Importing a Car to Spain: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide

Importing a car into Spain is really one job — matriculación (registration) — broken into a chain of official steps: a technical inspection (ITV), a registration tax based on emissions (IEDMT), local road tax, and final registration with the traffic authority (DGT). Cars from outside the EU — which since Brexit includes the UK, as well as the USA and Canada — add a customs stage and often a homologation stage on top. This guide walks through the whole process, explains the green temporary “P plate”, shows a worked cost example, and pins down exactly when we can put your Spanish insurance in place.

What “importing” a car really means

People say “import”, but in Spanish terms there are two separate things going on:

• Physically bringing the car in — driving it across a land border, or shipping it by sea or transporter. For an EU car this is just a drive. For a car from the USA or Canada it means a shipping booking (roll-on/roll-off or container).
• Matriculación (re-registration) — taking the car off its foreign plates and onto Spanish ones. This is the part that involves the inspections, taxes and the DGT, and it is what most of this guide is about.

If you are a Spanish resident, this is not optional. Once you live here, a car you keep in Spain must be on Spanish plates — you generally have to start the process within about 30 days, and finishing it promptly also protects the tax exemptions below. Driving long-term on foreign plates as a resident is illegal and risks fines and even having the car impounded.

Before you ship: is it actually worth it?

Importing makes great sense for a car you love, a quality vehicle that is hard to replace locally, or any EU car you already own. But run the numbers first, because for a car from outside the EU the duty, IVA and homologation can add up to more than the car is worth. Ask yourself:

• Is it left-hand drive or right-hand drive? Right-hand-drive (UK) cars are legal in Spain but less practical and worth less at resale. US and Canadian cars are already left-hand drive, which is a plus.
• Does it have, or can it get, a Certificate of Conformity (CoC)? This single document decides whether you sail through or face individual homologation.
• What are its CO2 emissions? They set your matriculation tax — a thirsty SUV can attract 9.75% or 14.75% of its value.
• For US/Canada cars, can the model be homologated at all? Some can; some never pass. Check feasibility before paying for shipping.

For many expats the honest answer for a cheap, common car is “sell it at home and buy a Spanish-plated one here”. For a special, valuable or much-loved car, importing is well worth it.

The step-by-step process

This is the full sequence. EU cars skip Step 2; cars from the UK, USA and Canada do every step.

Step 1 — Gather your documents

You will need, with official sworn translations (traducción jurada) into Spanish where the originals are not in Spanish:

• The foreign registration document — UK V5C log book, German Fahrzeugschein/Fahrzeugbrief, French carte grise, US/Canada title.
• Proof of ownership — the purchase invoice or bill of sale (also used to value the car for tax).
• The Certificate of Conformity (CoC) if the car has one (most EU cars do; ask the manufacturer if not).
• Your NIE, proof of address (padrón) and proof of residence status.
• For non-EU cars, the customs clearance document (DUA) from Step 2.

Step 2 — Customs clearance (non-EU cars only: UK, USA, Canada)

A car arriving from outside the EU must be cleared through customs (aduana) before it can be registered. Customs assess:

• Import duty — typically 10% of the vehicle’s value for a car.
• IVA (import VAT) — 21%, charged on the value plus the duty.

Once paid, customs issue the DUA, the document the DGT needs later. The big exception is the change-of-residence exemption: if you are moving to Spain and meet the conditions, you can be relieved of both the duty and the IVA. EU cars skip this step entirely — there are no customs charges within the single market.

Step 3 — Homologation (mainly USA & Canada, sometimes UK)

Spain has to be satisfied the car meets EU technical standards. If it has a valid European CoC, this is automatic. If it does not — the usual case for US and Canadian cars and some older/grey-import UK cars — it must pass individual homologation (homologación individual). That can mean adapting:

• Headlights to EU beam pattern;
• Emissions/exhaust to the relevant Euro standard;
• Speedometer to read km/h;
• occasionally lighting colour, tyres or other items.

Step 4 — The ITV inspection

Take the car to an ITV station (the Spanish MOT/roadworthiness test) for an import inspection. They physically check the vehicle against its paperwork and, if all is well, issue the Spanish technical sheet (ficha técnica / tarjeta ITV) that the DGT requires. Budget roughly €120–€170 for a car. To drive the car to the ITV before it has Spanish plates, you use the green “P plate” (see below).

Step 5 — Pay the matriculation tax (IEDMT)

The Impuesto Especial sobre Determinados Medios de Transporte (IEDMT, the registration or “matriculation” tax) is a one-off tax declared on Modelo 576 to the tax office (AEAT). The rate depends on the car’s official CO2 emissions:

The rate is applied to the car’s taxable value — for a used car, the original list price reduced by an official depreciation scale (a 5-year-old car, for instance, is valued at a fraction of its new price). The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla have their own different rates.

