1988 Porsche 928 S4 which arrived in Spain on the 15th April 2008.

Bringing your car to Spain ?
Importing your car to Spain ?
Re-registering your car in Spain?



Directive 83/182 of 1983 of EU law states that any person who has a residence permit or is a fiscal resident in Spain must register a car staying permanently in Spain with Spanish national plates within six months of its arrival.

Thank you for visiting our Internet site Car Import in Spain. The company was founded in 1988 in Barcelona to help expats register their personal transport on their arrival in Spain. The importation and registration of a vehicle in Spain can be somewhat daunting but, our job is to make it as painless as possible. We charge a set fee regardless of the type of import and, in many cases can have your car fully road legal in ten working days.

Fact 1.  If you are taking up residence in Spain and have an NIE number then you must re-register you car. You cannot continue driving a UK registered vehicle if you have resident status.

Fact 2.  If you have non resident status you can only keep your car here for up to six months. After that period the car must return to the UK for a further six months. You cannot take it back for an MOT and Tax and then bring it back two weeks later.  If you have been in Spain for more than six months you automatically assume fiscal resident status and your car must be re-registered.

Fact 3. Technically, since 2005 your UK/EU model driving licence should be legal in all EU member state countries. However, if you are driving a Spanish registered vehicle we highly recommend that you change your driving licence for a Spanish one.  Your UK (EU) model is not seen as being valid by most Traffic Police.  (However, an international model is valid)

Fact 4.  Failure to comply with any of the above will almost certainly render your insurance null and void.

Remember, EU law states that a vehicle must be registered in the country it resides in within 6 months of its arrival when the registered owner has resident status.

It is also worth mentioning that UK docks, including the Channel Tunnel, now use NPR (Number Plate Recognition) cameras. If you try and re-enter the UK with no Tax or MOT you run the risk of having your car impounded at Dover.

A Spanish ITV  (MOT) is not valid on a UK registered car in terms of your insurance cover. It is simply one of the steps in the re-registration process to Spanish National plates.

The Spanish and French Traffic police know exactly what your UK registered car should be displaying in terms of a valid Tax Disc , MOT and insurance.

If it has Spanish national plates, it must also have a current ITV, Permiso de Circulación, Fichas Technicas impuestos de circulación (road tax) and valid insurance. At the moment your car is re-registered it will need valid insurance.

We work directly with Direct Seguro who are an 'online'  Spanish Insurance company and are, therefore, able to supply very competitive quotes.  We can take care of all your insurance needs once your car has been re registered with Spanish national plates.



We specialise in British registered cars which have been driven to Spain because of a change of residence  but still have UK plates.  However, we are also able to re register American, Canadian and Japanese imports.

We recommend that if you are thinking of buying a car from the USA or Japan, for example from eBay or an internet specialist web site, that you have it delivered to a UK port first.  This will ease the importation process considerably and will also cut your overall costs.



Ideally, you should have your car sent to Southampton, Liverpool or Tilbury  and then drive it into Spain.

Ideally, you should be based in the Barcelona / Tarragona / Valencia area as this will make the Engineer's report and ITV inspection easier to co ordinate.

The same 1988 Porsche 928 S4


25th April 2008 !

We are able to re register / import all types of car including USA imports, Japanese imports and UK registered vehicles coming to Spain because of a change of residence. We are fully conversant with the latest Spanish and EU legislation and are able to import almost any type of vehicle.



Remember,  if you are bringing your own personal car from the UK because of a change of residence, there is no import duty to pay.  We will tell you how to avoid import duty and we will fill in the correct documentation on your behalf and present it to the correct department in the Hacienda.

Import duty is based on the value and year of the car. The Hacienda will work on their book value and not yours.

Import duty can be anything from a few hundred euros to a few thousand but we will tell you how to avoid it completely.


The average importation cost of a personal import is about  600 euros  plus our charges.



 The  ITV  test will accept right or left hand drive vehicles.

You will need to present us with;

NIE number or Tarjeta de Residencia 
V5 document
Bill of sale if the V5 is not in your name
Photocopy of your Passport, 

500 euro deposit

If the V5 is not in the same name as the person who is presenting the car for importation,  then the ITV will be 82 euros.  However, if the V5 and the resident are in the same name, then it is only 32 euros.
If the V5 and the resident are not the same name and the car is less than ten years old you will also have 4% of its book value to pay.

It is worth mentioning that it is not unusual for the V5 document to have mistakes on it. A common one is a 0 instead of a O.  This will be rejected by Traffico.  To save yourself time, double check that all the details  on your V5 (including the chassis number) are correct.



We will accompany you at every stage of the importation process. You will not be left to do anything on your own.



Your first step to a painless worry free importation process is to phone +34 689178319

Or send a quick email to      jacquidann@hotmail.com


All written communication should be sent to;

Chris Dann
Calle Sol, 8
43860  L'Ametlla de Mar
Tarragona
Spain




nie #  X-0865550-Z


Our fee is a flat rate of 585 euros for a straightforward re registration. On top of this you will have the Spanish matriculation taxes, engineers report and ITV charges to pay. How much will depend on the year of the car and the engine size. We will be able to tell you roughly how much this will be when we know the exact details of your vehicle.


We charge 69 euros for our 'do it yourself '  pack.   This pack  will save you an absolute minimum of 500 euros !!!