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Importing and registering a car in Spain

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#Spanish bureaucracy 11/05/2025 Reading time: 4 min

How to import and legalise your car in Spain

Contents

Moved to Spain but your car is still back home? You can bring it and register it locally — but "importing" a car means more than driving it across the border. Within a fixed window you have to clear customs, pass a technical inspection (ITV), pay the registration tax and get Spanish plates. Skip a step and the car can't legally stay. Here's the full process and what it costs.

Importing a car to Spain at a glance
  • Before moving itderegister + Green CardTransit plates are valid a limited time (≈ 20 days from Russia).
  • Three ways to transportcarrier, sea or self-driveInsure for the whole journey (Green Card).
  • Main costregistration tax by CO₂0–14.75%; exempt up to 120 g/km.
  • Technical checkITV inspectionRequired before re-registration.
  • EU vs non-EU cardifferent paperworkNon-EU adds customs clearance.

Step 1. Prepare the documents

The car must have all documents required by its country of registration — for a Russian vehicle: the registration certificate and vehicle passport (PTS, or a printout of the electronic PTS), the insurance policy and the purchase contract. All of them must be translated into Spanish and officially certified. Deregister the car with the traffic authority at home; you'll get transit plates (valid about 20 days from Russia), within which you must reach Spain and start customs.

Step 2. Transport it to Spain

Three options: by car carrier, by sea, or driving it yourself. Insure the car for the journey with an international policy — the Green Card — ordered online and priced by coverage period. If you use a transport company, check reviews, the journey time and whether they cover damage before signing.

Step 3. Legalise and register in Spain

Once in Spain, re-registration ("matriculación") involves:

  1. Customs clearance — for a non-EU car, plus proof of origin and the translated documents.
  2. ITV technical inspection to confirm the car meets Spanish standards.
  3. Pay the registration tax (Impuesto de Matriculación) — calculated on CO₂ emissions: 0% up to 120 g/km, rising to a maximum of 14.75% of value.
  4. Pay the annual municipal road tax (IVTM) and get Spanish number plates.
Cost reality checkThe registration tax is usually the biggest line, and it's CO₂-based — a low-emission car may pay nothing, a large petrol SUV a lot. Full breakdown of every vehicle tax and the exemptions in vehicle tax in Spain.

By country of origin

The paperwork differs between an EU car (free movement of goods — no customs duty, but still ITV, registration tax and re-registration) and a non-EU car (customs clearance and possible duties on top). Whichever it is, the sequence — documents, transport with Green Card, ITV, tax, plates — is the same. Note that you also can't keep driving on your foreign licence indefinitely: see the driving rules once you're a resident.

Frequently asked questions

Deregister it at home and get transit plates and Green Card insurance, transport it (carrier, sea or self-drive), then in Spain clear customs (for non-EU cars), pass the ITV inspection, pay the CO₂-based registration tax and get Spanish plates. All foreign documents need certified Spanish translations.
The main cost is the registration tax (Matriculación), based on CO₂: 0% up to 120 g/km, up to 14.75% of value above that. Add the ITV inspection, the annual IVTM road tax, certified translations and, for non-EU cars, any customs duties.
Yes — the Matriculación tax applies to first registration in Spain regardless of origin, based on emissions. EU cars avoid customs duty but still need the ITV, the tax and re-registration.
The Inspección Técnica de Vehículos — Spain's roadworthiness inspection. An imported car must pass it before it can be re-registered with Spanish plates.
Transit plates are valid a limited time (around 20 days from Russia), within which you must start the process. Don't let them expire — driving on lapsed transit plates is a penalty.
An international Green Card policy covering the whole journey. Order it online and pick it up in person; the price depends on the coverage period.

Official sources:
• DGT — vehicle registration
• Agencia Tributaria — registration tax

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