Spain’s governmental road traffic network highlight issues facing car owners during Coronavirus State of Alarm
THE Coronavirus pandemic has caused an exceptional situation worldwide. In Spain, since March 14, the day the government declared a State of Alarm, a series of preventive measures. Among them are activities residents are allowed to do outside the house such as to buy food, go to health centres, go to work, assist in the care of the elderly or children but must use private vehicles only.
In order to face this situation, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), in coordination with the Ministry of Transport, temporarily suspended the face-to-face service at Jefaturas de Tráfico. At the same time, the Ministerio del Interior published an order in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) stating that “driving permits and licences, as well as other administrative authorisations to drive, whose period of validity expires during the State of Alarm, will be automatically extended while it lasts and up to 60 calendar days after its completion.”
This measure is not a limitation for those users who need to carry out administrative procedures, since most of them can continue to be carried out through the organisation’s website or by telephone.
However, the DGT published last Friday in the BOE an exception to the rule for those cases that cannot do the process remotely. According to the provision, there will be a moratorium of up to one month after the end of the State of Alarm to present in person the necessary documents for the formalisation of vehicle registrations or changes of ownership that could not be carried out electronically.
Only those persons who have not been able to accredit any of the necessary requirements to carry out the registration or change the ownership of a vehicle remotely, “because they necessarily require non-electronic processing,” will be able to accept this measure.
During the State of Alarm, the Traffic Headquarters will remain closed, so there will be no in-person procedures. In this way, applicants may, exceptionally, subscribe a responsible declaration in which they will indicate that they comply with all the circumstances established by the applicable sectorial regulations for obtaining or completing said requirements.
If this is your case, you will have to formalise these requirements before the competent Administration “as soon as possible” or within a maximum period of one month from the end of the State of Alarm.
The DGT highlights that these measures have a “direct impact” on the ordinary flow of processing of registrations and changes of ownership of vehicles, since in these processes “it is not always possible to fulfil and electronically accredit certain requirements.”
Likewise, Traffic adds in the publication that “in the current context of a health emergency, it is essential not to stop the use of vehicles that are necessary to guarantee the proper functioning of freight transport operations and ensure the necessary supply of products to the population, as well as the transports permitted by the provisions approved or approved on the occasion of the declaration of the State of Alarm.”
