Probably been debated before, but I am new to the site. I have US and EU citizenship but only US driver´s license. I know that prior to 1996, I could have convalidated my US license. Can I avoid going to a Spanish autoescuela? Gibraltar, for example? I have been driving for decades and just want to save the (high) costs. Suggestions? And Thanks!

You can drive with your US licence and an official traduction of it, you can visit the page www.dgt.es

This is totally a mystery and it really depends on who you talk to, and your residency status in Spain. Are you a legal resident of Spain? If so, your US license is/was good only for a period of 6 months from the date of your residency, and only if it is accompanied by the International Drivers´ license (which must have been obtained in the USA), or a co-validation which is done through RACE www.race.es (Spanish equivalent of AAA) at the cost of 6000 pts (unless you are a member, then the cost is 1000).

If you are just traveling here in Spain or studying for a short period of time, then your US license along with the international drivers´ license should suffice.

If you were a legal resident longer than 6 months ago, you are now obliged to take the driving exam, including autoescuela and pay the exhorbitant costs.

I am going through this process right now and have jumped through all sorts of hoops to get the skinny on the question. I have been to the traffic department of the Guardia Civil and they don´t even know. My next stop will be the Jefatura de Trafico in Madrid which should have the final word. I am resigned to the fact however, that as soon as my residency is approved, I will need to do the autoescuela thing and after 17 years of driving in the US, become classified as a novice driver here in Spain.

There may be a possibility of getting your license exchanged for a French license (I know that it was possible a couple of years ago), and then once you have the French license, having it exchanged for a Spanish one. But then again, you did not hear that from me. That is what I call the back door approach.

If you find out anything different, please post it here!!

Thanks!

P.S. If you do go to autoescuela, I recommend that you try doing so outside of Madrid, if at all possible. I have heard horror stories of the on the road exam and how hard it is in Madrid.

[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: Chica ]

Thanks for the in-depth answer. I checked the dgt site and that does not apply to me. I have been visiting Spain off and on for over 20 years and have been here permanently for the last 3. I haven´t gone through residency precisely because of the driver´s license mess. Whether or not the Spanish government considers me a resident is another question. Although I have not filed residency paperwork is probably moot because of the fact that I have filed taxes here for the past three years. Who knows. That is what I will argue. Clearly I need the official translation or an international license (which I think you can get in ANY country - although generally you cannot use it in the country in which it was purchased). I heard Gibraltar a while back, but haven´t seen anything on the internet about it. Regarding France, I will have to check with my cousin, who presently lives in Paris. I haven´t seen anything to that effect, so I would be surprised if I could simply convalidate it through them. But who knows? I will investigate and get back to you. In any case, thanks for your note.

I can only add amen - the driving schools obviously have a powerful lobby with the regulation makers and the spanish seem to have a love affair with anything "educational". It´s only a good thing that the policia are notoriously not interested in enforcing traffic laws.