Exchanging your NZ Drivers Licence in Spain - 2024

A big thanks to Alex Blyth for his NZ Drivers Licence in Spain exchange guide. Alex took the time to share his experience and record all the steps he took to exchange his NZ Drivers Licence in Spain.

i) Disclaimer

Sadly, as Spanish bureaucracies are such a merry-go-round, I can’t guarantee that these steps will work for everyone, but they did work for me in Bilbao as of mid-2024. They will be at least slightly different in Almería, Sevilla, and Málaga, as those cities use a slightly different booking system. Also, sorry if any of the steps turn out to be unnecessary or steps are missing, but I was able to succeed by this path.

ii) Beforehand

You need to already have a NIE (identity card) and to be registered at an address at the municipality (empadronamiento). Obviously you will need your passport, and you will need a couple of standard passport photos (which they will use to make your licence card). Check the full list of must-haves in the photos section at the end of this document.

It seems that you only have a real chance of booking appointments on the DGT website (https://cutt.ly/rerb5oSB) at 9:00am on a Monday morning. Also, under Tipo de trámite you should probably just select “Trámites de oficina” instead of “Canjes de permisos de conducción”.

iv) In case of problems

In case of problems, just skip ahead to Steps 6 and 7, and make an appointment. Then they can help you in person with whatever. For example, they can sign you up for the Cl@ve or print the forms for you (assuming that the person is as friendly as the lady who served me). Then you can skip back and do the steps you missed again, and then make another final appointment when you have everything.

v) Context

I was trying for weeks to do this process, and was pretty lost because the information online was completely unhelpful. In the end I got lucky with a couple of things, so was able to finally get the ball rolling. The first bit of luck I had was one morning I decided to just saunter into the DGT Jefatura, acting really chill (DGT = the government department in charge of traffic / driving licences, etc.

And Jefatura = the local headquarters per city or area). Usually there’s quite a few people there, but for whatever reason that day it was quite empty and they let me in, where I managed to get a meeting sin cita with a desk staff member, which seems to never happen usually.

vi) All Steps

Get a Cl@ve Permanente

This is a Spanish identity verification system that allows you to do some government stuff yourself online. It basically means that they have your phone number, and can authenticate that it’s you by sending you a text with a code or a notification to the Cl@ve app. This is the part I can’t help you with, because they gave me this Cl@ve that first lucky day in person at the Jefatura.

Presumably usually you need an appointment somewhere in person to get a Cl@ve, and presumably most government offices can give it to you, if they could do mine at the traffic authority. You could try skipping to Step 6-7 and getting a Cl@ve from them first.

Verify your NZ licence online through this Spanish government

Surprise, surprise, the page sometimes doesn’t work. Try the link at different times of day and with different devices. But this step is crucial because the government needs to verify that your NZ licence is legit. This step is where you use the Cl@ve to access the page, so that you can fill in your NZ licence details. Webpage: https://cutt.ly/Lerb83Xw

Wait for an email

Once you fill in the page, the system will contact the New Zealand government and check that your NZ licence is real. With some countries this apparently takes ages, but I got my confirmation email in a couple of days. The NZ government is super onto it. Go NZ. In the email you receive, it will have a couple of codes in it (identificador and localizador). While you’re waiting for this email, you can already proceed with some of the other steps.

Print and fill in the official application form

https://sede.dgt.gob.es/export/sites/dgt/.galleries/modelos-solicitud/03/Mod.03-ES.pdf

Get an “Informe de Aptitud Psicofísica”

You need to do a short physical test (sight, hearing, hand coordination) from one of the approved clinics. Just search online “centro de reconocimiento de conductores” or go to https://www.dgt.es/conocela-dgt/con-quien-trabajamos/centros-reconocimiento-conductores/ which is the directory of these places, and get in touch with one. There seem to be lots of them in most cities. I was able to book an appointment for the next day, the test took about 20 mins, and cost me 20 euros.

After receiving your email, make an appointment (cita previa): https://cutt.ly/rerb5oSB

This is the impossible part, but I found out that the trick is: do this at 9:00am on Monday morning! It seems that then is when they release all the cita slots for the week. Additionally, under “Tipo de trámite”, select “Trámites de oficina” instead of “Canjes de permisos de conducción”.

I got these two pieces of advice when I went back to the Jefatura and talked to the security guard there who was blocking people from entering without a cita. I don’t know if the second one is strictly necessary, but he said “Canjes” didn’t work. By following that advice, after 100 previous attempts, I was able to get the cita. You will need one of the codes from the email you received in step 3.

Go to the appointment and bring:

Your NIE, passport, NZ driving licence (which you will have to give up), the report from the health test, the passport photos, and have your phone with the email you received as well. I brought photocopies of the various IDs, but they didn’t ask for them. I also had to pay 29 euros. Double check that you have everything you need with the list in the photo in Section 7 of this document.

That’s it. I was handed a temporary licence, and they said the real card would arrive in a couple of months in the mail.

What an ordeal. Spanish citizens are in the same boat as us. Every time I went to the Jefatura and surrounding government offices, I saw people outside complaining to security, saying that they couldn’t get a cita with this system, including one guy who was so angry that he tried to ram past security and get inside. He was on the verge of tears. Great work, Spanish government!

vii) Screenshots / Photos

a. A list of must-haves to bring to the final appointment

b. A guide that they gave me with links to pages

c. Booking an appointment 1: select “Solicitud de cita previa”

d. Booking an appointment 2: choose your location (after that, a different process for Almería, Sevilla, Málaga)

e. Booking an appointment 3: enter your phone number

This page locks you out after one go, then you have to wait some time to try it again (not sure how long, I could do it again after several hours)

f. Booking an appointment 4: following the advice I was given that worked, you should select the first option here (Trámites de oficina), even though the third one would be correct in a logical world.