This white second-generation Kia Cee'd was one of a small fleet owned by Autoescuela Pontevedra.

Navigating the Challenges of Getting My Spanish Driver’s License in Galicia

If you live in Spain for more than six months, you’re required to obtain a Spanish driving license. Until then, an International Driving Permit—which I had obtained on several occasions from AAA in the U.S. as they are only valid for one year—suffices. Driving in Spain without a Spanish license after a half-year of residency risks a 200-1000€ fine if caught.

Additionally, my first experience driving in Spain—a rental car trip to see Andrea for the first time many years ago—definitely raised my heart rate by more than a couple of points. That experience of driving a woefully under-powered (74 horsepower) SEAT Ibiza through dozens of roundabouts and narrow, one-way roads with crosswalks, speed bumps, and pedestrians everywhere, convinced me that driving in Europe is different enough from the U.S. that I’d benefit from learning the local road laws, especially regarding norms and signage.

How difficult can it be to read signs? Well, look at the ones below, which are just are a subset of the more than 200 similarly cryptic signs seen throughout Europe. Do you know what they mean? Can you even venture a guess during the split-second you might encounter them on the roadway?

These are just eight of the approximately 200 standardized European road signs that rely on symbols only. They are signs for: circulación prohibida, entrada prohibida, prohibición de pasar sin detenerse, reservado para ciclomotores, prohibido estacionar pero se puede parar, fin de via reservada para automoviles, los lados por los que los vehículos pueden pasar, una zona de construcción con una velocidad máxima de 60 kph.
These are just eight of the approximately 200 standardized European road signs that rely on symbols only. They are signs for: circulación prohibida, entrada prohibida, prohibición de pasar sin detenerse, reservado para ciclomotores, prohibido estacionar pero se puede parar, fin de via reservada para automoviles, los lados por los que los vehículos pueden pasar, una zona de construcción con una velocidad máxima de 60 kph.

Even the road stripings are a bit different. I remember driving on a city road and suddenly noticing it was divided by a white line, not a yellow one to indicate two-way traffic like in the U.S. This left me wondering for a few sweat-inducing moments if it was a one-way street and whether I was going in the right direction.

Although I don’t really need to drive in Pontevedra considering how it is an international model for pedestrianism, I love driving. Plus, Andrea—who doesn’t enjoy it as much—appreciates it when I can take the wheel. The same traffic regulations also apply to when I ride my bicycle.

With these motivations in mind, I embarked on the process of getting my Spanish license. While this article is not meant to be a detailed how-to guide, it does describe my experience with the main steps: the medical exam, theoretical test, driving lessons, and practical exam.

The Psicotécnico (Medical Exam)

The process started with a psicotécnico, a basic medical and psychological evaluation required for obtaining a license. I scheduled an appointment, at which I had to wait about 30 minutes before being seen by a doctor.

The doctor asked a couple of questions and conducted a quick eye test that could accurately be described as a farce. For instance, when testing my vision, he had me read the same bottom line of an eye chart three times: once with both eyes, then while covering one eye with my hand. Naturally, I had already remembered the letters after the first reading.

Despite reading about reflex and coordination tests involving video game-like setups, the doctor didn’t have me do any of that. He then handed me off to a psychologist who asked two questions that were similar to the ones he had asked me: whether I was taking medication and if I had any history of depression. After I answered “no” to both, she signed the necessary paperwork.

We ended up chatting about her niece, who was doing a fashion internship in Wisconsin. The psychologist was very friendly, and the whole psicotécnico process was surprisingly informal.

The Theoretical Exam

The theoretical exam turned out to be the most challenging part of the process. I had read online that some estadounidenses found it “near-impossible,” with those who passed often completing 200–400 practice tests beforehand.

The exam is available in English, but many ex-pats claimed the translations were so poor that the Spanish version was easier. However, others noted that the English translations had recently improved and that the question pool in English was a fraction of that in Spanish.

For me, the choice was clear: I opted for the Spanish version. Not only would it force me to learn Spanish driving terminology, but it would also help me improve my Spanish overall. (Note: my Spanish was already at a fairly solid B2 level beforehand. But I had encountered at least 200 new vocabulary words—at least that’s how many flashcards I created in Quizlet Set 1 and Set 2—in the practice exams alone.)

