Practical Driving Test in Spain (2026)

Updated: September 2026. The Spanish practical driving test is not graded on an examiner's impression. It is graded against a published DGT document that lists, situation by situation, which errors count as minor, which count as deficient, and which end the test immediately. You fail on one eliminatory fault, two deficient faults, one deficient plus five minor, or ten minor. This guide sets out what that document actually says, and links to the detail underneath it.

The practical test at a glance

Sources: DGT, Criterios de Calificación, March 2026; DGT closed-circuit criteria, January 2013. Full list at the end.

Key takeaways

01. Nine minor faults still pass. The limit is ten. But one deficient fault cuts your remaining allowance from nine minor faults to four, which is why a single careless manoeuvre early on changes the whole test.

02. One word decides most grades. Throughout the criteria, the same error appears in both the deficient and the minor column, separated only by whether it obstructed another road user. Nothing else about the error changes.

03. The eliminatory list is finite and knowable. There are roughly sixty one-strike fails and they are written down. Most involve priority, visibility, or a vulnerable road user.

04. The March 2026 update was narrower than reported. The pass mark, the timings and the driver-aid rules did not change. What changed was the list of protected lanes and zones.

What the 30 minutes actually contains

The 30-minute slot for a Permiso B candidate is not 30 minutes of driving. The criteria state that the total includes receiving the candidate, preparing the vehicle, the technical safety check, the special manoeuvres where applicable, and communicating the result. Inside that, the minimum driving and circulation time is 25 minutes.

The route requirement is worth reading carefully. The criteria say the test must run over both urban and interurban roads, and must present at least 80% of the incidents that can occur in traffic. That is why routes feel dense: the examiner is obliged to put you through roundabouts, junctions, lane changes and pedestrian crossings rather than a quiet loop.

The three fault levels

The DGT defines each level by its effect, not by which manoeuvre you were performing.

• Eliminatory (E). Any behaviour or breach that creates a danger to your own safety or that of other road users, plus breaches of traffic signs classified as serious or very serious offences under the Traffic Law.
• Deficient (D). Any behaviour or breach that obstructs other users, preventing or notably hindering their movement, anything that visibly affects safety distances, and sign breaches that fall short of eliminatory.
• Minor (L). Anything that is neither of the above, plus incorrect handling of the vehicle controls.

The practical consequence is that the same physical error can land in two different columns. Not driving in the right-hand lane when required is minor; doing it while obstructing someone is deficient. That single distinction runs through nearly every section of the document. How the fault levels work, and the maths of the pass mark takes this apart in full, with a calculator you can use to see how close a given set of faults comes to a fail.

The four ways to fail

A note that surprises most candidates: the closed-circuit manoeuvres test uses a different and stricter scale. There, four minor faults fail you, not ten. The manoeuvres and parking guide covers the circuit rules, including the movement counts that end a parking attempt.

Before you move: the vehicle check

The test opens with a check the criteria call comprobaciones previas. The examiner picks items at random from a fixed list and asks only for those. The entire section is worth a single minor fault no matter how many items you fumble, which makes it much less dangerous than its reputation suggests.

For a car licence the list is: locating and identifying the controls, tyres, lights, fluid levels (oil, brakes, steering, coolant, screenwash), the horn, identifying the battery, opening the bonnet, the reflective vest, the portable hazard pre-warning devices, and documentation. Documentation is reviewed in the office by preference.

One detail worth knowing: if a defect is found that cannot be corrected and affects safety, the test does not start, and the criteria state explicitly that this does not use up an exam attempt.

Settling into the car is graded separately and every fault in that section is minor: posture, mirrors, seatbelt use, seatbelt adjustment. In each case the examiner records the fault first and then tells you to fix it, so being corrected is not a sign you got away with it.

What the examiner grades, section by section

The criteria are organised into fifteen numbered sections, and the examiner's marking sheet follows them. Knowing the structure tells you where the faults actually accumulate.

Section 11 is where the one-strike fails cluster: ignoring a give way or stop sign, crossing a solid line separating opposing directions, failing to let a pedestrian who is already crossing complete the crossing. The complete list of eliminatory faults sets all of them out, grouped by situation.

What changed in the March 2026 criteria

This is worth stating precisely, because it is widely reported inaccurately. We compared the March 2026 edition line by line against the September 2019 edition, which is the preceding published version.

Unchanged since 2019: the pass mark, all timings, the 80% route requirement, every speed threshold, the 2-minute parking limit, and the whole set of rules on driver assistance systems. The automatic emergency braking rule that gets described as a 2026 innovation was already there in 2019, word for word.

Genuinely new in March 2026: the eliminatory list was extended to cover ways reserved for cycles and personal mobility vehicles, including signs S-65a and S-65b; coexistence zones and play and dwelling zones were added alongside residential streets and Zona 30; the bus lane rule was broadened to any lane reserved for specific vehicle types; and passing luminous beacons or road studs showing orange or red became eliminatory.

In one sentence: the update did not move the pass mark or add technology rules. It extended the one-strike list to protect scooter and cycle lanes, shared-space zones, and roadworks beacons. If you are also preparing the theory exam, the parallel changes there are covered in DGT 2026 exam changes explained.

Driver aids, and when the car fails you

Modern school cars carry systems the criteria address directly, and the rules are not intuitive. Parking sensors and the reversing camera are not graded at all, so using them costs you nothing. Automatic emergency braking is the opposite: if it intervenes, it is graded as an eliminatory fault under the same heading as your instructor grabbing the controls. Fully automatic parking assist, where the car takes over and you are not at the controls, is not permitted. Driver aids on the DGT practical test covers each system and its grade.

How to prepare for what is actually graded

The structure of the criteria points at a preparation strategy that differs from general advice.

• Treat observation and signalling as the main event. The same block of six minor faults on looking and indicating repeats across six different manoeuvre families. That is where a ten-minor-fault budget is actually spent, not on dramatic errors.
• Learn the eliminatory list rather than trying to drive perfectly. Around sixty items end the test. They are written down, they are mostly about priority and vulnerable road users, and avoiding them is a different skill from driving smoothly.
• Do not hesitate when invited. Failing to overtake after being invited to, when conditions are ideal, is eliminatory. So is driving continuously below the minimum speed after being asked to adapt. Excessive caution is graded, not rewarded.
• Rehearse the manoeuvres against the movement counts, not against how they feel. Parking has a hard 2-minute limit and a countable number of permitted movements.
• Get the theory finished first. You cannot book the practical until the theory is passed. Practising the real exam format in English at Permiso B tests or the free sample test is the fastest route to that.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the Spanish practical driving test?

For a Permiso B candidate the appointment is 30 minutes, of which at least 25 minutes must be actual driving and circulation. The rest covers reception, vehicle preparation, the safety check, the manoeuvres where applicable, and being told the result.

How many mistakes can you make and still pass?

Up to nine minor faults. You fail on ten minor faults, on two deficient faults, on one deficient plus five minor, or on a single eliminatory fault. The closed-circuit manoeuvres test is stricter: four minor faults fail you there.

What is an eliminatory fault?

Any behaviour or breach of the rules that creates a danger to your safety or that of other road users, plus breaches of traffic signs classified as serious or very serious offences. One ends the test. Examples include ignoring a stop sign, crossing a solid centre line, and failing to let a pedestrian already on a crossing finish crossing.

Does the examiner have to tell me why I failed?

The criteria include communicating the result inside the appointment slot. The marking follows the numbered sections of the published document, so faults are recorded against specific codes rather than as general impressions.

Do I have to pass the theory test first?

Yes. The theory exam comes first, and the practical is booked afterwards. See the DGT theory test in English for how that stage works, and how to get a Spanish driving licence as a foreigner for the full sequence.

Is the practical test available in English?

Neither criteria document addresses the language of the practical test, so we will not state a rule here. Availability is reported to vary by province and examiner. Confirm with your driving school and your local Jefatura before booking.

Sources

• DGT, Subdirección Adjunta de Formación Vial, Criterios de Calificación, March 2026. Fault definitions, the baremo, timings, the 80% route requirement, and all fifteen sections.
• DGT, Subdirección Adjunta de Formación Vial, Criterios de Calificación de la Prueba de Control de Aptitudes y Comportamientos en Circuito Cerrado, January 2013. Manoeuvres by licence class and the circuit baremo.
• DGT, Criterios de Calificación, vías abiertas, September 2019, via the Internet Archive. Used as the comparison edition for the section on what changed.
• DGT, Examen práctico, official process page.

Last updated: September 2026. Criteria checked against the March 2026 edition: September 2026.

This guide summarises the DGT's published grading criteria and does not replace them or official DGT guidance. Criteria are revised periodically; confirm current details with the DGT or your driving school before acting.