# Importing a second hand car to Spain from France. Originally registered in UK.



## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

Can anyone help with the process of importing/registering a car in Spain. It’s a Peugeot 206, first registered in UK in 2001. Exported to France and registered there in 2011. The headlights have been changed to conform with driving on right hand side. It has a current CT, the French MOT, which expires in May 2021 and has French plates on it. 
. It has been de registered in France in advance of bringing it to Spain - we are concerned that we have Done this too early!
We understand the Spanish equivalent of an MOT or CT in France, is a ITV but the insurance company have said it cannot be driven in Spain without insurance ..... and they won’t insure it until it has an ITV!
Do people who carry out ITVs allow a car to be driven on “trade plates”.
What are rules round doing all this please.
Any help very much appreciated.
Anna


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Anna2020 said:


> . It has been de registered in France in advance of bringing it to Spain - we are concerned that we have


Why did you deregister it? You should have just driven it to Spain and register it.


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

NickZ said:


> Why did you deregister it? You should have just driven it to Spain and register it.


We thought that would make it easier to register! I’m wondering if we should re register it in France.... it’s turning into a bit of a nightmare tbh.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

I brought two cars from France and had no trouble insuring either although it was strictly on a temporary basis whilst I re registered them.

Exactly what do you mean 'deregistered' in France, I lived there for many years before moving to Spain and never heard of anyone doing that, why would you?

All you had to do was drive the car to Spain and register it, job done. Just as in France nobody here cares about a previous registration.

Practically the only thing you need to do is tell you your French insurer in order to be able to cancel the insurance but even that you needn't do until after you've moved.

BTW if you think French bureaucracy was a nightmare then you ain't seen nuffink yet!!!!!!!


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

MataMata said:


> I brought two cars from France and had no trouble insuring either although it was strictly on a temporary basis whilst I re registered them.
> 
> Exactly what do you mean 'deregistered' in France, I lived there for many years before moving to Spain and never heard of anyone doing that, why would you?
> 
> ...





MataMata said:


> I brought two cars from France and had no trouble insuring either although it was strictly on a temporary basis whilst I re registered them.
> 
> Exactly what do you mean 'deregistered' in France, I lived there for many years before moving to Spain and never heard of anyone doing that, why would you?
> 
> ...


Thanks for your reply. We thought..... obviously incorrectly(😩) that it had to be de registered in one country before registering it in another country! 
Do you know the impact is having done that? Does it matter that it has been de registered in France? I’m just trying to understand what options we can do taking in the circumstances ... and what would be the easiest one. 😕


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Did you give back the plates?


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

NickZ said:


> Did you give back the plates?


I'm guessing the car is right hand drive. Although I believe it is now possible to import RHD cars into Spain I have heard that some local authorities can make this more difficult.

Also, now that the UK is outside the EU, there are taxes, import duties, and VAT (IVA) to consider.

Are you sure you actually de-registered the car in France, and didn't just advise that you were exporting it?

Even if the car still has its French plates, the ITV people will probably want to see the French registration document (Certificat d'immatriculation - "Carte Grise"), so you will also need that.

I'm also guessing you already have the car in Spain, which could make it difficult to re-register it in France, as they are bound to want an inspection certificate (Contrôle Technique "CT") for this, which means the car has to be in France.

I suggest you find a Spanish gestor specialising in vehicle bureaucracy and ask their advice.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Nomoss said:


> Also, now that the UK is outside the EU, there are taxes, import duties, and VAT (IVA) to consider.


The car is French at this point.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

NickZ said:


> The car is French at this point.


Of course, so there should be nothing to pay - provided the car is still considered French by the Spanish people.

I was assuming that the OP is British and forgetting the car isn't necessarily so.

More information is needed to really say what can be done.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

I'll ask again, EXACTLY WHAT do you mean by 'deregistered'?

Without knowing what you've done it's difficult to advise how to recover from it!

The is no bar on registering RHD cars in Spain nor is the fact that it was originally a UK car of any significance.


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola, 

What you need to do is to have an IMPORT ITV test done on the car; it does not have to be registered anywhere but to get it to the ITV station, it has to be transported by a Grua or similar. 

If you do not have a European certificate of conformity then you will need to get a Spanish engineer to produce a "Ficha Technical Reducida" the ITV station usually have a list of available engineers. 

However, you should first have an NIE and a Padron. Then all becomes simple 

Davexf


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

Hi, I brought a car from UK->France->Spain over the last decade (then scrapped it in Spain!)

