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This is an update from our post of 2016 on “ Vehicles Without Insurance – DGT/Trafico Campaign to Alert and Fines”.
Every motor vehicle registered in Spain must have compulsory third-party insurance in force at all times, even if it never leaves your garage. The only legal way to stop insuring a vehicle you do not use is to take it off the DGT register (baja temporal or baja definitiva). Not insuring a vehicle can lead to a fine of 601 to 3,005 euros, a ban on driving it, and impoundment.
This article replaces our 2016 piece on the DGT’s campaign against uninsured vehicles. It is based only on the law as published in the BOE (Spain’s official gazette) and on information from the DGT and the Ministry of the Interior.
WHO MUST INSURE
The owner of any motor vehicle whose usual base is Spain must take out, and keep in force, an insurance contract for each vehicle they own (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, article 2.1). A vehicle counts as based in Spain if it has Spanish number plates, whether permanent or temporary.
Using the vehicle is not the test. Since Law 5/2025, the law treats any use of a vehicle as a means of transport as covered. That applies whatever the terrain and whether the vehicle is parked or moving (article 1 bis.3).
A car kept in a garage or on a private plot must therefore still be insured, unless it has been deregistered.
Anyone with an interest in the vehicle can take out the policy instead of the owner, stating in what capacity they do so. Some e-bikes are also included: pedal cycles with motor assistance above 25 km/h, and vehicles in EU category L1e-B, must be insured on the same terms.
HOW INSURANCE IS CHECKED
The 2016 campaign relied on cross-checking DGT and insurer records. That cross-checking is now written into law and is permanent, not a one-off campaign.
Insurers must send the Insurance Compensation Consortium (Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros) details of every vehicle they insure, with daily updates of new and cancelled policies. These records form the Insured Vehicles Information File (Fichero Informativo de Vehículos Asegurados, FIVA), which the Consortium runs (Royal Decree 1507/2008, articles 23 and 24). The Consortium and the DGT coordinate to check compliance and can access each other’s records for that purpose (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, article 2.2; Royal Decree 1507/2008, article 28).
At the roadside, officers confirm whether a vehicle is insured by consulting FIVA. If that is not possible, the current premium receipt is accepted as proof, provided it shows the insurer, the registration, the period of cover and that compulsory cover is included (Royal Decree 1507/2008, article 14.2).
PENALTIES
Failing to insure a vehicle has three consequences under article 3.1 of Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004.
Ban on driving: the uninsured vehicle may not be driven anywhere in Spain.
Impoundment or sealing: the vehicle is held in a pound or sealed, at the owner’s expense, until it is insured. This lasts one month the first time, three months for a repeat offence, and one year if the seal or impoundment is broken. To get the vehicle back, you must show valid insurance and pay the costs.
Fine: 601 to 3,005 euros. The amount depends on whether the vehicle was being driven, its category, the service it provides, any harm caused, how long it was uninsured, and whether the offence was repeated.
Fines are imposed by the Provincial Traffic Office (Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico) or, in regions with their own traffic powers, by the regional authority (article 3.2). Half of the money collected goes to the Insurance Compensation Consortium to help fund payouts to road-accident victims.
If an uninsured vehicle causes an accident, the Consortium compensates the victims and can then recover the full amount from the owner and from whoever was responsible (articles 11.1.b and 11.3). An owner who was not driving is jointly liable with the driver unless the vehicle had been stolen (article 1.3).
THE LEGAL WAY OUT: DEREGISTERING THE VEHICLE
A vehicle that is not used as a means of transport, and has been temporarily or permanently deregistered with the DGT, is exempt from compulsory insurance (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, article 2.8.a). Keeping the car off the road is not enough on its own: the deregistration must be recorded.
Since Royal Decree 265/2021, a baja temporal lasts a maximum of one year from the date you apply, according to the DGT. If you do not ask for an extension (prórroga), the vehicle returns to active status after that year, and the insurance obligation comes back with it. You can apply to the Traffic Office for an extension up to two months before the current period ends.
The DGT can also permanently deregister, on its own initiative, vehicles that have had no insurance or ITV for the last ten years. The owner can later apply to have such a vehicle reinstated.
If an uninsured, deregistered vehicle is driven anyway and causes an accident, the Consortium pays the victims and can recover the money from the owner (article 11.1.b.ii).
VEHICLES LEFT UNATTENDED IN THE STREET
Leaving a car parked in the street for a long time does not, on its own, make it “abandoned” in law. Under article 106 of the Traffic Law (Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015), the authorities can order a vehicle to be taken to an authorised treatment centre (a licensed scrapyard) for destruction in three situations:
1. It has been parked in the same place for more than one month, and it is so damaged that it cannot move under its own power, or its number plates are missing.
2. The authorities immobilised it or towed it to the pound, more than two months have passed, and the owner has not responded.
3. It was taken to private premises after a breakdown or accident, and the owner has not collected it within two months.
Before ordering the removal, the authority must formally require the owner to take the vehicle away within one month, warning that otherwise it will be sent for destruction.
According to the DGT’s instructions (Instruction VEH 2022/26), this notice is sent in the following order:
• to the owner’s electronic traffic address (Dirección Electrónica Vial, DEV), if they have one;
• otherwise, to the owner’s registered address for notifications;
• failing that, to the vehicle’s tax address in the Vehicle Register;
• if the owner is unknown or cannot be reached, by an announcement in the BOE.
Owners who have moved, or who live abroad, may therefore never receive a letter, so it is important to keep your address up to date with the DGT. Some town halls also place a notice on the vehicle itself under their local by-laws, but the legal notice is the formal one sent to the owner.
If the owner does not remove the vehicle within the month, the authority orders it to be taken to the scrapyard for destruction and decontamination. If the vehicle is still usable, the authority may instead hand it over to the traffic police. On urban streets, this is normally handled by the town hall and the local police.
Remember that a car parked in the street still needs insurance, because the law counts a parked vehicle as being in use (Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, article 1 bis.3). An abandoned car that is also uninsured can therefore lead to an insurance fine as well as its removal.
NEW SINCE 2025: E-SCOOTERS AND PERSONAL MOBILITY VEHICLES
Law 5/2025 of 24 July extended compulsory insurance to personal mobility vehicles (vehículos de movilidad personal, VMP), such as electric scooters. How the rule applies depends on the vehicle’s weight and speed.
Heavier, faster vehicles, those weighing over 25 kg with a top speed over 14 km/h, are treated as motor vehicles. They must be insured like any other motor vehicle. Their transitional period ended on 26 January 2026, and they did not need to be registered first.
Light personal vehicles (vehículos personales ligeros) are single-seat and electric only. Their top speed is 6 to 25 km/h if they weigh under 25 kg, or 6 to 14 km/h if they weigh more. These must be registered with the DGT and then insured. The DGT did not require them to be insured until its register was up and running.
The register was created by Royal Decree 52/2026, published in the BOE on 30 January 2026. According to the Ministry of the Interior:
• Every owner (or legal guardian, for minors) must register their scooter on the National Vehicle Register through the DGT’s online office before taking out insurance, and then fit the identification label.
• Scooters without a circulation certificate may be used only until 22 January 2027, and in the meantime must still be registered and insured.
• Not having the insurance is fined at 202 to 610 euros. Riding a scooter without insurance is fined at 250 to 800 euros, depending on whether it counts as a light personal vehicle or a motor vehicle.
