- '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.
- '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.
