Los Dolses · Orihuela Costa
Your foreign car,made Spanish.
Every step, in writing, in your language — from the first document check to the plates going on. We tell you what it costs before you commit, and we separate our fee from the taxes we do not control.
- Spoken at the counterEN · DE · NL · ES
- Our feeFixed, in writing
- Your fileOne handler, start to plates
- Where we areLos Dolses, five minutes from La Zenia
However it gets here
01It arrives
02By boat
03Or by transporter
04Or you drive it down
The information gap
Nobody explains this in your language.
Search for how to register a foreign car in Spain and you will find a directory of gestorías, a phone number and no information at all. The process is not secret. It is simply never written down for the people who need it most.
So we wrote it down. All of it, on this page, before you call anybody.
What people actually ask us
- 01Can I just keep driving on my old plates?
- 02What is a COC, and why does everyone keep asking for one?
- 03Will my headlights fail the inspection?
- 04How much tax am I actually going to pay?
- 05Do I have to be in Spain while it happens?
- 06My car is fourteen years old. Is it even worth it?
The case file
Five steps, in order, start to plates
Nothing here is hidden behind a tab. This is the whole procedure, in the order it happens, with the part we do and the part only you can do set side by side.
Documents
Day 1 — usually one visit
What we do
We read what you already have, tell you in one sitting what is missing, and order the Certificate of Conformity from the manufacturer if you do not have one. Nothing is filed until the file is complete — an incomplete submission is what turns four weeks into four months.
What you bring
- Registration document
- Proof of ownership
- Passport and NIE
Technical
Week 1–2 — longer if a report is needed
What we do
Either the Certificate of Conformity covers the vehicle or an engineer has to write it a Spanish technical sheet. We decide which on day one, not after a failed inspection. Right-hand-drive cars get their headlamps re-aimed and a rear fog lamp fitted on the correct side while they are here.
What you bring
- Certificate of Conformity
- Photo of the chassis number
- Any modification paperwork
Inspection
Week 2–4 — depends on the queue
What we do
We book the slot, drive the car in with the technical file and stand next to it. If something needs correcting we fix it and re-present the vehicle at our own cost — that is included in the fee, not billed afterwards as a surprise.
What you bring
- The car, one morning
- Valid insurance
- Nothing else
Taxes
Week 3–6 — the exemption route is slower
What we do
Two taxes and, for a vehicle from outside the EU, customs. We calculate each one, show you the working, and apply for the change-of-residence exemption if you qualify. None of this money comes to us — we hand you the receipts.
What you bring
- Padrón or proof of address
- Purchase invoice
- Proof of previous residence
Plates
Final week — half a day
What we do
The traffic authority issues the number, we make the plates while you wait and fit them here. You leave with the Spanish registration document, the technical sheet, the inspection card and a car that is finally, boringly, legal.
What you bring
- Half an hour
- The old plates
- Somewhere to put the photo
Timings are typical, not promised. The two things that lengthen a file are an engineer's report and an incomplete customs entry — and we tell you about both in the first week, not the fifth.
Indicative estimate
What will it cost me, and what do you need?
Three questions. You will get an indicative range with our fee kept separate from the taxes, a document list built for your answers, and a message you can send us with one tap.
Where the money goes
This is the only line we set, and the only line we keep.
These three lines are not ours. We calculate them, you pay them to the authority, and you get the receipt.
If the exemption is granted, registration tax falls away entirely. It is not automatic — it has to be applied for, with evidence, and it can be refused.
Nothing to pay — the vehicle is already in free circulation inside the single market.
Duty can fall to nothing with the right proof of origin, or apply in full without it. This single line is why two identical cars get wildly different bills.
Duty and import VAT both apply, calculated on the customs value plus shipping. The port charges arrive separately and we pass them on at cost.
Typical time4–6 weeks3–5 weeks4–6 weeks3–5 weeks6–8 weeks5–7 weeks6–10 weeks5–9 weeks6–10 weeks5–9 weeks8–12 weeks7–11 weeks8–13 weeks7–12 weeks8–13 weeks7–12 weeks10–15 weeks9–14 weeks
What we would need from you
- Registration document from the country of origin
- Proof of ownership — invoice or bill of sale
- Your passport and your NIE
- Padrón certificate or proof of your address in Spain
- A clear photograph of the chassis number
- Certificate of Conformity — we order one from the manufacturer if you have none
- Certificate of Conformity or a British type-approval certificate
- Evidence of origin for customs — this single document decides the duty
- Headlamp and rear fog lamp conversion for driving on the right
- Customs entry document from the port where the vehicle landed
- Shipping and insurance invoices — the customs value is built from these
- Emissions and type-approval evidence, or an engineer's report instead
- Proof of the purchase date and the mileage — a nearly new vehicle is taxed differently
- Recent service or inspection history — it is what gets an older car through first time
- Proof you lived outside Spain for at least the last twelve months
- Proof the vehicle was registered in your name before you moved
- Nothing extra — this is the standard route and the shortest one
This list changes with your three answers. Missing one or two is normal — we chase them, that is most of the job.
Indicative ranges for a demonstration site, built from typical cases — not a quotation and not official figures. The registration tax depends on your vehicle's official value and emissions, and customs duty on its proof of origin. Only your documents can settle either.
Our side of the bill
What we charge
Every figure below is our fee, and only our fee. Taxes, customs, inspection charges and any engineer's report are separate, paid to whoever levies them, and shown to you with the receipt. Nothing here includes a percentage of anything.
- Full matriculación — vehicle from an EU countryfrom 395 €Everything from the first document check to the plates on the car: technical file, ITV, taxes, traffic authority. One fee, quoted in writing before we start.
