Do you want to export your car to Spain? Often Dutch people want to emigrate to Spain also import their car. It is your own trusted car that you secretly do not want to trade in yet. No worries, because you can of course simply import your car into Spain. This way you can drive in your own car in Spain with confidence. If you also want to import your car into Spain, you can read this article.
License plates
As the owner of the car, have you been able to arrange everything via the RDW? Then you can import the vehicle into Spain with the issued export license plate. This is valid for 14 days, so you have a maximum of 14 days to drive your car to Spain and apply for a Spanish license plate there.
Place Green
Do you not have time for that in Spain and do you need more time? Then you can apply for a temporary license plate in Spain. This is called the placa verde and is valid for up to 60 days. You need this, because of course you cannot continue driving on public roads in Spain with a foreign license plate. Unfortunately not with a Dutch license plate either. You can apply for the placa verde in Spain at the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico. For this you need to fill in a form on the spot and also bring a valid ID. However, the owner of the car must be present. If the car is not registered in the name of the applicant who is present at that time, the application will not go through.
Insurance
You should also immediately take out car insurance in Spain, even if you are still driving with the green license plate for a while, because your car should be insured at all times, just like in the Netherlands. With the necessary documents, you can take out car insurance with insurance companies such as Lineadirecta or Mapfre.
ITV – the Spanish MOT
You now also need to have a tarjeta de inspección técnica made of your car. In Spain this is done by the Inspeccion Tecnica de Vehuculos (ITV). It is actually just like our own MOT here in the Netherlands. For this you need to make an appointment in advance, because you need to have your car inspected.
It is common for Spaniards to take their car to a garage before going to an ITV. This way, the vehicle can be checked before it goes to the official inspection. Any defects can be repaired before the ITV and you don't have to come back for it later.
ITV inspection
What is nice to know is that in the Netherlands you leave your car for the MOT at the garage and pick it up later. During an ITV in Spain this is not the case. You have to be present during the entire appointment with a Spanish engineer and staff to help them a bit. The Spanish engineer is always present for the technical inspection of the vehicle.
What is being checked?
You can compare the inspection with the Dutch MOT inspection. The car is not only checked engine-wise, but the car also gets a general check. Think of the brakes that are checked, for example.
Inspection sticker ITV
Is everything in order? Then you will get a sticker on your windshield.
Rejected vehicle
If your car is still not approved, you have up to 2 weeks to have it repaired and inspected again. This is in the case of minor defects.
Are there more serious defects? Then your vehicle will get the label desfavorable and you will have to have the car repaired within a maximum of 60 days and the car will have to be inspected again. If you don't do this? Then the vehicle will be deregistered with the Spanish DGT. They also call the deregistration 'de baja'.
Sometimes your car is of course beyond repair and is completely rejected. This is called negativa in Spain. In this case, the car is not allowed to leave at all and a tow truck comes to pick up the vehicle.
The price of an ITV varies per region.
Municipal tax
Have you now gone through everything and is everything arranged properly? Then you still need to look at the municipal tax in Spain. You do this in the region where you are registered. At the municipality you will receive a document with which you must pay the taxes directly at the bank. This has the Impuesto Municipal de Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica (IVTM). You pay this per year and the costs differ per municipality or region.
Road tax
After having arranged the municipal tax, you should of course not forget the Spanish tax office. The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria or also called 'Hacienda'. Here you will receive a form called modelo 576 and you will also have to pay the costs for this. After handing in the necessary documents, you will receive proof that you have paid the tax. The amount for this of course depends on the weight and emissions of your car.
Permanent license plate
Have you really completed everything and have you submitted all the documents properly? Then you can apply for the permanent Spanish license plate. You can do this at the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico. Here you will have to fill out a form again and submit a number of documents. Do not forget to bring a valid passport or ID card. In this case, you cannot use a driver's license as identification. You can often pick up the new license plate after a few days.
Is exporting worth it?
You might be reading all this and thinking: what a lot of work importing a car to Spain is! But in practice it is not that bad. The only thing that might be disappointing is that the ITV appointment takes a bit long, so keep that day free and everything will be fine!
