Do you want to temporarily deregister a vehicle? Here is what you need to know

One of the options available to temporarily take the car off the road is temporary deregistration. This means you don’t have to pay for a vehicle you aren’t using. It may be the car of a relative who has passed away, or one you won’t be using for a while but plan to use again later. Once temporarily deregistered, the car may not be driven, but it can be reinstated at any time and used again.

However, until recently temporary deregistration had no fixed duration. With the entry into force of the new regulations, vehicles can remain in this situation for one year only. From that point on, owners must regularise their situation and either reactivate the vehicle or deregister it permanently. This involves several obligations that must be met to keep the vehicle active and all administrative duties up to date.

Zombie cars on the roads

There are currently around 2.65 million cars in this situation. These vehicles are supposed to be parked in a private car park. This is one of the obligations for such vehicles. They cannot be parked on the public highway, as this can lead to a fine. Temporarily deregistered cars may lack a valid MOT (ITV) or compulsory insurance, so if they are spotted by municipal police or the Spanish Traffic Guard (Guardia Civil de Tráfico), they can be fined.

Occasionally some of these vehicles are found on the road without meeting any of these requirements. It should be remembered that a vehicle cannot be driven without compulsory insurance, a valid MOT (ITV) and paid road tax. The fine that can be imposed is 3,000 euros, and the vehicle can even be immobilised.

If a car is temporarily deregistered and needs to undergo its MOT (ITV), it cannot be driven to the testing station; it must be transported by tow truck. This is important, as it is often overlooked and can lead to an unpleasant surprise in the form of a fine.

Compulsory insurance is required if you want to move the car or if the one-year temporary deregistration period expires. In these cases, a minimum policy is sufficient, which can cost around 160 euros a year and is much cheaper than a fine for not having it.

In addition, if an accident involves a temporarily deregistered car or one without these mandatory documents, the penalty and impoundment of the vehicle may be accompanied by other costs, so it is best to keep everything in order and avoid scares and bigger problems. If you have a vehicle in temporary deregistration status, you will receive a notification from the DGT informing you of the new regulations so that the necessary measures can be taken to get it in order.