Spain → United Kingdom

Driving in the UK when you know Spain

Differences first, worst-to-get-wrong first. Rules that match are folded away at the bottom.

Driving to the UK from Spain: what to check before you go

These are the key destination rules to check first. The comparison below shows every verified difference. Follow local signs and instructions on the road.

Which side of the road do you drive on in the UK?: In the UK you drive on the left.
What is the speed limit in the UK?: 70 mph on motorways, 70 mph on dual carriageways, 60 mph on country roads and 30 mph in towns and cities. Those are the national default limits, which apply where no sign says otherwise.
What is the drink driving limit in the UK?: The legal limit in the UK is 80 mg/100ml. England and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.
What do you have to carry in your car in the UK?: Nothing. The UK requires no equipment by law.

Read the full driving rules in the UK and the required car equipment in the UK .

Looking to rent a car? Rental agencies often have there own rules on driving ages and equipment, make sure you check with them before you travel.
We earn a commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we make money.

What's different (17)

Which side of the road you drive on

Critical

Spain · homeRightChecked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationLeftChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on the motorway

Critical

Spain · home120 km/h — about 75 mphAutopistas and autovías.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination70 mph — about 113 km/hChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on country roads

Critical

Spain · home90 km/h — about 56 mphConventional roads outside towns.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination60 mph — about 97 km/hSingle carriageway roads.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in towns and cities

CriticalVaries by region

Spain · home50 km/h — about 31 mphOnly on streets with two or more lanes in each direction. Streets with one lane each way are 30 — which is most city streets — and single-platform streets where the pavement and road share a level are 20.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination30 mph — about 48 km/hEngland and Scotland. Wales uses 20 mph as the default in built-up areas.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Wales20 mph — about 32 km/hThe default in built-up areas. Some roads are signed back up to 30.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How much alcohol you may have in your blood

CriticalVaries by region

Spain · home0.5 g/l — about 50 mg/100mlChecked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination80 mg/100ml — about 0.8 g/lEngland and Wales. Scotland uses a lower limit.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Scotland50 mg/100ml — about 0.5 g/lChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether you need an International Driving Permit

Critical

Spain · homeDepends on where your licence is fromEU and EEA licences are accepted as they are. Tourists from elsewhere may drive for up to 3 months but must carry an International Driving Permit, issued at home before the trip, alongside their national licence.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot requiredA full foreign licence is accepted on its own for visits.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you must carry in the car

Critical

Spain · home

Reflective warning light
High-visibility vest

The warning light is the V-16 connected beacon — since 1 January 2026 it is the only legal way to signal a broken-down vehicle, and warning triangles are no longer valid. Rental cars should have one; check before driving off. The vest must be worn by anyone stepping onto the road or shoulder outside towns.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNothing — no equipment is legally requiredNothing is legally required. Drivers arriving from most of continental Europe expect a triangle and a vest to be compulsory here; they are not.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may drive

Important

Spain · home18 yearsChecked 16 Aug 2026

UK · destination17 yearsChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Largest motorbike or scooter you may ride on a car licence

Important

Spain · home

Engine up to 125 cc
Power up to 11 kW

A Spanish B licence covers mopeds (class AM) at once. Once the B licence is more than three years old it also covers A1 motorbikes — the thresholds here, which the law states together with a third limit of 0.1 kW per kg that has no slot in this record — but only inside Spain. The source does not say whether foreign B licences get the same allowance. A training course for this has been announced but is not yet law.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination

Engine up to 50 cc

A full car licence lets you ride a moped up to this engine size without L plates or a moped test. If you passed your car test on or after 1 February 2001 you must first complete a compulsory basic training (CBT) course. Anything larger needs CBT and the motorcycle tests. The Highway Code's Annex 2 defines the two-wheeled moped class by a maximum design speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) rather than by engine size; that figure is not on the page cited here. Stated for licences issued in Great Britain; the source does not say whether foreign car licences get the same allowance.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

What a rider must wear or carry

Important

Spain · home

Gloves

This rule starts on 1 October 2026. From that date rider and passenger must wear protective gloves on roads outside towns, and closed shoes that cover the whole foot on every road. Before that date only the helmet is required by law. Fine 200 euro.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destinationNothing beyond a helmetNo law requires protective clothing beyond the helmet. Eye protection is advised, and if worn it must meet an approved standard.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

How long you may drive on your own licence

Good to know

Spain · home3 monthsFor non-EU tourist licences, counted from entry into Spain.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination12 monthsCounted from when you last entered Great Britain.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Youngest age you may ride the smallest class of scooter

Good to know

Spain · home15 yearsLicence AM. Mopeds up to 50 cc and light quadricycles.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination16 yearsCategory AM. CBT, a theory test and a practical test are needed for a full moped licence.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Riding between lanes of slow traffic