- Full matriculación — vehicle from outside the EUfrom 545 €The same route plus the customs side: entry document, duty and import VAT calculation, and the type-approval evidence a non-EU vehicle needs.
- Homologation and technical filefrom 240 €For vehicles with no Certificate of Conformity, modified vehicles, campers and anything over ten years old. We commission the engineer's report and see it through.
- ITV booking and escortfrom 75 €We book the slot, take the car in with the file, translate on the spot and re-present it free if something needs correcting.
- Change of ownership (Spanish-plated car)from 145 €Buying or selling locally. We check the car is free of debt and charges before any money moves, then file the transfer the same week.
- Change-of-residence exemption applicationfrom 120 €If you are moving here permanently and have owned the car long enough, the registration tax can be waived. We assemble the evidence and file it.
- Plates made and fittedfrom 35 €Made while you wait once the number is issued, and fitted here. Most people want a photograph of it. We take one.
Already driving here on foreign plates? There is a deadline, and it depends on your situation. Ask us before it becomes a fine — that conversation is free.
The technical reality
The step everybody worries about
The inspection is not a trap. It is a checklist, and we know what is on it. Almost every failure we see comes down to lighting, tyres or a missing document — and all three are cheaper to fix before the car goes in than after.
- Lighting
- Beams aimed for the other side of the road, and a rear fog lamp on the wrong side. The two most common failures, and the two cheapest.
- The technical sheet
- No Spanish technical sheet, no inspection. If the Certificate of Conformity cannot produce one, an engineer has to — and that is a two-week head start, not a two-week delay, if it is spotted early.
- Tyres and brakes
- Mismatched tyres and a handbrake that has not been used since the boat. We check both before booking, because a re-test costs you a fortnight, not money.
Worked examples
Four files, start to finish
Illustrative examples for a demonstration site — the shape of real files, not records of them.
Your handler
Two people, and you get both
Ana Belén Ferrer
Case handler — taxes, customs and the traffic authority
“People arrive apologising for their questions. There are no stupid questions here — the process is genuinely confusing, and it isn't written in your language.”
Speaks Español · English · Nederlands
Derek Hall
Technical — ITV, homologation and lighting
“Most cars fail the first inspection for two reasons: headlights aimed for the wrong side of the road, and a missing rear fog lamp. Both are cheap. Both are avoidable.”
Speaks English · Deutsch · Español
The last morning
What you end up holding
Four documents and two pieces of aluminium. That is the whole point of the exercise, and it is the moment the worrying stops.
- Spanish registration document
- Spanish technical sheet
- Valid inspection card
- Both plates, fitted here
Before
After
What people say afterwards
I had been quoted one number, with nothing behind it, three times. Here I got a sheet with our fee on one side and the taxes on the other. I understood it in twenty minutes, in Dutch.
Right-hand drive, nine years old, and everyone told me it was impossible. It was not impossible. It was five documents and seven weeks, and they found the paper that killed the import duty.
What I actually wanted was to stop worrying about it. They took the folder, told me what would happen and when, and then it happened.
Sample reviews for a demonstration site.
The twenty questions, answered
Can I keep driving on my foreign plates in the meantime?
There is a deadline once you become resident, and a different answer if the car is here on holiday. It depends on your situation, not on the car — tell us yours and we will tell you exactly where you stand. That answer is free and takes one message.
What exactly is a Certificate of Conformity?
A sheet from the manufacturer stating the vehicle's official European specification — weights, emissions, dimensions. With it, the technical side is paperwork. Without it, an engineer has to measure the car and write the specification instead. We can order one from most manufacturers in a fortnight.
Do I have to be in Spain while it happens?
For most of it, no. We need you here at the start, to sign the authorisation and hand over the originals, and we need the car for the inspection. Everything between those two points we do without you, and we send you a written update at each stage.
My car is fourteen years old. Is it worth registering at all?
Often yes, and for a reason people do not expect: the registration tax on an old vehicle is usually small or nothing, so the bill is mostly our fee and the inspection. The honest risk is the engineer's report, and we can tell you whether you need one before you spend anything.
Why is your fee higher for a car from outside the EU?
Because there is a whole extra process: the customs entry, the valuation, the duty and import VAT calculation, and usually a type-approval file that a European car simply comes with. It is more work, so it costs more. It is not a different tax.
What happens if the car fails the inspection?
We fix what failed and re-present it, and the re-presentation is on us. What you pay for is the repair itself, at the workshop's price, quoted to you first. We have never had a car that could not eventually be registered — only cars that took longer than their owner hoped.
Can you also handle a Spanish car I am buying locally?
Yes, and please let us look before you pay. We check the vehicle is free of outstanding debt, fines and finance charges, which takes an afternoon and occasionally saves an entire purchase. Then we file the change of ownership the same week.
Is the estimate on this page a quotation?
No, and we would rather say so plainly. It is an indicative range built from typical cases, so you can see the shape of the bill before you speak to anyone. The taxes depend on your vehicle's official value and emissions, which we can only read from your documents. The written quotation is free and follows the same layout.
Something we have not covered? Ask us on WhatsApp →
Start the file
Three answers, one message, and a written figure back the same day. It costs nothing and it commits you to nothing.
Find us
Calle Niebla 8, Local 3
03189 Los Dolses (Orihuela Costa)
Free parking outside the office and along Calle Niebla. Bring the car — we photograph the chassis number while you are here.
Counter hours
- Mon09:00–14:00, 16:00–18:30
- Tue09:00–14:00, 16:00–18:30
- Wed09:00–14:00, 16:00–18:30
- Thu09:00–14:00, 16:00–18:30
- Fri09:00–14:00
- Sat10:00–13:00
- SunClosed
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