EU law states that any UK registered vehicle in Spain must be re-registered with Spanish national plates within six months of its arrival regardless of whether the owner has resident status or not.
During the first six months it must remain fully road legal in the country of registration.
A UK registered car with no tax or MOT from the UK cannot legally be used on Spanish roads and may be impounded by either the local police or the Guardia Civil.
You cannot, under any circumstances, continue driving your UK registered car on Spanish roads for more than six months.
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 have a UK registered vehicle in Spain you must re-register it. You cannot continue driving a UK registered vehicle whether you have resident status or not.
Fact 2. If you have resident status or non resident status you can only keep your car on UK plates for up to six months. After that period the car must return to the UK for a full continuous six months or be re-registered. 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. Failure to comply will almost certainly render your insurance null and void and could result in your car being impounded.
Remember, EU law states that a vehicle must be re-registered in the country it resides in within 6 months of its arrival.
During that time it must remain fully road legal in the country of registration. This means, that in the case of a UK registered vehicle, it must display a valid tax disc and have a current MOT from the UK.
The reason you have to re-register you car is so that you can pay the road tax of the country you are living in i.e. Spain. It is nothing to do with insurance. If you are driving around Spain without a valid MOT from the UK your insurance would be invalid anyway.
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 and if you're driving round Spain with no tax disc you run the risk of having it impounded by the Spanish police.
A Spanish ITV (MOT) is not valid on a UK registered car in terms of your insurance cover.
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, Ficha Technica impuestos de circulación (road tax) and valid insurance. At the moment your car is re-registered it will need valid insurance.
For all your insurance needs, including American imports, contact Kerry at
We specialise in American registered cars which have been shipped to Spain because of a change of residence but still have US plates.
We also re- register UK registered vehicles.
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, 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, in most cases, we can avoid it completely.
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 Chris on +34 606554048
If you live in the Javea, Denia, Moraira, Tenerife, Mallorca, Ibiza, Torrevieja or Alicante area of Spain please send an email to carimportinspain@yahoo.com or call Mike on 660561931
If you live in the Marbella, Malaga, Almeria, Cordoba, Cadiz area of Spain please send an email to carimportinspain@gmail.comor call Paul on 630772953
Our fee is a flat rate of 785 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.
Matriculation tax is between 7% and 16% and is based on engine size.
On the vast majority of UK re-registrations we can avoid the matriculation tax completely.
We will take you car to the ITV, complete all the paperwork and fit Spanish plates to your car within ten days. You will be without your car for about two hours while it is in the ITV station. You are, of course, quite welcome to meet us there as we will select the nearest station to your house.
Chris Dann
Chris Dann
Mike Maxson
Paul Ripley
Jacqui Frances
