Before you start

Residence in Spain and the padrón certificate
A valid foreign licence
NIE or TIE
A medical fitness certificate from an authorised centro de reconocimiento

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether your country has an exchange agreement
Spain maintains a list of countries whose licences can be exchanged without testing. It is specific and does not track how developed a country's driving standards are. Check the DGT list before assuming — the answer determines whether this is a form or a year of lessons.
OnlineWho: YouBefore the six months expire
2
Act inside the six-month window
You may generally drive on a valid foreign licence for six months after becoming resident. After that it is not valid here regardless of its expiry date, and driving on it is an offence with insurance consequences. This is much shorter than the UK's twelve months.
OnlineWho: YouWithin 6 months of residency
3
Get the psychotechnical medical certificate
Spain requires a fitness assessment at an authorised centro de reconocimiento de conductores — a short medical including vision and reaction testing. Quick, inexpensive and required for both exchange and a new licence.
In personWho: You
4
Book the DGT appointment and submit
Exchange applications go through the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico with the medical certificate, the padrón certificate, your TIE, photographs and the fee. Your foreign licence is surrendered as part of the process.
In personWho: You
5
Use the bike network before buying anything
Seville built around eighty kilometres of segregated cycle lanes in a few years and cycling rose sharply as a result — one of the most-studied urban cycling transformations in Europe. The city is flat and compact, and between the bike network, the metro line and the buses, a car is genuinely optional for central residents.
In personWho: You
6
Plan around the heat if you do cycle
The network is excellent for eight months of the year. In July and August, midday cycling is genuinely unsafe for anyone not acclimatised. Locals ride early and late and use the metro in between — treat it as seasonal rather than year-round in the same way.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and an official translation if not in Spanish
TIE or NIE
Padrón certificate
Medical fitness certificate from an authorised centre
Passport photographs and the paid DGT fee

Things most newcomers don’t know

Six months, not twelve — the Spanish window is shorter than most people assume.

Residents arriving from the UK or the US often assume they have a year. In Spain a foreign licence generally stops being valid six months after you become resident. Driving after that is an offence and can leave you effectively uninsured in an accident. Start in month one, not month five.

Source: Dirección General de Tráfico

The bilateral agreement list is arbitrary from a driver's point of view.

Whether you exchange or retest depends on a treaty between Spain and your country, not on your experience or your country's road safety record. Some countries people expect to be on the list are not. Checking takes five minutes and determines whether the next step is a form or a year of autoescuela lessons.

Source: DGT — canje de permisos de conducción

Seville's cycle network is a genuine outlier and worth using.

The city built a large segregated network in a short period in the late 2000s, and cycling as a share of trips rose dramatically — it is one of the most cited examples internationally of infrastructure creating demand rather than following it. The terrain is flat and the city is compact. For eight months a year it is the fastest way to move around, and it removes most of the argument for owning a car here.

Source: Ayuntamiento de Sevilla

The old city is genuinely hostile to cars, by design.

Santa Cruz and much of the historic centre have street plans predating wheeled traffic, with restricted access, bollards and very limited parking. Delivery vehicles struggle. If you take a flat in the old quarter and own a car, budget for a paid garage some distance away and expect to walk the last stretch with shopping. Many residents conclude that the flat is worth it and the car is not.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a twelve-month grace period; the Spanish window is six months from residency.
Assuming your country has an exchange agreement without checking the DGT list.
Driving on an invalid foreign licence and discovering the insurance consequences after an accident.
Renting in the old city with a car and no realistic parking.
Planning to cycle year-round without accounting for July and August.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.