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.
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.
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!
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,
- '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.
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.
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.
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.
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