The requirements that 17-year-old Spaniards must meet to obtain a driver's license

Some European Union countries, such as Germany and France, have allowed 17-year-olds to drive cars on their roads under certain conditions for years, but until now this was not possible in Spain, where they can only drive vehicles that come with an A1 motorcycle license .

Everything changes with the latest resolution of the European Union , which has included this measure in its regulations and will allow young Spaniards to have the possibility of driving passenger cars before reaching the age of majority . But beware, this regulation has not yet entered into force, and Spain will have three years to implement it into national legislation.

What are the conditions for driving cars at 17?

The main and essential requirement that minors must meet to drive a car is that they must be accompanied by an experienced driver until they reach the age of majority, as established by the European Union.

On the other hand, the details of how Spain will implement this measure are still unknown , although we can look at the regulations of our northern neighbors to guess at other requirements that the DGT might demand . For example, in France, minors have restrictions on the speed at which they can travel on the highway, which is only allowed at 110 km/h, as well as on the alcohol limit, which in this case is reduced to 0.2 g/l (0.1 mg/l of exhaled air) , as specified in the Article R234-1 of the French Highway Code . Furthermore, drivers are also limited in the number of points they can receive on their license without losing it: just 6.

In the next three years, we could very well see the Spanish government adopt these or similar conditions when including this new rule imposed by Europe .

Why can you pass the theory test from the age of 16?

From the age of 16, you can obtain the A1 license , which authorizes you to ride motorcycles with a displacement of up to 125 cc and a maximum power of 15 kW. To obtain this license, you must pass two theory tests and two practical tests : one on a closed circuit and one in real traffic.

As for the theoretical exams, there is one specific to motorcycles, consisting of 20 questions and with a maximum of 2 errors allowed to pass, and another general one of 30 questions, identical to that for the B license , in which up to 3 errors are allowed.

This way, if you obtain an A1 license , once you turn 18 you will only have to take the practical driving test to obtain a B license, which qualifies you to drive passenger cars.