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Registering a foreign-plated car in the Balearics: steps, taxes and documents

If you move to the Balearics with your car, sooner or later it will need Spanish plates. The process has several steps in a set order, and each depends on the one before. This guide puts them in order and points to the official source for anything that changes, such as amounts and rates.

Sources checked on 24 October 2026 · 9 min read

General information. It does not replace the advice of a professional.

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Photo: Towfiqu barbhuiya (Unsplash)

When you have to register

According to the DGT (traffic authority), you must re-register the vehicle in Spain if you bought it in another EU country or already owned it before settling here: without Spanish registration you cannot drive it. That page sets no deadline.

Tax deadlines are a separate matter and are not given here: they depend on the case and are checked with the Agencia Tributaria. If a long gap separates your arrival from the registration, check before you act.

This guide assumes you already live here or are about to. If you do not have your residence paperwork yet, see NIE and first steps.

The steps, in order

  1. Deregistration in the country of origin. The DGT says that before moving the vehicle you must deregister it for export in its home country DGT.
  2. Spanish ITV. The car is presented at an authorised ITV station (inspection centre) to obtain the Spanish technical card (ficha técnica).
  3. Special tax on certain means of transport. It is proved with form 576 (payment) or, where it applies, with form 06 (exemption, for example on a change of residence) DGT online office.
  4. Road tax (IVTM) at the town hall of your home address: it must be settled and the proof given to the traffic office.
  5. Appointment at the Jefatura de Tráfico and registration application.
  6. Plates with the new number, from an authorised centre, and compulsory insurance.

The order matters: the form 06 exemption is requested before final registration, and the traffic office will ask for proof of the special tax and of the road tax.

The ITV: Spanish technical card

The ITV is the technical step. According to its page, the DGT asks for:

  • the registration document from the home country,
  • proof that the model is type-approved: the European Certificate of Conformity (CoC), a reduced technical card or, for vehicles from before 2002, an individual approval,
  • the contract or invoice, if you are not the owner named on the registration document.

If you have only moved your residence and you are the owner, the original documents are enough. With them the ITV issues the Spanish technical card. The DGT online office asks you to check that the vehicle has an electronic ITV card DGT online office.

Tip from this guide (not from an official source): the CoC is issued by the manufacturer or its representative. If you do not have it, ask for it early, as it is what most often delays this step. If you are unsure the car will pass, a trusted garage can check it first.

Special tax: form 576 or the exemption with form 06

On first registration in Spain the special tax on certain means of transport (in practice, the “registration tax”) must be proved. The DGT summarises it this way: you prove payment with form 576, 06 or 05 of the Agencia Tributaria, or the exemption or non-liability DGT.

No exemption: form 576

This is the general form for vehicles that are liable and not exempt. It is generally filed online; individuals not on the census of businesses can file it at a personal service point with an appointment, if they are the owner and have paid beforehand. The result is an electronic registration code (CEM) Agencia Tributaria. The amount depends on the vehicle (the DGT says that for registration it depends on its CO2 emissions) and it changes: check the source, not a guide.

If you are moving to Spain: exemption (form 06, code ET4)

The Agencia Tributaria provides an exemption for vehicles registered because the owner’s habitual residence moves from abroad to Spain. The requirements are Agencia Tributaria:

  • You lived habitually outside Spain for at least the twelve consecutive months before the move.
  • You used the vehicle at your former residence for at least six months before leaving it.
  • The vehicle was bought or imported under normal tax conditions in the country of origin, with no exemption or tax refund on export (with exceptions for diplomatic, consular and international-organisation regimes).
  • You must not transfer it in the twelve months after registration. If you sell earlier, the tax is charged as of the date of the breach.

How to apply, per the form 06 instructions: tick “Exempt” and enter code ET4. You must provide the certificate of residence outside Spain for at least twelve consecutive months, issued by the competent consular authority (original and photocopy), and the vehicle’s purchase invoice (original and photocopy). If you are not a gestor, you generate the draft on the Agencia Tributaria online office, print it and file it on paper at the AEAT delegation or office for your tax address, with the documents. It must be filed before final registration: the car cannot be registered until the declaration is validated.

The form 06 page adds that the declaration is filed in person, because documents must be attached, and that the electronic route is reserved for registered administrative agents (gestores administrativos).

Road tax at your town hall

Road tax (IVTM) is municipal and paid every year. To register, the DGT online office requires you to settle it at the town hall of your home address and provide the proof of payment or exemption DGT.

