How to Register a Car in Your Name

When you are buying or selling a second-hand car, you need to carry out a series of procedures to complete the transfer between the old and new owner. Registering the car in your name is one of the most important elements of those procedures, and both the buyer and seller are part of the process.

Do you want to know how to register a car in your name? Then keep on reading today’s blog article, because ShBarcelona will fill you in on the details.

Related article: Renting a Car in Barcelona

What you need to know about registering a car

Photo via Pixabay

If you have bought a second-hand vehicle, the first thing you must do is fill out a Solicitud de Cambio de Titularidad (form to change ownership). You can find this form on the website of the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT or National Department of Traffic).

You will pay a fee for the change of ownership, and this is 54.60 euros for all vehicles, except for motorcycles, because this will cost you 27.30 euros.

At that moment you should present the ID of the buyer and the seller. A photocopy of the DNI or NIE will do just fine, but if you are able to present a notification of sale, an ID is not required. If you don’t have a notification of sale, you should also show the vehicle registration certificate.

So one side of the registration process is about documents, but registration procedures are something completely different. First, you must pay a transfer tax at the Hacienda (Tax Office) and fill out form 621 or 060. This procedure can be done online in some of the Autonomous Communities, like for example in Castilla y León, Andalucía, Madrid, Asturias, Cantabria, Navarre and Murcia.

Once you have taken care of this, you will receive your CET code, and this proves you have complied with your tax obligations. Next, you should schedule an appointment with the Jefatura de Tráfico (Traffic Department) to request a name change for the car’s registration. You will pay for corresponding fees and present all previously mentioned documents.

Photo via Pixabay

The buyer usually is a person, but the seller can be a person or a car dealer. If you are buying a car at the dealer, then the dealer will take care of most of the paperwork to change ownership.

If you buy a car from a person (and not a car dealer), then you both have several obligations that are essential to the process.

The seller should never deliver the car until there is an invoice or sales contract. A seller should also get a photocopy of the buyer’s ID, CIF or residence card, and the exact date of transfer should be clearly stated in the sales contract, to avoid any problems in the future (traffic fines, fine for not passing the technical inspection, etcetera).

As for the buyer, his first task is to register the car at the DGT, unless the seller is a car dealer because in this case the dealer will take care of everything. The dealer will then also be responsible for handing over the registration certificate and the ITV card (MOT) to the buyer.

If the seller is a not a dealer but an individual, we always advise you to keep a copy of the sales contract, vehicle documentation, a photocopy of your ID and the application form for the change of ownership (a document that must be signed by both parties).

The buyer and the seller then agree on a maximum period of 15 days for the buyer to send the seller a copy of the new vehicle registration certificate, showing the car is now registered in the buyer’s name.

If this deadline of 15 days has passed and the seller did not receive the copy, the buyer should visit the Jefatura Provincial de Tráfico (Provincial Traffic Headquarters) and let them know the vehicle has been sold and the sales procedure was completed. He must be able to present the sales contract and the buyer’s ID, and he will have to pay a small fee.

Do you know other interesting facts about the change of car ownership?