Good to know

Spain · homeAllowed, with restrictionsNo rule allows or bans riding between two lines of stopped cars. It is legal only if you commit no other offence while doing it, such as crossing a solid line, overtaking at a crossing, or using the shoulder (200 euro fine). From 1 October 2026 motorbikes may use the right shoulder in a jam on signed stretches, in single file, at up to 30 km/h.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destinationAllowedNo law bans filtering. The Highway Code tells riders to take care and keep their speed low when filtering in slow-moving traffic, and tells drivers to expect it.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Smallest motorbike allowed on the motorway

Good to know

Spain · home

Engine at least 50 cc
Power at least 4 kW
Top speed at least 45 km/h

Ciclomotores are banned by vehicle class on autopistas and autovias, together with bicycles, personal mobility vehicles and animal-drawn vehicles. The law defines a ciclomotor as a machine whose design speed is 45 km/h or less and whose engine is 50 cc or less if petrol, or 4 kW or less if electric — so a machine at exactly these figures is still banned; it must exceed them to enter. The same ban is in the Reglamento General de Circulacion, art. 38.1.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destination

Engine at least 50 cc
Power at least 4 kW

The rule is set by engine size, not vehicle class: riders of motorcycles under 50 cc (4 kW) must not use motorways, so a machine of exactly 50 cc is allowed. The Highway Code gives the power figure in brackets as the equivalent of the engine size rather than as a separate test. Riders holding only a provisional motorcycle licence must not use motorways either.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Headlights on a motorbike in daytime

Good to know

Spain · homeRequired at all timesDipped headlights on at all times, day and night.Checked 2 Sep 2026

UK · destinationNot requiredDipped headlights in daylight are advised to make the rider easier to see, but they are not required.Checked 2 Sep 2026 · official source

Emergency number

Good to know

Spain · home112Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination999112 also works and reaches the same service.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Typical fines

Minor

Spain · home

Holding a phone — fine from 200 EUR, 6 points

Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destination

Holding a phone — fine from 200 GBP, 6 points (Drivers who passed their test within the last 2 years lose their licence instead.)

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Known on one side only (21)

Which side you overtake on

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationRightChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit on a dual carriageway

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination70 mphChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Speed limit in living and residential zones

Spain · home20 km/hStreets where the road and pavement share one level.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot yet verified

Speed limit when towing a trailer or caravan

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Motorway — 60 mph
Dual carriageway — 60 mph
Country roads — 50 mph

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for drivers who passed their test recently

Spain · home0.3 g/lFor the first two years of holding a licence. Zero for drivers under 18.Checked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot yet verified

Turning at a red light

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationNot allowedRed means stop for every direction. A separate green arrow is the only exception.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Who must wear a seatbelt

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationEveryone, in every seatA seatbelt must be worn in any seat that has one.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Age below which a child needs a child seat

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination12 yearsUntil age 12 or 135 cm tall, whichever comes first.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What the lines and painted kerbs mean

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Double yellow line — no parking. No waiting at any time, even without an upright sign.
Single yellow line — no parking during signed hours. The hours are on nearby time plates, not on the road.
Double red line — no stopping. Red routes. No stopping at any time.
Single red line — no stopping. Red routes. Applies during the times shown on nearby signs.
White zigzag line — no stopping. Marks the approach to a pedestrian crossing.

Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Winter tyres

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationNot requiredChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How you pay for motorways

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Toll booths
City charges

Almost all motorways are free. The M6 Toll and several bridges and tunnels charge. London and Durham charge to drive in the city centre.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Alcohol limit for professional drivers

Spain · home0.3 g/lChecked 6 Aug 2026

UK · destinationNot yet verified

When you must switch your headlights on

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationNot requiredHeadlights are required at night and when visibility is seriously reduced.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Hands-free phone calls

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationAllowedThe phone must be in a holder or fully hands-free, and must not block your view.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Who has priority at a roundabout

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationTraffic already on the roundabout goes firstGive way to traffic approaching from your right, unless signs say otherwise.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking on the pavement

Varies by region

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationNo single national answer:

EnglandAllowedExcept London, where it is banned. Discouraged everywhere, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

ScotlandNot allowedChecked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

WalesAllowedDiscouraged, and obstructing the pavement can be fined.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Parking facing against the traffic

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationAllowedBy day only. At night you must not park facing against the traffic flow unless in a recognised parking space.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

How far you must park from a junction or crossing

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

A junction — 10 m

Advisory rather than a fixed law, except where markings say otherwise.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Congestion charges

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationIn some citiesLondon and Durham.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

Whether police can fine you on the spot

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destinationYes — visitors must pay at the roadsideFixed penalties are normally paid later, not at the roadside. A driver who cannot give a UK address must pay a deposit on the spot.Checked 3 Aug 2026 · official source

What you should carry, but do not have to

Spain · homeNot yet verified

UK · destination

Warning triangle
First aid kit
Fire extinguisher
High-visibility vest

Advised, not required. One motorway exception is worth knowing: do not set a warning triangle out on a motorway hard shoulder — get behind the barrier instead.Checked 20 Aug 2026 · official source

Same in both (4)

Holding a phone while driving — Not allowed official source
Height below which a child needs a child seat — 135 cm official source
Helmets on a motorbike or scooter — Required for rider and passenger official source
Low-emission zones — In many cities official source