What does the blue license plate mean?

Taxis and VTC vehicles must install a blue rear licence plate with white numbers before the end of 2019.

Over the last few weeks, in many Spanish cities, drivers have been seen using a blue licence plate on the rear of their vehicles. Following the approval of the 2016 Non-Legislative Motion and a Ministerial Order of July 2018, transport vehicles such as taxis and VTC are now required to fit this type of plate. These vehicles include those with up to nine seats, including the driver’s seat.

Combating unlicensed operation and piracy

The amendment to the General Vehicle Regulation published in the BOE in July requires taxis and VTC, whether operated by Uber or Cabify, to use this type of plate on the front. Although it came into force in the summer of 2018, taxi drivers and sector workers have one year to implement this Ministerial Order.

The DGT’s intention is to combat unlicensed operation and piracy in the taxi sector and passenger transport. In this way, Spain joins several European Union countries that already use this plate format for passenger transport vehicles. This regulation is already applied in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.

It only applies to rear plates

However, this rule does not apply to front plates. The front plate will continue to use a white background and black characters. In addition, this change will not affect the vehicle’s registration number.