MOT IN SPAIN

On this page we cover a subject that is the cause of much confusion for expatriates living in the country in Spain. Many expats originate from the United Kingdom where they are used to having to have what is known as an MOT for their car or other vehicle.

So we are often being asked many questions regarding MOTs in Spain, some of the most popular questions are:

Do I need to get an MOT in Spain?

Does my UK registered vehicle need an MOT in Spain?

Is there an equivalent to the MOT in Spain?

Is my UK registered car illegal in Spain without an MOT?

Firstly lets define what an MOT actually is. There used to be a government department which is now obsolete called the Ministry of Transport and it is from these initials that the Ministry of Transport test (abbreviated to MOT test) comes from.

The test itself is a yearly inspection to ensure that your car or other vehicle is roadworthy. There are various tests involved in passing the MOT but most of these involve safety and exhaust emissions.

You are allowed to drive a United Kingdom registered vehicle or car in Spain. The proviso is that it must not be in Spain from more than sixty days. If this happens then you must get your UK car re-registered onto Spanish license plates.

In other words you import your car into Spain and make it legal on Spanish roads. Then you take out the applicable road tax in Spain and get the equivalent to the UK MOT which is actually called an ITV which is very similar.

The alternative to all of this is to drive your car back to the United Kingdom on an annual basis in order to have the MOT test. Given that the costs of driving a car from Spain to the United Kingdom amount to approximately €600 round-trip this is obviously not advisable nor cost-effective.

There have been a number of MOT certificates scams uncovered in Spain. The most infamous involved retired UK expat couple Seamus and Paula Montgomery who have been arrested for providing false MOT certificates. The certificates were given to other expats who wished to avoid having to take their UK registered car back, as an MOT is only legal if carried out in the UK.

Most expats would no doubt be aware that this was illegal although no doubt a number of people who made payments were simply unaware of the Spanish road regulations. As a result there must now be hundreds of UK registered cars being driven around in Spain which are not legal.

Note that UK registered cars and vehicles in Spain can only be issued with an MOT in the UK and your car should be transferred onto Spanish registration if it is in Spain for more than 60 days. In the case of a commercial vehicle that time is reduced to 30 days.

The amount of UK registered cars on the road in Spain never ceases to amaze us. Given the frequency of Spanish road checks by the police it is incredible that people flout the law so brazenly. If your car is illegal on the Spanish roads it is possible that your car can immediately be impounded and you will be severely fined.

Also what people don't realise is if you have taken out Spanish car insurance you may find that it is invalid without an MOT or ITV certificate so this could cost you dearly in the end.

Increasingly the Spanish authorities not only see expatriates cars and vehicles as a way of raising local taxes for the town hall, but quite rightly they see these vehicles as potentially dangerous, because they have not passed the requisite Spanish roadworthy test, the ITV. Also most of these vehicles do not have adequate Spanish car insurance or Spanish road tax.

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