The test itself requires a 90% score to pass (27 out of 30 multiple-choice questions). While some answers to questions were obvious (for example, anything related to drinking and driving), others were tricky enough that without studying, passing would be impossible.

It wasn’t until my 70th practice test that I started passing consistently. By the 100th practice test, I felt confident, and after 130 practice exams, I made an appointment with the local Dirección General de Transportación (DGT) and registered to take the real test one week later.

The exam was held in a large room with desks and tablet computers. After completing it, I felt certain I had passed, thinking I might have missed just one question. As someone who, for instance, had graduated from high school as a valecdictorian with the #1 ranking—and completed two masters degrees in less than six months for each of them—I have always been a pretty good test taker.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I discovered I had missed three questions and barely made the grade. Unfortunately, the DGT doesn’t tell you which questions you had answered incorrectly.

Even retrieving my results online proved challenging due to a typo at the DGT. They had entered my birthday incorrectly, which caused errors on their website. I eventually discovered the mistake after experimenting with different birth dates until one worked.

Signing Up with an Autoescuela (Driving School)

I registered for driving lessons with Autoescuela Pontevedra, recommended by my American friend Yoly. The process was quick: I walked in on a Friday afternoon, and within 45 minutes of talking with Marcos at the front desk, I was enrolled. Just two hours later, inside a white 2014 Kia Cee’d 5-door hatchback with a 6-speed manual transmission, I had my first driving lesson!

This white second-generation Kia Cee'd was one of a small fleet owned by Autoescuela Pontevedra.
This white second-generation Kia Cee'd was one of a small fleet owned by Autoescuela Pontevedra.

A minimum of three driving lessons was mandatory. I was lucky to already be proficient in driving a stick-shift—due to having owned manual sports cars for more than three decades—so that was not something I would have to learn.

My instructors, Juan and David, were both excellent and highly encouraging. At the end of most lessons, they assured me that I was a “very good” driver, yet I felt I was genuinely learning or reminded of something every time.

After my fifth lesson, I asked when the school could schedule my exam, and they managed to secure a date for the following week—just 12 days after I first enrolled with the autoescuela.

David recommended taking lessons on the two days leading up to the test to stay sharp and familiarize myself with potential exam routes, a suggestion I fully agreed with. In the end, I completed seven lessons plus the exam.

Key Takeaways from My Driving Lessons

Lesson 1 (Juan, 2025-01-10)

  • Avoid using first gear unnecessarily. Despite producing a maximum of only 90 horsepower out of its 1.4-liter engine, the Kia’s engine was diesel and therefore produced plenty of torque even at low engine revolutions per minute. Second gear works fine at pedestrian speeds, making downshifting to first mostly unnecessary except for moving from a standstill.
  • Enter roundabouts from the right-hand lane, especially during the exam!
  • If you enter a roundabout from a left-hand lane, use the corresponding roundabout lane and gradually spiral outward to exit, even if it means going around the roundabout twice or three times. Suddenly cutting across roundabout lanes to the exit would be an automatic fail.
  • On highways, avoid excessive acceleration to match traffic speed.
  • Two alternating flashing amber lights (“una doble luz amarilla intermitente“) at crosswalks means the car has the right of way.
  • One flashing amber light means the pedestrians have the right of way.

Lesson 2 (David, 2025-01-13)

  • Always activate the right-hand turn signal when exiting a roundabout.
  • In roundabouts, follow the curvature of the curb instead of the looking for the sometimes faded or missing middle line to avoid cutting lanes.
  • Watch for low-positioned traffic lights near crosswalks and intersections.
    Traffic lights can be very small and low in Spain. They can be easy to miss if you are not paying attention.
    Traffic lights can be very small and low in Spain. They can be easy to miss if you are not paying attention.

Lesson 3 (David, 2025-01-14)

  • When moving to the left lane to allow cars to merge onto the autovia, accelerate strongly to pass and then move back to the right lane.
  • Use higher gears to save fuel.

