain: the DGT procedure

To register in Spain a car imported from another country of the European Union, you have to apply to the Traffic Office (Jefatura de Tráfico) of your province, online or by appointment, once you have the ITV card (from Spain's roadworthiness inspection), the proof of the registration tax (form 576, 05 or 06) and the proof of the road tax from your town council. Depending on the case, you also need the car's original documents, the purchase invoice or contract and the proof of VAT or Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales). The registration fee (fee 1.1) costs €99.77.

The order of the steps

Registration is the last step, not the first. The DGT (Spain's traffic authority) only grants it when the rest of the file is complete, so it is best to follow this order:

1. Pre-registration inspection at the ITV, which issues the car's ITV card. We explain it in the ITV for an imported car.
2. Registration tax at the Spanish Tax Agency (form 576, or 05 or 06 if there is an exemption or non-liability). In the Basque Country and Navarre, the proof is issued by their Regional Treasury (Hacienda Foral). See how it is calculated.
3. VAT if the car is new for the purposes of the tax (form 309, with a deadline of thirty days from the transaction that may expire before the previous steps), or Property Transfer Tax (Impuesto sobre Transmisiones Patrimoniales) if it is used and you buy it from a private individual.
4. Road tax (IVTM) from the town council where you have your address.
5. DGT fee and registration application.

Spain's General Vehicle Regulations (Reglamento General de Vehículos) provide that registration is requested by the owner, the lessee with a purchase option or the long-term lessee from the Traffic Office of the province of their legal address. The DGT adds that it can be done by the buyer-holder or by any person authorised on their behalf.

Which documents the DGT asks for

Annex XIII of the General Vehicle Regulations lists the documentation for ordinary registration. For a private individual registering an imported car, the basic documents are:

• The application on the official form, if the procedure is in person.
• Proof of payment of the fee.
• Identity document. If you are a foreign resident, the residence card; if you are an EEA citizen without a residence card, your identity document and proof of your address in Spain.
• The technical inspection card, which the DGT asks for in electronic format (NIVE) or on paper.
• The self-assessment of the road tax from the town council of your address, or proof of exemption from it.
• The self-assessment of the Special Tax on Certain Means of Transport (registration tax), or proof of non-liability or exemption.

If the car was registered in another EU State and has a registration certificate of the European model, the DGT requires part I to be handed in, and also part II if one was issued. If part II is missing, the car can be registered when the authority that issued it confirms, in writing or electronically, that you are entitled to register it again.

Documents depending on where the car comes from

In addition to the general documentation, the DGT electronic office asks for different documents depending on whether the car is new or used and whether or not it comes from the Union:

• New, bought in the EU: proof of payment of VAT (form 309 or 300) or proof that you are on the register of VAT taxable persons, and the technical data sheet issued by the ITV. We explain the VAT on these purchases in VAT on a car bought in the EU.
• Used, bought in the EU: the car's original documents and the ITV technical data sheet. If the purchase was between private individuals, the sales contract with its translation and the Property Transfer Tax; if you bought it from a dealer in another country, the invoice showing their VAT number.
• Bought outside the EU: also, the H1 import certificate, unless the ITV card carries the import endorsement. We cover it in importing a car from outside the EU.

For the contract or invoice, the regulation asks for a translation into Spanish or into the co-official language of the autonomous community. And for the Property Transfer Tax it accepts proof of payment, exemption or non-liability; whether you have to pay it and how much, check with the tax office of your autonomous community.

How the application is submitted

There are two routes. Online, with an electronic ID card (DNI electrónico), a digital certificate or Cl@ve (the Spanish government's electronic identification system), through the application form on the DGT's electronic office, attaching the scanned documentation and the proof of payment of the fee. For imported cars, once the application has been processed, the DGT notifies you to go to your Traffic Office to hand in the technical data sheet and, where applicable, have the plate assigned.

The other route is in person, at any Traffic Office, with an appointment booked online or on 060. In-person service is reserved for private individuals and their representatives: companies and other legal entities process it electronically. At the office the fee can be paid by card, never in cash.

If someone else does the procedure on your behalf, you can authorise them in the DGT's register of powers of representation or, if they go to the office, with the signed model form granting representation. It is usual for the dealer or an administrative agent (gestor) to handle the registration of new cars, but you can also do it yourself.

Fee, deadline and plates

To register a vehicle, except mopeds, you must buy fee 1.1, which costs €99.77. If you submit the application online through the register, the fee is paid beforehand and the proof is attached.

The DGT sets a maximum period of 3 months to resolve the registration. If you get no reply within that period, administrative silence is negative: the procedure has not been completed.

At the end, the DGT gives you the plate number and the registration certificate, and with that documentation you can order the plates. In the meantime, temporary plates exist for driving the car; they are a different procedure from ordinary registration.

Mistakes to avoid

• Requesting the plate without the ITV card. The inspection comes first.
• Forgetting the road tax. The DGT asks for the proof from the town council of your address.
• Turning up without part II of the foreign registration certificate. Without it you need the confirmation of the authority that issued it.
• Untranslated contract. A sale between private individuals must be accompanied by a translation.
• Illegible scanned documents. The DGT warns that, if it cannot read the documentation sent, it will not be able to deal with the application.

If you are starting from scratch, first read how to import a car from Germany step by step.

Sources consulted

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

• Matriculación de vehículos nuevos y vehículos provenientes del extranjero. DGT (sede electrónica).
• Real Decreto 2822/1998, Reglamento General de Vehículos (texto consolidado), artículo 28 y anexo XIII. BOE.
• Instrucciones del modelo 309. Agencia Tributaria.