Motor

What does the green license plate on cars mean?

Green license plates are provisional plates issued by Traffic in cases where the car has been purchased abroad. This plate allows people to be able to circulate freely throughout the Spanish territory, while carrying out the pertinent procedures to obtain the definitive registration or the ordinary registration.

It is possible that at some time we will find cars on the road that circulate with a type of license plate that is not the usual one that we know. They may have a green number plate or a red number plate, which tells us that they are special purpose plates.

Green registration plates are provisional plates that are requested in order to circulate in Spain with a private vehicle purchased abroad. The use of this plate is temporary and should only be used while obtaining the regular license plate.

The red plates, on the other hand, are temporary permits for the exclusive use of entities or companies that are related to the vehicle. For this reason, they can be requested by sellers, importers or distributors of vehicles.

The role of green license plates

The green license plate in Spain fulfills the function of allowing the free circulation of a new vehicle on all roads in Spain. It is a temporary plate issued by the General Directorate of Traffic, only in cases where the vehicle is of foreign origin; regardless of whether the case is a purchase or a transfer.

In this sense, if we buy a car in Germany, France, Holland or in any other country of the European Union; To be able to circulate in Spain, we must process a provisional registration for the time it takes for the definitive registration plates to come out.

The reason for this regulation is because all European citizens are obliged to register their cars where we have our habitual residence. Therefore, if we buy a car in Spain and live in Greece, we will have to manage these same procedures there.

The procedures you must do

Any citizen has the right to apply for green plates, as long as they do so within a period of time that does not exceed 60 days after starting to use a new car in Spanish territory.

To proceed with the application, first of all you will need the Spanish Technical Inspection Sheet; a document that is only issued at an ITV station, a Vehicle Technical Inspection body.

Then, you must go to the Traffic Headquarters; there, in addition to the green plate, you will have to obtain the permit for temporary circulation. Also, remember that to carry out these procedures it is essential that you have at hand the respective documents that guarantee that you are legally the owner of the vehicle.

When you have consigned all these Law requirements, you will obtain the green license plate together with the temporary circulation permit, now you will be able to freely drive your new vehicle on the roads and highways of Spain.

Likewise, when the time comes, the Provincial Traffic Headquarters will deliver the official documents; for which you must previously pay the corresponding fees, as the case may be. The documents include your definitive circulation permit and the conventional license plate.

Once you have in your possession the permit and the ordinary license plate, in order to drive your car indefinitely, you must replace the temporary green plate with the new one and the provisional permit with the ordinary document; with the clarification that you must return them to the corresponding office.

The types of green license plates that you should know

The green plates of the DGT or the temporary permits that are issued to individuals, have up to three versions.

1) In the first place, there are the green plates that are requested provisionally while the corresponding procedure is carried out for the issuance of the ordinary plate. These plates are valid for 60 days , and may be extended exceptionally; provided that it is shown that it has not been possible to enroll due to causes beyond our control.

2) There are also the green plates that are issued in cases of having to move a vehicle out of the country. Similarly, these plates are valid for 60 days.

This type of green plate applies to two specific situations :

  1. a) New vehicles that will be transferred to another country and that have not been registered, in which case the purchase order or invoice must be presented.
  2. b) Used vehicles that are already registered in Spain; For this, the final withdrawal must be processed in advance with the concept of transfer abroad.

In any case, if the shipment is made to a non-EU country, it is essential to present a document that certifies the legality of the export.

3) Finally, we have the type of green plate whose coverage is only for 10 days. They are the plates whose purpose is to allow the circulation of the vehicle for its transfer to the province of registration. Likewise, it must be accompanied by the ITV electronic card and the sales diligence.

Regarding the red plates

Red license plates are issued temporarily in three cases: while the final registration is being processed, when a vehicle is provisionally deregistered due to transmission, and when the vehicle is used for transportation, in technical tests or in research trials.

In the Spanish system there are two types of red plates. There are the red S plates, those that are aimed at unregistered vehicles; either because they are new or imported second-hand vehicles. There are also the red V plates, this modality is issued when the vehicle is in a situation of provisional low by transmission.

The period of validity of the red plates is longer than that of the green plates, so their validity covers a period of up to 12 months without extension.

On the other hand, if you are looking for a car sticker to make a specific part of your vehicle more visible or to make some kind of signage, we invite you to visit our website.

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