Few notes:
1) Import MOT: EU law says you can import a car with a valid MOT from the car's old country. So technically you might not need to get a Spanish one done if your control technique is in order. See the last point on this page Car registration documents and formalities and/or look up the Spanish law RD 920/2017 .
2) Cost of ITV: There's not really any specific import ITV, they just do a normal MOT but also measure the car and take some photos so don't be conned into paying a lot more for this. I've seen outrageous costs on the forums for southern Spain. Mine cost at most 5€ more than a usual ITV in the northwest.
3) CoC: You'll probably need a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) in Spanish. You lilely needed this in French the first time round, so just beg again from wherever you got it. As I had to buy it from Toyota for France the first time, they issued it for free in Spanish the second time. It has to have the Spanish equivalent of chevaux fiscaux (I forget the term) so I had to get a supporting letter from Toyota as they left this off the CoC.
4) De-registration: Like many, I assumed the Spanish had contacted the French authorities and cancelled my car in France. But I happened to log in to a my French gouv account a year ago and noticed my car was still registered and attracting attention for having an out of date carte grise! Had to email them explaining the issue to get it deleted from my record. Interesting you've done this before leaving France!
5) Insurance: You can get day-to-day or weekly insurance. Sometimes just on the VIN number, which would avoid hiring a trailer to tow the car anywhere. Just google the Spanish for 'insurance by days' and you'll find one.


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

Nomoss said:


> I'm guessing the car is right hand drive. Although I believe it is now possible to import RHD cars into Spain I have heard that some local authorities can make this more difficult.
> 
> Also, now that the UK is outside the EU, there are taxes, import duties, and VAT (IVA) to consider.
> 
> ...





_Si_ said:


> Hi, I brought a car from UK->France->Spain over the last decade (then scrapped it in Spain!)
> 
> Few notes:
> 1) Import MOT: EU law says you can import a car with a valid MOT from the car's old country. So technically you might not need to get a Spanish one done if your control technique is in order. See the last point on this page Car registration documents and formalities and/or look up the Spanish law RD 920/2017 .
> ...


Hello,
Thank you for your reply, which is most helpful. 
1. The CT is still valid and I also have a valid Carte Gris.
3. I have a CoC, as you say, It was necessary when exported to France.
4. That’s interesting! I’ll check this out.
5. 👍 . Thanks for this info.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

_Si_ said:


> attracting attention for having an out of date carte grise!


Since when did a CG go 'out of date' and what 'attention' was being attracted?

It's now 3 years since I drove my two cars to Spain and registered them so what does it matter - and what do I care - what, if anything, ANTS has to say about them today, I haven't looked nor do I intend to.

According to the EU rules when a vehicle is transferred to another member state the new state is supposed to return the surrendered registration document to the original state.

As far as DVLA is concerned it's the return of a V5 which triggers an Export marker being placed on a car. Both my cars were originally UK regged and show the Export marker.

I neither know nor care if ANTS has a similar procedure.

I suppose if there were any chance of either car going back to France it might be something to look into but for mine at least there is zero chance of that.


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## BackinFrance (Nov 26, 2020)

Anna2020 said:


> Hello,
> Thank you for your reply, which is most helpful.
> *1. The CT is still valid and I also have a valid Carte Gris.*
> 3. I have a CoC, as you say, It was necessary when exported to France.
> ...


So what on earth do you mean when you say it is de-registered in France?


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

MataMata said:


> .................................. BTW if you think French bureaucracy was a nightmare then you ain't seen nuffink yet!!!!!!!


The view from inside is another thing altogether isn't it?


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## BackinFrance (Nov 26, 2020)

Now here's a scenario: The car is on French plates and the OP has the carte grise, but it is not in her name and she does not have transfer paperwork in her name, therefore she cannot register it in her name in France.


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## alpinist (Feb 8, 2009)

MataMata said:


> Since when did a CG go 'out of date' and what 'attention' was being attracted?


Sorry, just short-hand for my understanding of the issue - I didn't go into details because this isn't the France forum. I'd assumed an issue with the CG because the French address was no longer valid and it didn't have a CT nor insurance so any demands or mail they'd sent to the CG registered address about these would have been rejected.

I've just checked the paperwork and after starting to register the car in Spain (and not driving in France for some time) an "Opposition au transfert du certificat d'immatriculation" was placed on my ANTS file with the note "PV en attente". The first part could simply have been anti-fraud so my reg wouldn't be re-used in France, but the last part was the bit that worried me. You may not care now you're in Spain, but I didn't want unexplained fines accumulating against my name should I return to France in the future.

When I emailed ANTS with copies of the Spanish paperwork, the request to sort it out went through a series of stages over a few days. The first email said someone was reviewing my request. The second said that to close the affair I had to call a number to pay a fine (undisclosed amount and reason). I waited a bit and the next message said there was no fine to pay, and my request was declared "terminée".

