How to register your electric scooter with the DGT in Spain: do it yourself or through a gestoría

Is it compulsory to register an electric scooter in Spain?

Yes. Registration in the DGT's Vehicle Register has been compulsory since 30 January 2026 (Royal Decree 52/2026). It applies to personal mobility vehicles (vehículos de movilidad personal, or VMPs): single-seat vehicles with an electric motor, designed to travel at between 6 and 25 km/h, with up to 1,000 W of power (2,500 W if self-balancing) and weighing less than 50 kg.

To be ridden, the scooter must be registered with the DGT, carry the identification label and have third-party liability insurance (Law 5/2025). Royal Decree 52/2026 does not in itself set a fine for not registering a scooter. But without registration and a label, the scooter cannot be ridden legally or insured, and the DGT fines riding without insurance at €250 to €800 (€202 to €610 for not having a policy in place). The scooter can also be immobilised. We go into detail in e-scooter fines in 2026.

If your scooter goes faster than 25 km/h or has been tampered with (derestricted), it is no longer a VMP: it cannot be registered as a moped and cannot be ridden. And if it isn't certified, it can still be registered, but it can only be ridden until 22 January 2027 (we explain this in what to do with a non-certified scooter).

What documents do you need?

The registration is requested by the scooter's owner (or their legal guardian). What the DGT asks for depends on whether the model is certified:

If you don't know whether your model is certified or can't find its number, look it up in our certified scooter finder. If the owner is a company, it needs its NIF (tax identification number) and its representative's details, and it can only apply online. If you register with us, the full list is in the documents we ask for.

How do you register it? The three ways

Step by step on the DGT's online office

1. Open the procedure for VMP registration on the DGT's online office (in Spanish) and identify yourself with Cl@ve, an electronic DNI or a digital certificate.
2. Enter the scooter's details. If it is certified, the certificate number (a letter and 4 digits; the laboratory letter, a U and 4 digits for an individual certification) and the serial number. If it isn't, tick “vehículo no certificado” and enter the make, model and serial number.
3. Attach the documents. If it is certified, the technical data sheet and a sharp photo of the manufacturer's plate.
4. Pay fee 4.1, which is €8.67.
5. Download the registration certificate as a PDF, with your registration number.

What mistakes are common if you do it yourself?

• Certificate number copied wrongly. It is the testing laboratory's letter followed by 4 digits, e.g. B1134 (or the laboratory letter, a U and 4 digits for an individual certification). Copy it exactly as it appears on the manufacturer's plate or the technical data sheet.
• Wrong model version. If the model doesn't appear or the version doesn't match (Pro, Lite, Max…), check the exact commercial name on the technical data sheet.
• Illegible serial number. Take the photo in good light and without reflections, and copy the number character by character.
• Paying the wrong fee. Scooters pay fee 4.1, which is €8.67. The €27.85 one is fee 1.2, the fee for mopeds.
• Not having Cl@ve or a digital certificate. Without them you can't log in to the online office: you're left with an in-person appointment or doing it with us using your Spanish driving licence.
• Registering a scooter that was already registered. If you bought it second-hand and it already had a registration number, what you need is a change of owner, not a new registration. We explain it in changing the owner of a second-hand scooter.

When is it worth using a gestoría?

Doing it yourself costs only the €8.67 fee. It's worth handing it over if you don't have Cl@ve or a digital certificate, if the online office keeps giving you errors or if you'd rather have someone check the details before they're sent. If you decide to hand it over, here is how to choose a gestoría.

With us, you need your DNI or NIE, to be registered (empadronado) in Spain (that is, officially living here, not just visiting) and to identify yourself with one of these three methods: Cl@ve PIN, a digital certificate or a Spanish driving licence. If you have a Spanish driving licence, you don't need Cl@ve or a digital certificate: we identify you with your licence and handle the whole procedure for you. The licence is only used to identify you; you don't need one to ride a scooter. More details in registering your scooter without Cl@ve.

