All you need to know about speeding fines in Spain

• About the 50% discount for early payment - how to.
• How to pay a Spanish fine step by step - where to find the required information, etc.
• Traffic fines in Europe - you break it, you buy it!
• 100 € speeding fines.

Bonus: do I have to exchange my foreign driving licence if I get a fine? You will be forced to if you are a Spanish resident! Once you move to Spain you will have to get a Spanish driving licence (valid for 10 years, except for the elder), and abid to the Spanish penalty points system.

I paid a speeding ticket by transfer. Now what?

When paying a Spanish fine by transfer it is very important to include the 'dossier number' or 'N. Expediente' in the transfer form, ideally in the comments field.

Anyway, and according to what I have read in different forums, Facebook groups and blogs, it is advisable that you keep a copy of the bank statement and send it by fax to the Spanish Traffic Authority. This way they will have the copy in their records and will be able to track the payment in case it is not registered once the early payment period has expired. You can get a copy of the bank statement via your online banking account.

You should send a copy of this bank statement to the following fax number, 0034902512151. You can include the reference number again in the document and a short text, something like 'Find attached a copy of the bank transfer statement. Do please note that the transfer was made WITHIN the early payment window. / Best regards, XX'.

Send this fax in case you receive a second notification and you already paid by transfer.

Where is the record number?

It isn't always easy to comply with the Spanish Traffic authorities, and their website is far from perfect. Whe trying to pay a Spanish ticket you will be required to provide the 'record number' for the fine. The 'record number' can be found on the top-right corner of the letter when the letter is in Spanish, under the 'N. EXPEDIENTE' label.

The Spanish speeding fine record number is required to complete the payment or to get further information about the ticket.

If the notification is in French, in Dutch, in German, in Italian, in Portuguese, in Polish, in English or in any other EU language, then the 'record number' will be on the top-left, labelled as record number, dossier number, pratica number, etc.

The field for the record number requires 12 digits, so forget the dots and dashes.

Fasten your seat belts!

The Spanish Traffic General Directorate (DGT) has announced that it will be installing 270 traffic cameras that will control the use of the seat belt in Spanish roads. Fines for not using the seat belt are among the eight traffic offences covered by the EU Cross-border Enforcement Directive, which regulates the cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences. 

How much is the fine for failing to wear the seat belt in Spain? 200 euro AND 4 points off your driving licence (the points system ONLY applies to Spanish driving licences - including Spanish residents even if they have not exchanged their licence at the time of the offence). 

How to pay a Spanish speeding fine - step by step

If you wonder how to pay a Spanish speeding fine, I would recommend that you read '50% discount off speeding fines in Spain' before getting started.

This is the link to the official payment form in the Spanish Traffic Authority site: https://multas.dgt.es. It is very important that you refer to this site, I do NOT trust other sites, no matter how convincent the notification is. If the speeding fine can't be paid using the previous link I would leave it in quarantine. If the link doesn't work you can try a PC (where P means personal, sometimes professional computers have tighter security settings), ideally using Firefox or Chrome... If that doesn't solve it, you can still pay by transfer.

Let's see what the payment form looks like: 

1 - this field is set to NIF by default. You can set it to the document type of your choise by using the drop-down menu.

2 - use only numbers in this field, the system adds the right format.

3 - the calendar will apply the Spanish date format.

4 - use this if you need to pay more than one fine at the same time.

5 - proceed to the second step, where the system applies the reduction.

The fields you need to fill are the following,

1. Identification type: either Passport or Other (i.e. Driving Licence). 
2. Identification number: your passport / driving licence or ID number.
3. Name / Business name: the card holder's first name. 
4. Surname: the card holder's middle name.
5. Additional Surname: the card holder's last name.
6. Email: the e-mail address will be used to send the payment confirmation.
7. Document number: in Spanish 'expediente', in French 'dossier', in Italian 'pratica', in Portuguese 'processo'... The record number MUST have 12 digits (you won't have to use the punctuation marks).
8. Amount (with no discount): the total amount (100, 300, 400...). The site applies the reduction on the second step.
9. Notification date (DD/MM/YYYY): the date when you received the notification (you can use the calendar). 

You will need a debit/credit card to complete the operation. For some reason AmEx cards are NOT accepted.

I have received a traffic fine, but I already paid for it!

I received a comment in the blog about a month ago now, from a French reader who received a speeding fine in May, paid for it in June and got the very same fine in September! I sent her an e-mail to get further details, and she has authorised me to share her story as far as I do not publish personal details. There you go...

When you pay a Spanish fine by transfer it is very important to include the record number (dossier number or "n expediente" in Spanish) in the comments field, as this is the ONLY way to track this payment. Our French friend made the transfer from her bank office, and the bank employee made an involuntary mistake when typewriting the dossier number, so her fine remained officially unpaid.