At the time, there was next-to-no info on de-registering a car for export within the EU (but lots on bringing one in) and I didn't really trust the Spanish to bother notifying France. Now I do at least have receipts that I tried to get them to deal with it, which makes me feel a bit better. Makes you wonder how many other people have these random fines sitting in the system.


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

BackinFrance said:


> So what on earth do you mean when you say it is de-registered in France?


I got th


davexf said:


> Hola,
> 
> What you need to do is to have an IMPORT ITV test done on the car; it does not have to be registered anywhere but to get it to the ITV station, it has to be transported by a Grua or similar.
> 
> ...


Thanks. We have now been and got an ITV - we now understand we need an appointment with the DGT to get new Spanish plates and the only way to do this is by phoning them. Despite phoning every day and asking for an appointment we get the same answer “ there are no appointments available phone tomorrow” It appears you can’t book an appointment online... and they don’t give any help on when best to call - or you can get an appointment! Really annoying!! Any advice please?

every daysuccessfully


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

Anna2020 said:


> We thought that would make it easier to register! I’m wondering if we should re register it in France.... it’s turning into a bit of a nightmare tbh.


As it turns out I was misinformed!😖. The car was NOT de registered, the ownership had simply been changed on the ANTS database. 
We have now been to and got an ITV and understand we need an appointment with DGT to get Spanish plates...... and it appears you can’t book an appointment online - you have to phone. We have been doing that everyday and get the same answer “ there are no appointments, please call again tomorrow”... and that is only when you do manage to get an answer, which isn’t always the case! In this day and age it is pathetic you can’t book an appointment online!


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## BackinFrance (Nov 26, 2020)

Anna2020 said:


> *As it turns out I was misinformed!😖. The car was NOT de registered, the ownership had simply been changed on the ANTS database.*
> We have now been to and got an ITV and understand we need an appointment with DGT to get Spanish plates...... and it appears you can’t book an appointment online - you have to phone. We have been doing that everyday and get the same answer “ there are no appointments, please call again tomorrow”... and that is only when you do manage to get an answer, which isn’t always the case! In this day and age it is pathetic you can’t book an appointment online!



Thanks for that information.


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

_Si_ said:


> Sorry, just short-hand for my understanding of the issue - I didn't go into details because this isn't the France forum. I'd assumed an issue with the CG because the French address was no longer valid and it didn't have a CT nor insurance so any demands or mail they'd sent to the CG registered address about these would have been rejected.
> 
> I've just checked the paperwork and after starting to register the car in Spain (and not driving in France for some time) an "Opposition au transfert du certificat d'immatriculation" was placed on my ANTS file with the note "PV en attente". The first part could simply have been anti-fraud so my reg wouldn't be re-used in France, but the last part was the bit that worried me. You may not care now you're in Spain, but I didn't want unexplained fines accumulating against my name should I return to France in the future.
> 
> ...


We have now ascertained that the car was still registered in France , I had been misinformed! It had simply been updated on ANTS to show the new ownership.
We are now trying to get an appointment with DGT.... and that is proving impossible! You can’t book online, you have to call them and each time we do, we get the same answer.. “ No appointments, please call back tomorrow!”


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## Anna2020 (Jan 2, 2021)

BackinFrance said:


> So what on earth do you mean when you say it is de-registered in France?


Turns out I was misinformed. Probably lost in translation! Car is still registered, it had just been transferred to new owner. 
we now have the ITV and trying to get an appointment with DGT.... another major challenge! It appears you can’t book an appointment online and you have to phone to get one.Every day we do we get the same answer “ there are no appointments, please call again tomorrow” 😖


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## davexf (Jan 26, 2009)

Hola, 

Inbetween the ITV and going to DGT, you need to go to the town hall and pay the road tax and also you need to visit the Hacienda to get a certificate to say you have paid the "First registration tax" commonly called import duty (you could be exempt but still need a certificate).


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

Get in touch with Graham at Spanish Number Plates - The Spanish re-registration professionals


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## LosVerdes (Mar 11, 2021)

MataMata said:


> Get in touch with Graham at Spanish Number Plates - The Spanish re-registration professionals


How to we get in touch with him please. We are new to the Forum and soon will be new to Spain so all help is much appreciated.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

LosVerdes said:


> How to we get in touch with him please. We are new to the Forum and soon will be new to Spain so all help is much appreciated.


Just click the link in MataMata's post.


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## LosVerdes (Mar 11, 2021)

xabiaxica said:


> Just click the link in MataMata's post.


Thanks - I was being a real dumbo!


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## BackinFrance (Nov 26, 2020)

LosVerdes said:


> Thanks - I was being a real dumbo!


Dumbo no, it's not always easy to identify links.


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