Lesson 4 (David, 2025-01-15)

  • Touching the curb while parking is fine, but driving over it would result in an automatic fail during the exam.
  • Do not cross the continuous white line separating lanes before crosswalks. I.e., don’t change lanes very close to an approaching crosswalk,

Lesson 5 (David, 2025-01-16)

  • David showed me that when there are two alternating flashing amber lights for cars before a crosswalk, pedestrians will have a red light. In contrast, if there is one flashing amber light, pedestrians will either have no light or a light giving them the right of way.
  • Be cautious at crosswalks with flashing lights, as they can change to red quickly.
  • At unsigned intersections, the car on the right has the right of way. If another car waves you through, proceed confidently.

Lesson 6 (Juan, 2025-01-20)

  • Be alert for one-way streets with “entrada prohibida” signs. Sometimes they aren’t obvious, and I would have entered one of them if Juan hadn’t stopped the car.
  • We reviewed a potential exam route. Juan said that six out of the seven examiners would allow you to pick a route of my choosing for the first 10 minutes of the exam, whereas the seventh examiner always has a fixed route that runs left out of the exam site
  • Avoid coasting in neutral to a stop. (I do this a lot, not only to save wear on the clutch, but to come to a smoother stop.) Although it won’t fail you on an exam, coasting in neutral reduces control, eliminates engine braking, and can even waste fuel in modern cars. Spain’s traffic regulations even prohibit driving in neutral while descending hills as it can compromise vehicle control.
  • Juan complimented my shifting, saying I downshift smoother than anyone he’s met in his 12 years of instructing, including himself! (One reason for this is that I developed a habit of double-clutching and heel-toe downshifting to perfectly match engine, transmission, and driveshaft revolutions decades ago while driving classic sports cars such as my 1969 MGB.)

Lesson 7 (Juan, 2025-01-21)

  • Always come to a complete stop at stop signs. A rolling stop is not acceptable, especially during the test. (This may seem obvious, but after getting used to yielding instead of stopping at roundabouts, I unconsciously treated one of the rare stop signs like a yield.)
  • Skipping gears while downshifting is efficient and can be useful when quickly reducing speed, which I demonstrated during the lesson.

The Driving Exam

On the morning of the exam, I met my instructor in the city center while it was still dark and pouring rain. Unbeknownst to me, we would be heading to the exam site with two other students from Autoescuela Pontevedra—two young women who were probably around 20 years old.

One of them asked if I was nervous. “Estoy bien,” I replied. She, on the other hand, admitted she was anxious and mentioned that the night before, she had watched TikTok videos for last-minute tips.

I asked if they helped. “No para nada,” she said with a laugh.

On the way to the exam site, we each took turns driving. The TikTok enthusiast struggled with shifting gears and stalled the car at one roundabout. The other student drove shortly after but was overly aggressive, lurching from glorieta to glorieta until Juan told her to calm down.

I drove last, as I would be tested first, and seeing how the others drove only boosted my confidence. At least I could work the gearshift and the clutch without any issues.

At the exam site, we waited just a few minutes before the examiner got into the back seat of the car. He told me I could start driving whenever I was ready. I was a little surprised, as I had expected—based on another expat’s experience—that he might ask me questions like “What should you do if your car breaks down?” or “How do you know when the next mandatory vehicle inspection is due?” before we got going. However, no questions were asked.

That said, all the windows were fogged up, and there was no way I was going to start driving until I could see. I turned on the front and rear defrosters on full blast (along with the A/C to aid defrosting) and waited a couple of minutes until visibility improved.

Following my instructor’s advice from the past few days, I began driving along a pre-rehearsed route. It was only ten minutes into the drive that the examiner started telling me where to drive to and what exits to take, and he never even asked me to parallel park. Everything went smoothly until the final roundabout, where I didn’t use the turn signal upon exiting (more on that below).