One example, in Palma: registration is handled through the Ajuntament’s procedure IVTM.01 Ajuntament de Palma. In other municipalities the procedure and payment method are those of their town hall: check its online office or citizen service desk. The ITV card and being registered on the padrón in the municipality are usually required.

Traffic office appointment, registration and plates

The application is made on the DGT online office (with electronic ID, digital certificate or Cl@ve) or in person at a Jefatura or Oficina de Tráfico, with an appointment booked online or on 060. The in-person route is reserved for individuals: companies and legal entities file electronically DGT. You book through the Jefaturas appointment system; in the Balearics, at the Illes Balears Jefatura and its offices.

  • Fee. There is a traffic fee for registration; with electronic filing it is paid first and the receipt attached, and in person you can pay by card at the office. The amount changes: check with the DGT.
  • Decision. The DGT has up to three months; if it does not reply, the application is deemed refused (silence counts as refusal) DGT.
  • Registration document. After registration you receive the plate number and the permiso de circulación; with them you buy the plates.
  • Plates. You get them at an authorised centre with the original documents (photocopies are not valid). Reduced-size plates are allowed only if the vehicle was type-approved with them from the factory.

Documents: a list to take with you

  • Registration document from the home country and proof of the export deregistration.
  • European Certificate of Conformity (CoC), reduced technical card or individual approval, and the Spanish ITV technical card.
  • Purchase contract or invoice (also required for the ET4 exemption).
  • Consular certificate of at least twelve months’ residence outside Spain, if you claim the exemption.
  • Proof of the special tax: form 576 with its CEM, or validated form 06.
  • Proof of road tax paid at your town hall.
  • Proof of the traffic fee.
  • Your ID and, where relevant, your residence document (more here).

The exact list can vary with the car’s origin. The DGT distinguishes, for example, used cars from the EU from those from outside the EU (for the latter, the H1 import certificate unless it is endorsed on the ITV card) and, since 1 January 2021, treats vehicles imported from the United Kingdom like those from outside the EU, unless they have EU status and the AEAT certificate is provided DGT.

What to do with the home-country plates and insurance

Plates. The DGT only says the vehicle must be deregistered for export in its home country before the move DGT. How that is done and what happens to the old plates depends on that country: ask its vehicle authority.

Insurance. To drive you need compulsory insurance and plates with the new number DGT. While the process is under way, you cannot drive the car until it is registered, but you can request temporary green plates, which allow you to drive for two months (extendable) with an insured vehicle, or use the temporary plates from the country of origin while they remain valid.

The official sources consulted do not explain what happens to the home-country policy or whether to cancel or keep it. Tip from this guide (not official): ask your current insurer before cancelling anything, and do not cancel until the car is insured in Spain.

Common mistakes

  • Going to the traffic office without the special tax sorted. The exemption is requested before registering; without it (or form 576) the process stops.
  • Taking the exemption for granted. There are time requirements (twelve and six months) and a ban on selling for twelve months. Check before counting on it.
  • Asking for the consular certificate too late. A consulate issues it and it can take time.
  • Losing the CoC or the invoice. Without proven type approval, the ITV will not issue the Spanish card.
  • Forgetting the road tax. It is municipal and is proved at the traffic office.
  • Not deregistering the car at home before moving it.
  • Driving without papers. The DGT is clear: you cannot drive without documents and plates. If you need the car meanwhile, request temporary plates.
  • Trusting old amounts. Taxes and fees change: always confirm at the source.

When a gestoría is worth it

You can do it all yourself: the official sources describe the procedure. But several authorities and deadlines are chained together. A gestoría may be worth it if:

  • You do not speak Spanish confidently or have no digital certificate or Cl@ve (online filing needs them).
  • Your case is not the typical one: a car bought in another country, imported from the United Kingdom or from outside the EU, or doubts about the exemption.
  • You would rather not coordinate the ITV, the Agencia Tributaria, the town hall and the traffic office yourself.

One useful official fact: the electronic route for form 06 can only be used by registered administrative agents Agencia Tributaria. What a gestoría is and how it differs from a tax adviser: self-employed or company, gestoría or tax adviser; how to check that it is registered: professional bodies and registration.

Tip from this guide (not official): ask for the price in writing and what it includes (fees and taxes separate), and who files each document.

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Categories related to this guide:

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Sources and date checked

Official sources checked on 24 October 2026. Procedures, requirements and amounts change: always check the source before you act.

General information. It does not replace the advice of a professional.

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