Step 6 — Pay the road tax (IVTM)

Register the car with your town hall (ayuntamiento) and pay the annual road tax, IVTM (Impuesto sobre Vehículos de Tracción Mecánica). The amount is set locally by engine size/fiscal horsepower and is usually modest — commonly around €60–€200 a year for a normal car, depending on the town.

Step 7 — Register with the DGT and get your plates

Finally, apply to the provincial Jefatura de Tráfico (DGT) — in person or, in practice, through a gestor — with the whole file: ITV sheet, IEDMT and IVTM receipts, customs DUA (if applicable), ownership and ID documents. The DGT charges a registration fee of roughly €100, assigns your definitive Spanish registration number and issues the permiso de circulación. You then have number plates made up, and the car is fully Spanish.

EU vs UK vs USA & Canada: the key differences

The destination steps are the same; the difference is what you face on the way in.

*Waived if you qualify for the change-of-residence exemption.

Whatever the origin, a foreign-plated car you are driving in the meantime still needs to comply with Spanish road rules — including the DGT environmental sticker and Low-Emission-Zone rules, and from 2026 the V16 emergency beacon. See also our guide to driving a UK car in Spain.

The green “P plate”: temporary registration explained

Here is the part that confuses almost everyone. While your car is going through the import process it has no Spanish plates yet — but you may need to drive it (to the ITV station, to a homologation workshop, or simply because the paperwork is taking weeks). The solution is a temporary registration from the DGT, which comes with distinctive green plates. Because the temporary series is provisional, expats almost always call them the “P plate”.

What it is

Officially it is a matrícula temporal / permiso temporal de circulación — the “placas verdes” (green plates) for private individuals. For an import you request the version previa a la matriculación (“prior to registration”), which legally lets you drive a not-yet-registered car on Spanish roads.

When to apply

Apply for the P plate as soon as you need to move the car on Spanish roads before it has final plates — most commonly:

• To drive a non-EU car to its ITV or homologation appointment (you can’t legally drive it there on expired foreign plates).
• When the full registration is going to take longer than the legal window for getting off foreign plates.

You apply through the DGT’s electronic office (sede electrónica) or, far more commonly, your gestor does it for you. You will need proof of insurance and a valid ITV where one applies.

Validity and cost

When does insurance come in? (The P-plate moment)

This is the question we are asked most, and it has a clean answer. An insurer needs a registration number to write a policy against — and for an imported car, the first Spanish number it gets is the one on the green P plate.

So the sequence is:

1. Your import reaches the point where the temporary green P plate is issued.
2. That gives the car a Spanish registration identity, which is what we use to set up your Generali car insurance.
3. That same policy satisfies the insurance requirement for driving legally on the green plates — and then carries straight over to your definitive plates when registration completes. No gap, no second policy.

In short: get the P plate, and we can put your cover in place the same day. If you need to insure the car earlier — while it is still on foreign plates during the move — that is what a temporary import car insurance policy is for, and we can arrange that too. Either way, valid insurance is one of the things that keeps you road-legal in Spain alongside a current ITV; for the full picture see which insurance is required by law in Spain.

A worked example: what it actually costs

Take a realistic case: Sarah moves to Jávea and brings her 2019 petrol estate from Germany (an EU car, so no customs). It has CO2 of 128 g/km and an official taxable value, after depreciation, of about €14,000.

Now change one thing: if Sarah’s car had come from the UK, USA or Canada and she did not qualify for the residence exemption, add roughly 10% customs duty (€1,400) and 21% IVA (€3,234 on value + duty) — about €4,600 more, before any homologation. That single difference is why the residence exemption below matters so much, and why it pays to check the maths before shipping a non-EU car.

The change-of-residence tax exemption

If you are moving your normal home to Spain, there is valuable relief that can wipe out the biggest charges:

• IEDMT exemption — the matriculation tax can be waived when you register a car as part of transferring your residence to Spain.
• Customs duty + IVA relief (for non-EU cars, including the UK) — waived under the transfer-of-residence rules.

The usual conditions are that you owned and used the car for at least 6 months before the move, that it is a genuine personal possession (not for resale), that you apply within the time limits (the registration must be done within a set window of your taking up residence), and that you do not sell the car for 12 months afterwards. The exact deadlines and paperwork are strict, so this is the one area where professional help really pays for itself.

How long does it take?

• EU car with a CoC: often just a few weeks once you have your documents and appointments.
• UK car: a little longer, mainly because of customs and the occasional homologation.
• USA / Canada car: typically one to three months or more, driven by shipping time and homologation.

Throughout that period, the green P plate keeps you legal on the road — and, as above, it’s also the trigger for getting your Spanish insurance in place.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & references: Agencia Tributaria (AEAT) — importing a vehicle (customs duty, IVA and registration requirements); Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) — matrícula temporal / placas verdes (green temporary plates); Punto de Acceso General — registering a vehicle from the EU in Spain. IEDMT bands, ITV, IVTM, DGT fees, customs rates and exemption deadlines change and vary by region — always confirm current figures with the AEAT, the DGT and your local ayuntamiento. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice.