The points-based license works in Spain since July 1, 2006. We have been working with it for almost six years, but do you really know how it works?
How many points do you start with?
- If you have had the permit for less than 3 years => you start with 8 points
- If you have the permit for more than 3 years
- And you've never lost it by running out of points => you start with 12 points
- You have lost it by running out of points and you have recovered it again => you recover it with 8 points.
Do you know your point balance?
If you do not know exactly how many points you have you can check it at www.dgt.es. with your NIF and a password that they provide, you can know for sure the points you have.
Do they reward good drivers?
Good drivers get rewarded. If after 3 years they have not taken away any points, you will automatically have 14 points, and if after another three years you still did not lose points, you will be assigned the same again and in total you will have 15 points.
What happens if I lose points?
If you have already lost a point you will not be able to opt for the extra points for good driver but you can recover them, or at least some. For example, by taking a road awareness and re-education course, you can recover up to 4 points. Watch out! You can only do this course once every two years (unless you are a professional driver). If you don't lose any more points you will return to the 12 you started with, with one exception: if you lost your points for committing a very serious infraction (in this case you would have to wait three years).
If you have lost all the points you must wait 6 months and then take the re-education and awareness course (apart from a theoretical test at the Traffic Headquarters). If this is the second time you lose your license you will have to wait a whole year to drive again.
Important. The points system is in addition to the penalty system, it does not replace it. In other words, if the infringement is serious, you will have a fine, suspension and also a few points less.
Advice. If you want to know in detail how many points you lose depending on the offense you commit, we advise you to consult our article The points-based permit - how many points can be taken away?