She contacted DGT helpline and was advised to fax a copy of the fine with the payment proof attached. A week later her debt was cancelled, and of course there was no late fee for her. DGT's fax number is 0034902512151.

I hope this helps!

I have received a fine, but it is in Spanish!

Ok, let us begin at the beginning. Go to the top-left corner and read the words after 'ASUNTO', there are several possibilities, but the most common are,

1. 'Notificación de iniciación de expediente' (notice of initiation of administrative proceedings). You have been identified as the driver of the car (even if you were just the person who paid for the car rental). If it is a 100 euro fine you don't need to identify the driver: the fine will be deleted from your driver's record once it has been paid for, and it will be easier to get the 50% reduction. You can still identify the driver if, and only IF, it was a rental car. If a friend has identified you by mistake it is likely that either you pay the fine or your friend is fined for misidentification. 
2. 'Petición de datos al titular para identificación del conductor' (request to the registered owner to identify the driver). You can identify the driver on the Internet, by fax, or by post. If you cannot complete the identification process online (the DGT site is a nightmare), I would suggest that you contact the DGT by phone a week after sending the documents to confirm that everything is OK. To identify the driver you will have to quote the record number ('número de expediente') and provide the driver name, ID (NIF, NIE or passport*), and full address. If the driver does not have a Spanish driving licence, it is advisable to attach a good quality copy of it. 

Have you received a notification with a different 'asunto'? Leave us a comment and we will try to provide further information! And whenever you need the procedure clarified, do not hesitate to contact the Spanish authorities.

* NIF and NIE are the Spanish IDs. The NIF format is NNNNNNNNL, and the NIE format is LNNNNNNNL, where N is a number and L is a letter.

Traffic fines in Europe

The European Commission has passed the EU Cross Border Enforcement Directive, so that traffic offences will be pursued throughout Europe even when you are driving your own car abroad. If you plan to travel to Spain by car, you better have a look at the following links before it is too late:

1. Going abroad - Spain: quick overview of the main Spanish traffic regulations; though "the Commission does not assume any liability for their content or their accuracy", I have confirmed that the information is trustworthy. 
2. EU Crossborder Enforcement Directive FAQ: check out number 4, "Which traffic offences are covered by the Directive", and number 5, "Will the level of the fines be the same as in the driver's own country" (spoiler: NO). 

This blog was meant to provide useful information about speeding fines in Spain, and to my surprise it is receiving more and more visits from all around the world, and specially from almost every European country. Here is my view of the question as of today, 

• If you are caught speeding you will receive a fine (this is 99% true). If so, pay immediately, and do not hesitate to call the help line if you have any problem doing so (Spanish, English, French and German spoken). If you don't pay, after about a month, the fine amount will double.
• Speeding fines in Spain are regulated by the Spanish law. Do not expect an image of the driver, nor of the car. You can request it when you get the fine if it is not included, but even in those cases it is not mandatory that the driver is recognizable. If you appeal requesting an image of the driver, you will lose the 50% discount for early payment!
• When and how to appeal: if the car in the image isn't yours or if you returned the rental car before the time of the offence, do not hesitate to appeal. The DGT operators will be able to confirm whether you are right or not over the phone, and, most important, can in certain cases take immediate action without you having to post or fax any documents. So again, use the help line, it will save you time and money.

Can I get a receipt after paying a fine in Spain?

There are two ways to get a receipt,

• Online: you can request it at the end of the payment operation, introducing your e-mail in the given field. As the payment is done via credit or debit card, you can also ask your bank for the operation details. 
• Transfer: if you pay by transfer you will have to quote the reference number (top-right corner), and your bank will issue a receipt. [Subject to surcharge]

According to the Spanish law if you pay by card the procedure against you MUST be closed within 72 hours, so my advice is to call their information number 72 hours after the payment to confirm that the procedure is closed. If that is the case you can forget about the fine.

Madrid, European capital of football

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid made it to the second all-Madrid Champions League final in three years. Madrid could well be considered the European capital of football - along with Leicester.

Both Atletico and Real have an English site, so it's pretty easy to book tickets to the match of your choice or to the Bernabéu Tour (one of the Top 3 attractions in Madrid with more than a million visitors a year!).

There is much more to Madrid than football, of course... Some of the best restaurants in Spain, to start with, and my favourite museum in the world.

Oh, and one more thing (I am trying not to lose focus)... Madrid is a trap for drivers. Don't even try, Madrid Metro is convenient and reliable.

Camino de Santiago by car

There are at least four ways to Santiago: the French Way, the Silver Way, the Portuguese Way and the North Way. All of them offer great driving routes, but we are focusing on the best-known today... Do you feel like driving the French Way of St James?

