How to renew the Spanish driving license from abroad

If you would like to renew the driver's license from outside Spain you have to meet the same requirements as if you did it from the national level. The only differences are that you will have to obtain a medical certificate that proves that you are fit to drive in the country where you are and that you will have to go to the Spanish embassy or consulate.

In this article we are going to describe each step so that you can renew your card without problems from abroad. A process that is also called extension of the validity of the driving license and whose difficulty depends on the area of ​​the world in which you are.

Embassy or consulate?

Depending on the country in which you are, this type of procedure will be the responsibility of the embassy or consulate. The best thing you can do before heading to one of the two places is to call and ask where you should go to renew your driving license Spanish.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers a map of Spanish Embassies and Consulates in which you can find all institutions of this type that exist in the world. You just have to navigate through it, select the one you want to consult and will take you to their information page. Once there, you will be able to access the contact information and the opening hours.

Where and how to get the medical certificate

Every country is different, so take advantage of the call to the corresponding embassy or consulate to ask for advice to renew the card. If the country you are in works in a similar way to ours, the normal thing is that you have to go to the commissioned medical centers of this type of medical certificate or, as it is called in Spain, Psychophysical Aptitude Report.

The important thing is that the Psychophysical Aptitude Report you get is signed by a doctor and complies with the requirements demanded by the Spanish authorities:

• The signing physician must specify that the applicant is fit to drive in writing.
• The report must have attached a 32 x 26 mm photograph, in color, with a plain background, taken from the front with the head uncovered. That is, with the same characteristics as the photos required for the driver's license itself.
• The physician must sign above the photograph and add their professional license number to the document.
• You must include a copy of the Psychophysical Aptitude Report translated into Spanish.

What documentation is needed to renew the card

To renew the Spanish driving license from abroad you need the same documentation as in Spain. This is because actually the procedure is also done in a Spanish Traffic Headquarters, except that the embassy or consulate acts as an intermediary between you and it to facilitate the procedures. The necessary documentation is:

• Application for renewal of the license made in the official form.
• Copy of the receipt of having paid the RATE IV.3 of 24,10 euros (updated price in 2018). You can do this through the Internet. Check the article How to pay internet traffic fees.
• Psychophysical Aptitude Report that you have obtained in the country where you are.
• Valid National Identity Document or Passport and a copy thereof.
• A recent 32 x 26 mm color photograph, with a plain background, taken from the front with a bare head, without sunglasses or anything that prevents facial recognition.
• Photo heel signed. They will provide it to you at the embassy or consulate that is helping you carry out the procedure.

What happens if there is no embassy or consulate or I cannot go

To renew your driving license from abroad, it is recommended to go to a Spanish embassy or consulate. Nevertheless, you can't always do this. If your case is that you cannot go, we recommend that you call anyway to see if you can solve the process with them in another way and to ask for advice.

If the problem is that you are in a country where there are no Spanish diplomatic or consular representations, you can still do it on your own. You have to send all the information that we have mentioned above to a Spanish Traffic Headquarters. The DGT makes available the following list of Headquarters, in which you can choose the one you want to see its address.

Images – Pedro Cambra/Diego López, Counting Stars