If you are the owner of a car that has been caught speeding in Spain you will receive a letter with a requirement to identify the driver and some details of the offence. Individuals can choose to pay the fine straight away, unless they are Spanish residents and the driver identification is mandatory (fines with points deduction). Companies will usually choose to identify the employee / client who was driving. Here is a sample identification form that might be useful (I have omitted the head). I would attach a copy of the driver's driving license and fax it to the 0034902512151 (yes, they still use a fax).
Driver identification
Dossier: 111111111111
The driver at the time of the offence was,
Name: Mr. John Smith
Birth date: DD/MM/YYYY
Driving license nr:
Address: 123 Street
Hereandthere
A12 34B Charming Village
-------------------------
You can also fax a copy of the requirement, though the dossier or expediente number is the only thing they need.
Showing posts with label Spanish fines in France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish fines in France. Show all posts
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.
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.
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.
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.
The fields you need to fill are the following,
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.
- Identification type: either Passport or Other (i.e. Driving Licence).
- Identification number: your passport / driving licence or ID number.
- Name / Business name: the card holder's first name.
- Surname: the card holder's middle name.
- Additional Surname: the card holder's last name.
- Email: the e-mail address will be used to send the payment confirmation.
- 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).
- Amount (with no discount): the total amount (100, 300, 400...). The site applies the reduction on the second step.
- 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.
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:
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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.
Got a Spanish ticket from September, October or November? Get the 50% reduction!
You were in Spain for a couple of weeks last September, October or November and you get a ticket in January... Hm, 100 euro, maybe 300 euro... Oh, there seems to be a reduction for early payment, but you got the letter too late!
Ok, no worries on that respect. As far as we have confirmed (and so have our readers), you can still get the reduction. All you have to do is making a call to the Spanish Traffic Authority (DGT or CTDA, depending on the type of fine) and inform them that you have only just received the ticket.
The number you should dial is 0034 902 508 686. This number is valid from the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Norway, France, Portugal... And there are always English and French operators available (just wait until a person answers in Spanish and let them know that you want to speak either English or French, you will be transferred immediately).
For further information, check our FAQ.
Paying a Spanish ticket by transfer
If you have paid a Spanish ticket by transfer within the last 6 months, you might be in trouble. When paying by transfer it is always important to include the 'expediente' number in the transfer form. If you fail to do so, the fine will be unpaid for the Spanish authorities. Several drivers in France have found that the Spanish authorities are insisting that they must pay a fine they have already paid.
Our advice if you choose to pay by transfer is to call the Spanish authorities two weeks after making the transfer to confirm both that they have registered the payment and that the file has been closed for payment (which means you will receive no further communications, and the car rental company won't charge the fine amount plus a fee on your credit card).
I've found three similar cases in different forums on the Internet, so if you choose to pay by transfer make sure to confirm that they register your payment properly.
Our advice if you choose to pay by transfer is to call the Spanish authorities two weeks after making the transfer to confirm both that they have registered the payment and that the file has been closed for payment (which means you will receive no further communications, and the car rental company won't charge the fine amount plus a fee on your credit card).
I've found three similar cases in different forums on the Internet, so if you choose to pay by transfer make sure to confirm that they register your payment properly.
Spanish tickets for German and Dutch cars
I'm surprised and grateful for your comments. Within the last couple of days three readers have left a comment to confirm whether they can be fined by the Spanish DGT (two from the Netherlands, one from Germany). The answer is YES. The European Commission passed a law earlier this year that allows EU countries to share drivers' data. As far as we have found out thanks to your comments, Spanish fines are being sent to France, the Netherlands and Germany (we are talking about car with their own, local plates... Tickets for rental cars make their way all around the world).
Anyone else, from a different country, has received a ticket from Spain while driving with his own car? Portugal maybe? Italy?
If so, do please leave a comment!
Many French visitors in the last few weeks
Spain and France signed a reciprocal agreement to share car owners information, and in the last few months both Spanish and French drivers have received the first cross-border fines. That is probably why some French readers found this blog.
My sources in Spain tell me that the letter sent to French drivers might be confusing, but CTDA seems to have French speaking operators, so for any doubt or question call them straight away and demand any information that you need.
I can't yet confirm whether the trick to get the discount (calling and saying that you just received the fine) works for French drivers, comments regarding this or any other point are welcome.
My sources in Spain tell me that the letter sent to French drivers might be confusing, but CTDA seems to have French speaking operators, so for any doubt or question call them straight away and demand any information that you need.
I can't yet confirm whether the trick to get the discount (calling and saying that you just received the fine) works for French drivers, comments regarding this or any other point are welcome.
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