We receive so many inquiries with confused clients wishing to register their car in Spain legally. Most of this confusion arises from listening to too many bar room lawyers, next door neighbors or getting advice from local expat forums.

In this article we will try to clarify some facts from first hand experience on how to register a car in Spain. Although certain laws change fairly rapidly here in Spain most of this information will still be correct for years to come.

Most vehicles can be imported, but certain vehicles will require more paperwork and time involved than others. There are however certain vehicles that cannot be registered in Spain under any circumstance. These include panel vans, buses, trucks or any other commercial vehicle cannot. Quads cannot be registered in Spain either.

Anyone homeowners here in Spain that keep their car here for more than 6 months in a calendar year must register their car in Spain and comply with EU and Spanish law. This law states that the car must be legally registered within the appropriate traffic department (Trafico) in Spain, must pass an inspection test (ITV in Spain) and insured in the country where it is residing.

To register a car in Spain is not difficult but we have found on a number of occasions, all paperwork must be correct and in order and a fairly good command of the Spanish language is required to communicate with the various civil servants within the Government buildings. All I can say is that most are not too helpful here in Alicante so be warned!

To register a car in Spain there are four steps that need to be carried out:

1. In most cases an Engineer's report needs to be written at a cost of around 80€

2. Next step is to visit the local ITV station to get your car inspected and passed. Go here with the Engineer's report and an original copy of your N.I.E , Padron and Passport.

3. 1-2 days after the inspection you can pick up the paperwork and then proceed to your nearest city (Alicante City is the main one for Alicante region) to finish the re-registration process.

4. Here the registration tax, road tax and traffic fee are paid. Once you have received the Spanish logbook from Trafico you can order the plates on the spot and have them fitted. This is an outline to how to register a car in Spain!

If you plan to use your car more than 6 months a year and are a homeowner in Spain then it is advisable to register your car in Spain.