If we need to hire a car our trip will start in Pamplona, about an hour south of Roncesvalles. Logroño is an hour from Pamplona, and we will spend our first night here. Administrative capital of the Rioja region, I would go for a hotel in the city centre to make sure no-one will have to drive after dealing with the best wines in Spain.

Burgos could well be the next stop, but there is little to see in Burgos aside from the Cathedral. I'd rather visit the Museum of Human Evolution in the nearby Atapuerca. Staying in Burgos is the best option, so you can see the Cathedral.

Burgos Cathedral - you've seen it.

The drive between Burgos and León is just two hours, so you should be in León in time to see the Cathedral and San Isidoro (the Sistine Chapel of Romanesque Art) before tasting the local tapas (some say they are the best in Spain).

San Isidoro's Royal Pantheon

Astorga is less than an hour from León, and I would choose a hotel with spa to experience the Camino like the pilgrims do (though they'll go to the spa for a different reason). The Cathedral of Astorga and the Episcopal Palace by Gaudi are a must in Astorga. There are a couple of restaurants in the city worth the visit (Serrano and La Peseta), but if you are the ox-beef meat kind of person your restaurant is a half-hour from Astorga, El Capricho (probably the best steak in the world).

I'd spend the next morning in the spa before heading to Castrillo de los Polvazares to taste a true maragato stew. You can get to Ponferrada following the Camino, but I'd rather go back to Astorga and use the highway. You'll miss Foncebadón, but both you and the pilgrims will be safer.

There is little to see in Ponferrada, and a Parador in Villafranca del Bierzo, a charming village with lots to see and little to do.

The next stop is Lugo, the city with the Roman walls. I wouldn't hurry. On your way to Lugo you can wander around the Ancares, After that you are already in Galicia, and one day far from Santiago. Lugo is an old town that used to be much more important 2,000 years ago, but you will find affordable hotels and restaurants.

The trip to Santiago de Compostela is just 90 minutes, and once you get to Santiago you are free to indulge yourself...

100 eur fine for speeding in Spain

The letter that the Spanish authorities are sending abroad to car owners in France, Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium is the one you can see below.

It is usually a fine for speeding, and the amount varies from 100 eur to 600 eur. Spanish law offers a 50% reduction for early payment (20 days), so my advice would be to pay as soon as possible.

You can pay by transfer (usually paying a transfer fee) or by card (check DGT's site for details, as there are ongoing updates on the English site).

As I speak a little Spanish, I have called their contact phone number a couple of times on behalf of someone else. To my surprise they have English speaking operators, and the lady was really helpful both times. A call to Spain is pretty cheap, and it can save you around 40 GBP (even more for higher fines). The last time I called the site insisted that I paid 100 euro, but I told the lady on the phone that I had only just received the letter and after closing the browser and trying again there was my reduction.

Car hire and administrative fees

I am convinced that administrative fees sum up to 80% of car hire companies' benefits. They will charge your credit card without prior notice, send you an e-mail informing about the fine and wash their hands. 

Is there anything we can do? Nothing, but paying for the fine. 

It is not clear why such a fee should be charged, given the fact that identifying the driver is their legal duty to do so! They are charging you and me for something they are obliged to.

Speed cameras in Malaga

Malaga is one of the best Spanish destinations, as it offers a perfect balance of beach, sun, shopping, culture, nightlife and gastronomy. The A-7 (the highway that runs parallel to the coast) and the A-45 (also a highway, this one connecting Malaga and Cordoba) concentrate most of the speeding cameras. You can be aware of their precise location hiring a GPS (DGT informs about their location in advance).

As the list of spots controlled by radar is updated monthly, radar than providing an information that will be outdated in a matter of weeks, I think it's more useful to provide the link where the information will always be up-to-date:

1. List of speeding cameras and areas under strict control: http://www.dgt.es/es/el-trafico/control-de-velocidad/malaga/index.shtml * 
2. Map highlighting the roads under strict speeding control: http://www.dgt.es/Galerias/el-trafico/control-de-velocidad/Malaga.jpg 

* vocabulary tips: "radar fijo" means "fixed speed camera". "Radar tramo" means "road section average speed camera". "Radar móvil" means "mobile speed camera". 

You migh be interested in our article about the tolerance thresold in Spain.

Can I dispute a Spanish fine in English?

Disputing a Spanish fine is pretty easy, you just need to send a letter or a fax quoting the reference number and the reason(s) to dispute it. The appeal can be written either in Spanish or in English.

By disputing the fine you agree to pay the full amount if your appeal is dismissed.

Identifying a driver is not considered a dispute, and the reduction for early payment applies to the identified driver.