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Canje de Permiso de Conducir Extranjero (DGT) — Foreign Driving Licence Exchange in Spain
Document Checklist
Permiso de conducir extranjero en vigor
Foreign driving licence (original, plastic-card format)
Where to get: Already held; original card from the issuing country
Required: Must be valid (not expired, not seized, not suspended). DGT retains the original at submission and does not return it: "te será retirado el permiso original".
Venezuelan licences in PDF format are explicitly excluded — only the plastic-card variant is canjeable. If your foreign licence is itself a canje from a country with no convenio with Spain, the exchange is not permitted.
Tarjeta de Identidad de Extranjero (TIE) o Certificado de inscripción en el registro de extranjeros
Spanish residency proof
Where to get: TIE issued by Comisaría de Policía Nacional after residence permit grant; certificado de inscripción (the green certificate) issued by Oficina de Extranjería at EU-citizen registration
Required: Original, in force. Non-EU residents present TIE en vigor; EU/EEA residents present the certificado de inscripción en el registro de extranjeros.
Resident status in Spain is the eligibility key, not nationality. See the separate Spain NIE and TIE guides for how these documents are obtained.
Acreditación de fecha de obtención del permiso anterior a la residencia
Proof that the foreign licence was obtained before Spanish residency began (Tier 2 only)
Where to get: The licence's printed issue date plus the residence-permit start date establish the timeline. For naturalised Spaniards, the Certificado de Inscripción y Baja Consular from the Spanish consulate in the country of prior residence.
Required: DGT states: "Tu permiso de conducir será canjeable si lo obtuviste antes de ser residente legal en España." The República de Corea is the documented exception — Korean licences obtained after Spanish residency began remain canjeable.
If you obtained the foreign licence after acquiring legal residency in Spain (and you are not a Korean licence holder), the Tier 2 exchange path is closed and the holder falls back to the autoescuela + exams route.
Certificado de Legalidad y Antigüedad apostillado
Argentine Certificado de Legalidad y Antigüedad with Apostilla de La Haya (Argentina-issued licences only)
Where to get: Argentine licensing authority that issued the licence; legalised with Apostilla de La Haya in Argentina
Required: DGT names this document explicitly on the canje extracomunitario subpage for Argentina-issued licences. Other origin countries may have analogous authenticity-and-issue-date certifications — confirm with your local Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico before booking the cita previa.
Medical and psychological aptitude report
Informe de aptitud psicofísica (Tier 2 only)
Where to get: A Centro de Reconocimiento de Conductores autorizado (DGT-authorised driver-medical centre)
Required: Mandatory for Tier 2 (países con convenio). Validity: 90 days. The centre submits the informe electronically to DGT. Cost is set by each centre individually and is not DGT-published — paid directly to the centre at the appointment.
EU/EEA voluntary canje does not require the informe — the EU/EEA two-step procedure on the DGT subpage covers only certificado de inscripción + canje submission. Group 2 categories (C, D) at the renovación-after-2-years renewal trigger require it separately.
Fotografía tipo carnet + justificante de tasa
Photograph (Spanish carnet format) and DGT fee receipt
Where to get: Photograph from any photo-shop offering Spanish carnet format; tasa paid via DGT Sede Electrónica or at a collaborating bank
Required: Tasa II.3 (= tasa 2.3) of 28,87 € for Group 1 categories. Tasa II.1 (= tasa 2.4) of 94,05 € for Group 2 categories where exams apply. EU/EEA canje is always Tasa II.3.
DGT canje subpages do not enumerate specific photo dimensions — bring a passport-style photo per the Spanish carnet standard. Confirm at the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico if uncertain.
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