Lawyer in Alicante for driving without a licence

What conduct counts as the offence of driving without a licence

Article 384 of the Criminal Code (Código Penal) punishes three different situations, which should not be confused because the defence changes in each one:

• Driving without ever having obtained a driving permit or licence.
• Driving when your licence is no longer valid because you have lost all your points. Here it is crucial to know whether you were properly notified that your licence had lost its validity: without that notification, there is plenty of scope for the defence.
• Driving after being banned from driving by a court, whether as an interim measure or under a final conviction (for example, after a drink-driving offence).

Driving with an expired licence or having left it at home is not the same thing: those are administrative offences, not crimes. Nor, in principle, is a licence withdrawal ordered only by the traffic authority (Tráfico) for other reasons: article 384 refers to the total loss of points and to a court ban. That is why the first step is to know exactly which of these situations applies to you.

Penalties for driving without a licence

The penalties in article 384 are alternatives: the judge imposes one of them.

Unlike drink-driving, article 384 does not impose a driving ban, precisely because you do not have a licence. In addition, the judge may reduce the prison sentence by one degree where the risk was less serious, taking into account the circumstances (art. 385 ter), and the vehicle is considered an instrument of the offence for confiscation purposes (art. 385 bis).

If you were also driving under the influence of alcohol, the problems add up: we explain this on our page on drink-driving and drug-driving.

Speeding and reckless driving

Speeding (art. 379.1)

It is a crime to drive at a speed exceeding the limit by more than 60 km/h in built-up areas or by more than 80 km/h on other roads. The penalty is three to six months in prison, a fine of six to twelve months or 31 to 90 days of community service and, in every case, a driving ban of more than one and up to four years. In these cases we review the speed camera, its calibration, the signage and the margin of error applied.

Reckless driving (arts. 380 and 381)

Driving with manifest recklessness that puts people’s lives or physical safety in specific danger is punished with six months to two years in prison and a driving ban of more than one and up to six years. The law considers driving that combines speeding under article 379.1 with a blood alcohol level above 0.60 mg/l to be manifestly reckless. If there is also manifest disregard for the lives of others, article 381 increases the penalty to two to five years in prison, a fine of twelve to twenty-four months and a driving ban of six to ten years.

If people are injured, article 382 requires only the most serious offence to be punished, with the penalty in its upper half, and the victims must always be compensated. Victims can join the proceedings as a private prosecutor (acusación particular) to claim that compensation. Leaving the scene of an accident is also an offence in its own right (art. 382 bis).

The speedy trial

Road traffic offences are almost always dealt with through a speedy trial (juicio rápido, art. 795 of the Criminal Procedure Act, Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal, LECrim). The police will summon you within a few days to the duty court (juzgado de guardia), which is now the investigating section (Sección de Instrucción) of the Court of First Instance (Tribunal de Instancia) on duty.

There, a plea agreement (conformidad) may be offered: if you admit the facts, the sentence requested by the public prosecutor is reduced by one third (art. 801 LECrim). It may be in your interest, especially to avoid prison, but it means a conviction. If no agreement is reached, the trial is held before the criminal section (Sección de lo Penal) of the Court of First Instance.

Bring your identity document to the hearing, any notifications from the traffic authority you still have and, if you have a job or dependants, papers proving it: they help when asking for a fine adjusted to your income or for community service.

How we defend you

1. We request your traffic record and check whether you were properly notified of the loss of points or the court ban.
2. We review the police report (atestado): identification of the driver, the reason for the check and the signed records.
3. In speeding cases, we check the speed measuring device, its certificate and the margin of error applied.
4. We negotiate the sentence: we seek a fine or community service rather than prison, and the reduction under article 385 ter where appropriate.
5. If you are a foreign national, we examine whether your licence is valid in Spain and assist you in your language.

If you are a foreign resident or tourist and have been stopped with a licence from another country, also see our page for criminal lawyer for foreign nationals.

Criminal record, prison and reoffending

Will I go to prison? For a first conviction it is unusual: the judge can impose a fine or community service, and if a prison sentence of up to two years is imposed, it can be suspended when it is your first offence and the requirements of article 80 of the Criminal Code are met. If you already have previous convictions for the same offence, the risk of prison increases and the strategy needs to be much more careful.

Will I have a criminal record? Yes. It is expunged once the period in article 136 has passed without reoffending, which depends on the sentence: for example, two years for sentences not exceeding twelve months. We can help you with expunging your criminal record.

A practical tip: do not drive again until you have sorted out your situation with the traffic authority. Every new check without a licence is a new offence.