Still, when I returned to the parking lot at the exam site about 20 minutes later, I felt confident that I had driven well. However, the examiner gave me several critiques:

  1. I spun the steering wheel with one hand (instead of two) during an acute left turn. I unconsciously did this because my right hand was downshifting. Never mind that even my instructor was doing the same thing an hour after my exam to park the car.
  2. I exited the final roundabout without signaling. I actually wanted to signal, but the roundabout was huge and irregularly shaped, and before I knew it, I had exited the roundabout in the direction I was supposed to go. (Never mind that I used the turn signal to exit every one of the dozen roundabouts I went through before that, even while absolutely no one else was signaling out of them.)
    The red line shows my path into and out of this huge roundabout. I had exited it before I even realized it, and therefore failed to signal when exiting.
    Photo by Google Maps
    The red line shows my path into and out of this huge roundabout. I had exited it before I even realized it, and therefore failed to signal when exiting.
  3. I made a left turn over a continuous line. I turned a few meters too early instead of crossing over a dashed line that was juxtaposed next to a continuous line and therefore hard to see. The heavy rain also made it hard to see the continuous lines on the small side street I was turning into.
    I had cut across continuous lines, whereas I should have made a more acute left turn over the dashed line that construction crews did not paint well.
    Photo by Google Maps
    I had cut across continuous lines, whereas I should have made a more acute left turn over the dashed line that construction crews did not paint well.
    The driver of this blue Dacia Sandero correctly made a left turn onto this road, whereas I made the turn a few meters too early and ended up crossing continuous lines that I didn't even see.
    The driver of this blue Dacia Sandero correctly made a left turn onto this road, whereas I made the turn a few meters too early and ended up crossing continuous lines that I didn't even see.
  4. I did not keep enough to the right when entering the exam parking lot. While I made sure to avoid getting too close to the sides of the entrance and confirmed there were no cars nearby, the examiner pointed out that I should have imagined a line dividing the entrance and stayed to the right of it.
    The gate to the testing center. I did not stay to the right enough when re-entering it.
    The gate to the testing center. I did not stay to the right enough when re-entering it.

The feedback left me uncertain about whether I had passed, especially since neither the examiner nor my instructor confirmed it before telling me, nicely, to get out of the car.

I ended up having to wait 45 minutes for the other two students to take their driving test. I particularly pondered over the gravity of Mistake #3, since I didn’t understand 100% of the rapid-fire, verbal feedback in Castellano. That led to mentally preparing myself for having to take yet more lessons and another driving test.

Finally, the white Kia returned to the exam site, where I had been outside taking cover from the rain. Juan was driving, so I got in on the passenger side of the car.

After I had planted myself on the passenger seat, Juan held out his hand to shake mine and smiled. “¡Aprobaste!” he exclaimed. I had passed!

As it turned out, the four faltas I committed were of the leve (light) type, and didn’t reach the level of deficiente or eliminatoria.

Juan later told me in Spanish that I was “the best American driver” he’d ever taught. Given that I made four (albeit minor) mistakes during the exam, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a reflection of my skills or just how low the bar had been set by other American drivers he’d encountered. Either way, it was a satisfying way to wrap up the journey!

Costs

To obtain a Spanish driver’s license, this is what I spent:

ItemCostNotes
Psicotécnico (medical exam)55€I took it at Climanovo in Pontevedra.
TodoTest app40€I purchased the premium package, which included DGT exam management and 3 driving lessons, both of which I did not use. I think the free app with ads would have been fine in hindsight.
DGT tests94€Covers 3 exam attempts: theoretical exam, practical exam, and one re-take in case of failing an exam
Autoescuela enrollment100€I signed up with Autoescuela Pontevedra. The enrollment costs cover the use of the driving school’s car, gas, and insurance.
Driving lessons with the autoescuela224€I paid for a total of 8 sessions: 7 driving lessons and 1 session for the driving exam. (For the exam, you go with your driving instructor in the autoescuela’s car to the test site, then take the exam with the instructor present after picking up the examiner. So, it’s completely fair to count the exam as a session.) Each session was 28€.
Total513€Approximately US$550 at the actual exchange rates.

This is roughly half the 1000-1200€ that is often quoted for “expected costs” on various websites. Still, it is a significant time and euro investment.

How did I keep the costs on the low side? First, I prepared for and took the theoretical exam libre, meaning unaffiliated with an autoescuela. I did this by using studying on my own using the excellent TodoTest app. (PracticaTest is another app I have heard good things about, but have not tried myself.) TodoTest allowed me to take as many practice tests as I wanted (130), and had good explanations for the traffic rules and missed questions. (It also had video lessons and the DGT manual, but I did not watch any of the former and only did a cursory reading of the latter.)

