Theory
Theory textbook, road signs, key terms, fines and official sources.
What an offence costs, how many points it takes, what paying early gets you, and when a fine becomes a criminal case.
Pay within 20 days of receiving the notice and you pay half. It applies to very serious offences too.
The amount depends on the limit where it happened. Pick the limit and the table redraws.
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21–40 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 41–50 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 51–60 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 61–70 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 71 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31–50 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 51–60 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 61–70 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 71–80 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 81 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41–60 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 61–70 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 71–80 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 81–90 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 91 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51–70 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 71–80 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 81–90 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 91–100 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 101 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61–90 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 91–110 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 111–120 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 121–130 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 131 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 71–100 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 101–120 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 121–130 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 131–140 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 141 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 81–110 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 111–130 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 131–140 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 141–150 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 151 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 91–120 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 121–140 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 141–150 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 151–160 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 161 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101–130 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 131–150 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 151–160 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 161–170 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 171 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 111–140 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 141–160 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 161–170 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 171–180 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 181 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 121–150 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 151–170 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 171–180 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 181–190 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 191 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
| Speed | Fine | Paid early | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 131–150 km/h | €100 | €50 | none |
| 151–170 km/h | €300 | €150 | 2 points |
| 171–180 km/h | €400 | €200 | 4 points |
| 181–190 km/h | €500 | €250 | 6 points |
| 191 and up km/h | €600 | €300 | 6 points |
Legal basis: Traffic Act, annex IV
The Spanish wording is what the penalty notice will say. Any offence can be shared by its own link.
49 main offences, not the full list: every offence is in the DGT offence codes. Checked on September 21, 2026.
For new drivers who have held a driver's license for less than two years and for professional drivers, the range is 0,15 to 0,30 mg/l. In blood, this is equivalent to 0,5–1,0 g/l.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.c)
For new drivers and professional drivers, more than 0,30 mg/l.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.c)
Detection in saliva is enough; no proof of impairment is needed. Medicines taken as prescribed are excluded.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.c)
Refusing is never cheaper than testing positive: for a driver, it is a criminal offense.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.d)
Applies to vehicles required to have an alcohol ignition interlock, mainly those used for school and passenger transportation.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.w)
Holding the phone costs six points since 2022 — even to read a map, even stopped at a red light: the vehicle is still in traffic.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.g)
Operating the screen of a mounted device or the built-in navigation system is still an offense. Hands-free use without touching the device is allowed.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.g)
Banned even when wearing just one earphone, including for cyclists.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.f)
Radar detectors are prohibited even if they are not used. Warning devices that only reproduce publicly available DGT data are legal.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.g)
The priciest fine in the whole traffic code.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.h), art. 93.2
Eating, applying makeup, looking for something on the seat beside you, carrying an unrestrained dog on your lap.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 75.b ter) · DGT offence codes
Applies to every seat, including the rear seats; each passenger is responsible for their own seat belt, and a minor's parents or guardians share that responsibility with them.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.h)
Required for anyone 135 cm or shorter, always in the rear seats except in the specifically defined cases.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.h)
An unfastened helmet counts as not wearing one. A cyclist without a helmet is fined 200 €, with no points deducted.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.h)
With the stated exceptions: no rear seats, or they are already taken by other children.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.i)
A yellow light means you must stop unless braking would be dangerous; proceeding through it when you could have stopped carries the same penalty.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.k)
A stop sign means a full halt before the line, wheels stationary; slowing down is not enough.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.l)
Includes failing to yield at a roundabout or when joining the main road from an access road.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
An officer’s directions override every sign, light and road marking.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.j)
Starting October 1, 2026, in a traffic jam on a freeway (autopista) or divided highway (autovía), you must create an emergency lane: with two lanes, in the middle; with three or more, between the left lane and the lane next to it.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c) · General Traffic Regulation, art. 32
Same fine and points deduction as passing at a change in grade, on a curve, or on any stretch with reduced visibility.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
Monitored by drones and average-speed cameras: the practical guideline is to leave a two-second gap to the vehicle ahead.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.ñ)
Missing your exit does not allow you to back up, even along the shoulder: you must continue to the next place where you can make a U-turn.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
A U-turn made without signaling or while obstructing others, but without creating danger, carries the same fine but no points deduction.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
Includes backing up along a long stretch of freeway (autopista) or divided highway (autovía).
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.f)
The officer must describe in detail the conduct that earns the label reckless.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.e)
It penalizes those who compete, not just those who organize, whether or not speeding is measured.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.g)
The rung below reckless driving: inattention or lack of skill without the deliberate disregard that defines it.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.m)
Six points since 2022. Where there are two or more lanes each way, you must change lanes completely to pass.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
Includes cutting across their path when returning to your lane and passing them too fast, even if you leave a meter and a half of clearance.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
At a crosswalk without traffic lights, the pedestrian has the right-of-way; when turning, a pedestrian crossing the road you are entering also has the right-of-way.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
It forces the cyclist into the general traffic lane, which is precisely what the bike lane is intended to avoid. The car can be towed.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.d)
Curves, changes in grade, tunnels, underpasses, and intersections. The vehicle is usually towed away as well.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.d)
The law expressly allows the vehicle to be towed away in this specific case.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.d)
No points are deducted, but if the vehicle's roadworthiness test (ITV) has expired, the insurer may dispute the payout in the event of a claim.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.o)
With a negative vehicle roadworthiness test (ITV) result, the vehicle must not be driven and must be transported by other means.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.ll)
Expired is not the same as none: renewal is a medical formality, not an exam.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.ll)
Riding a large motorcycle with a category B license, or driving a vehicle above the permitted mass, falls into this category.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.k)
This covers an administrative precautionary suspension. Driving without a license for any other reason falls under the Criminal Code.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.s)
A parked uninsured car carries a fine of 800 €. The vehicle is immobilized, and after an accident the Consorcio seeks reimbursement for the full cost of the damage.
Legal basis: Motor Insurance Act, art. 3
Legibility is the driver’s duty: mud, a bike rack or an ad frame over the characters is enough.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.p)
Double the original fine for a minor offense, triple for a serious or very serious offense; here, three times 200 €.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.j), art. 93.2
Required since January 1, 2026, in place of warning triangles; only the version connected to the DGT 3.0 platform is valid.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 75.c)
Daytime running lights do not replace low-beam headlights in tunnels, rain, or fog, and they do not turn on the rear lights.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.e)
A lit cigarette butt thrown out of a window is the typical example; monitoring is carried out by helicopter during the fire-risk season.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 77.x)
Each city sets its own access rules, and cameras read the plate with no officer present.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.z3) · DGT offence codes
Includes using a high-occupancy vehicle lane (VAO) with fewer occupants than required and passing on the shoulder in a traffic jam.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.c)
Below that threshold it is a minor offense: €100, €50 if paid early.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.u)
If the load falls onto the road and creates serious danger, the offense becomes very serious and the fine rises to 500 €.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 76.r)
Ordinary parking fines are set by each city in its own bylaw (ordenanza), so amounts differ everywhere — check your ayuntamiento’s website. A dangerous spot, a bus or bike lane and a disabled bay cost €200 by law; they are in the catalogue.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 105
Not paying a toll is an offence of its own, with a fixed amount.
Legal basis: Traffic Act, art. 75.b bis) · DGT offence codes
Which sections charge a toll is on the Ministry of Transport’s map and road catalogue; the tolls are on its toll-road page.
A fine is paid once; points take years to come back.
Where to check your own fines and points — and where the figures come from.
The figures on this page come from the Traffic Act and the DGT offence codes; the criminal thresholds from the Criminal Code.