Getting a driving licence in Madrid – Part I
Getting a driving licence in Madrid – Part I
Firstly it is useful to determine if your country has an automatic validation agreement with Spain, in case you already have a driver´s licence. Here is an official list of countries which have a co-validation agreement or ¨canje de conducir¨ in Spanish. This means that if you have a driver’s licence from any of the listed countries, all you need is to do is call 060 to make an appointment for validation.
You will need to bring a whole lot of documentation as listed here. Another condition which exempts a driver´s licence holder from going through the complete process here is if they are diplomats. Now having said all of that, myself being South African and not possessing a diplomatic status, I had to get a driver´s licence from scratch even though I had a South African driver´s licence. The obvious conclusions is that it is probably because we drive on the left hand side in South Africa…but thats definitely not the reason because British drivers can drive with their licenses here without having to jump through any hoops. The real reason is that they are part of the European Union, as it’s also outlined in the DGT website here or you can simply download the PDF document here. Basically, co-validated countries are more or less directly related to Spain whether politically, territorially or economically.
LEARNER´S LICENCE:
The first part of getting a driver’s licence is of course, getting a learner’s licence. It is the theoretical part of the process. You can only get a learner´s licence through a driving school. This step is important because if you choose the right driver´s school for the learner´s licence stage they will probably be your practical examination driver´s school as well. My criteria for choosing the driver´s school was PRICE (Hello, This is The Cheap In Madrid Blog!), VICINITY to my piso (apartment in Spanish), REPUTATION and PROMOTIONS/FREEBIES. Finding a driving school is relatively easy because you can either jot down contact details from the many driving school vehicles passing by, or visit their offices (there are many driving schools in the Chamberi area: Arguelles, Moncloa, Quevedo for instance.) or just do a Google search. Look out for promotions in FAMILY CHECKS (coupons usually distributed in the morning at the metro entrances). One can also find out the reputation of driving schools in forums or just asking around. The promotion that attracted me to the driving school I finally chose was a 5 free practical lessons gift, for passing my theoretical exam in less than 3 attempts. That was back then and offers have become even better. If you look around, there are driving schools which offer up to 10 practical lessons free. After you determine the right school for you, you will need to pay the registration (Matricula in Spanish) and you will be given the traffic rules documentation. The only advice I could give with respect to getting a theoretical exam passed at the first or at most the second attempt is to attend the free ¨support¨ lessons offered by the driving school and to do many free tests online. Going to class also allows you to ask questions from the driving instructor as well as from other students and to determine your readiness. The theoretical exam consists of 20 questions and to pass you are ONLY allowed to commit a maximum of 2 errors.
Image Source: http://driveabroaduk.com
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