With NT Cars, a licensed gestoría that registers scooters all over Spain, it costs €35, all inclusive (our fee, the €8.67 DGT fee and VAT), and the certificate arrives in under 24 hours once your documents are complete. If something goes wrong: if the mistake is ours, we redo it at no cost. If it can't be processed for reasons beyond our control (for example, incorrect details or not having the identification method you chose), we refund the amount paid minus €2 for the payment fee. If you also want the plate, the registration + plate pack costs €45 + €4.95 shipping.

What do you get at the end?

The DGT registration certificate as a PDF. It shows your registration number, in the format M 0000 AAA (no vowels, Ñ or Q), as well as the model's certification number and the scooter's technical details.

What do you need to do next?

After registration come the label and the insurance: you need all three to ride.

1. The identification label. It's a reflective sticker with your registration number, and you must carry it. You can order the identification plate (placa identificativa: the identification label the DGT requires, which many people call the scooter's number plate or sticker) from us for €15 + €4.95 shipping, delivered in 3-7 working days, or from another authorised number-plate processor. What it looks like and where it goes: the scooter label: what it looks like and where it goes.
2. Third-party liability insurance. Law 5/2025 requires it, with minimum cover of €6,450,000 for personal injury and €1,300,000 for property damage. We don't sell insurance: you can request a no-obligation quote from our insurance partner, from €69 a year. More in compulsory scooter insurance.

What traffic rules do you have to follow?

Since 1 October 2026, Royal Decree 518/2026 has been in force. The basics:

• An approved or certified helmet, properly fastened: riding without one is a serious offence with a €200 fine.
• Minimum age: 15.
• At night or in poor visibility, a light or reflective item visible from 150 m. If you ride a scooter for work, a high-visibility vest at all times.
• Lights always on (in daytime, this will be required from 1 October 2027).
• Never on the pavement. In pedestrian areas, only if the local council allows it.
• Banned on motorways and dual carriageways (autopistas and autovías), travesías (stretches of main road through towns), interurban roads and urban tunnels, except on cycle routes, cycle lanes, cycle tracks and cycle paths, and on roads closed to motor vehicles (unless a sign bans scooters).
• No phone or headphones (€200 per offence), the same alcohol and drug limits as other drivers, one person per scooter and turns signalled with your arm.

Your town council may have its own rules: check the local bylaw (ordenanza) in force. All the changes in the new scooter rules from 1 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions about registration

How long does registration take?

With NT Cars, the certificate arrives in under 24 hours once your documents are complete. If you do it yourself online (with Cl@ve, an electronic DNI or a digital certificate), the DGT's online office says you can download the certificate as a PDF as soon as the registration is completed successfully; if you have to do it in person at a traffic office, you need an appointment.

Do I need a driving licence to have an electric scooter?

No, you don't need one to ride a scooter. The licence is only used to identify you: the DGT requires identification with Cl@ve PIN, a digital certificate or a Spanish driving licence, and if you have a licence you don't need the others. What you do have to meet from 1 October 2026 is the minimum age of 15.

Does the scooter need an ITV (Spain's roadworthiness test)?

No. Neither Royal Decree 52/2026 nor the VMP technical manual requires the owner to take the scooter for any inspection: what is certified is the model, by an authorised laboratory.

Can I register a second-hand scooter?

Yes. If it was never registered, you register it in your name. If it was already registered, what you need is a change of owner: it must be done within 30 days, the buyer starts it, the seller authorises it within 72 hours, the fee is €8.67 and the registration number doesn't change.

Can a non-certified scooter be registered?

Yes, as a “vehículo no certificado” (non-certified vehicle), with its make, model and serial number. But it can only be ridden until 22 January 2027; after that it can no longer be ridden.

Can a company register a scooter?

Yes, with its NIF (tax identification number) and its representative's details, but only online.