Number plates can be permanent or temporary. And they come in various colours, beyond those of conventional motor vehicles, with a white background and black alphanumeric code.
Driving with temporary number plates means carrying a green or red temporary plate. However, these are not the only “coloured” plates, since diplomatic corps vehicles also have red and green plates (as well as blue and yellow ones). The difference is that the latter are permanent plates. On the DGT website you can download the documents for processing temporary plates, which are also available in several languages.
Red temporary number plate
Red number plates indicate that a vehicle has a temporary registration permit, which may be for various reasons. There are two types:
- Red S plate, intended for new vehicles not registered in Spain, as well as imported second-hand vehicles.
- Red V plate, intended for vehicles temporarily deregistered due to transfer of ownership.
They can be requested by vehicle distributors, sellers and importers, as well as by private individuals who have had to temporarily deregister their car due to theft, or because they have not used it for a while; in that case, before re-registering it, they must carry the temporary plate.
With this number plate, a temporary registration permit is required, which lasts 12 months and cannot be extended. The red plate is the one carried by vehicles used for technical tests and trials… or those that are temporarily deregistered because their permanent registration is being processed.
Green temporary number plate
This plate is the one used when a new vehicle of foreign origin is bought or moved from one country to another. The number plate serves its temporary purpose while Tráfico processes the formalities required for ordinary registration in the country of residence (not in the country where the vehicle was purchased, even if it is in the European Union). It also requires a temporary registration permit, as well as the Spanish Technical Inspection Card, which must be obtained from the relevant ITV station.
The green number plate serves different purposes:
- It is used while the permanent number plate is being processed, valid for 60 days and extendable (if it is shown that registration has not been completed for reasons beyond the owner’s control).
- It is used to move a vehicle out of the country, also valid for 60 days (available for unregistered vehicles or those still registered).
- It is used to move a vehicle to the province of registration, valid for 10 days.