Second, I passed both the theoretical and practical exams on my first attempt. Here’s how the process works: you pay the DGT a fee of 94€, which covers up to three exam attempts in total. This means you can take both the theoretical and practical exams once, and if you fail one of them, you’re allowed one retake. However, if you fail both exams or fail one exam more than once, you’ll need to pay another 94€ to receive another set of three attempts. And of course, if you fail the driving exam, the autoescuela is going to have you take more lessons.

Could I have paid even less? Sure. It turned out I could have used the free version of TodoTest, since I ended up not using any of its premium features—including scheduling an exam with the DGT and driving lessons with a local affiliated school—because I forgot about those benefits. I also ended up taking seven driving lessons, whereas I think I still would have passed the practical exam even if I insisted on taking just five or even the minimum of three classes.

Moreover, folks on a tight budget could call various autoescuelas for less expensive lessons. However, I thought 28€ per lesson was very reasonable.

The process of getting a driver’s license in Spain is undoubtedly more rigorous than in the U.S. While I don’t recall how much it cost to get my California license as a teenager, the process in Spain might initially seem more expensive.

However, consider this: in Spain, the autoescuela provides the car, fuel, and insurance for both your lessons and the exam. The car is equipped with dual controls for safety, and the instructor serves as a backup during the test. Plus, you learn to drive a manual transmission. While this takes more time to master compared to driving an automatic, it’s an invaluable skill for renting cars in many countries outside the U.S.

The week prior, I had told some Spanish friends how in the U.S., you bring your own (or, in most cases, parent’s) car to the exams, and before that, teenagers can drive with driver’s permit without an instructor or special vehicle as long as they are accompanied by an adult. My friends were shocked. “Isn’t that dangerous?” they asked. They might have had a point!

A Financial Benefit to Getting a Spanish Driver’s License

While getting a Spanish driver’s license isn’t dirt cheap, it does have a future potential payoff: it means there may be fewer years you may need to buy an International Driving Permit (IDP).

As a holder of a Spanish driver’s license, you can rent a car without an IDP in many countries, particularly within the European Union and the European Economic Area. These regions recognize each other’s driving licenses, making car rentals straightforward. These same countries often require U.S.-licensed drivers to carry an IDP (though whether rental companies actually ask for it may vary).

This means that during the years you rent a car in a European country, you avoid the need to visit an American Automobile Association (AAA) location in the U.S. and pay $20 (plus any additional fees for photos) for an IDP. While $20 isn’t a huge expense, you also save time and hassle.

Reflections and Final Thoughts

If you are an expat with a driver’s license from a country like the U.S., which does not have an agreement with Spain for direct license exchange, be prepared for a lengthy process.

While not impossible, it is arduous. Be prepared to take hundreds of practice exams in order to achieve the requisite 90% passing grade for the theoretical exam. If you are taking the exam in Spanish and Spanish isn’t your native language, then it’s even a greater challenge. But in that case, it’s helpful to think of this as another way to move you along towards linguistic fluency.

The practical exam is no walk in the park either. My instructor mentioned that it’s “impossible” to score a perfect mark on the practical and shared a story about a student who had driven for 30 years in multiple countries but failed the practical exam five times. In fact, only one of the two students I went with passed, and she (pictured below) only succeeded after five attempts.

Another student, instructor Juan, and me inside the Autoescuela Pontevedra office after passing the practical Spanish driver's license exam.
Another student, instructor Juan, and me inside the Autoescuela Pontevedra office after passing the practical Spanish driver's license exam.

Obtaining my Spanish driving license* required significant effort, but in the end, it was rewarding—and a reason to celebrate.

*My official driver’s license will be mailed to me within 2.5 months. But I was able to download my exam score and, more importantly, an autorización provisional that serves as my license for the next 90 days.

One More Note

In the photo above, the other student was holding a letter L, as all new drivers are legally required to display this letter on the inside of the rear window while driving, signaling to others that they are “learners.” However, after a discussion between Juan and another staff member, they decided I didn’t need the letter as I wasn’t truly a new driver, but someone who had been driving for decades in another country.

I honestly wouldn’t have minded using the L, as it sometimes compels other drivers to give you more space. On the other hand, it’s kind of nice not to have to drive around with that “scarlet letter.”