Spain’s automatic-only drivers could soon drive manual cars after seven-hour course

Passing a driving test in an automatic has always come with the catch of a lifelong ban on manual cars unless the full practical exam is retaken in one. Spain has now created a shortcut for automatic drivers to crossover to manual, but there is still a few years wait ahead. 

Why code 78 currently bans automatic learners from manual cars 

Anyone who passes their Spanish driving test in an automatic car is issued a licence carrying code 78, a restriction that limits them to automatic vehicles only. The restriction has applied since 2019. Driving a manual car while holding an automatic-only licence counts as a serious traffic offence, carrying a fine of up to €200.

The seven-hour course that could remove the restriction

Under the new changes Spain’s traffic authority, the DGT, will eventually let drivers have code 78 lifted by completing a minimum seven-hour training course on public roads in a manual vehicle, rather than retaking the full practical exam.

Sergio Olivera of the National Confederation of Driving Schools (CNAE) said the short course will “eliminate that code 78 limitation”, though Spain has yet to publish details of how much it will cost or how it will be booked.

Spain has until 2028 to write the rules, and they will not apply before 2029

The change comes from EU Directive 2025/2205, approved in October 2024 to overhaul driving licence rules across the bloc. Spain has until 26 November 2028 to adapt its own traffic regulations to comply, and the reform itself does not take effect until 26 November 2029. 

That means anyone who passes their test in an automatic car now, or in the coming years, will still be restricted to automatic vehicles only for the foreseeable future, with the same €200 fine for anyone caught ignoring it.

Automatic transmissions are already taking over Spain’s roads

More than 60 per cent of new cars sold in Spain now have automatic transmissions, driven largely by the rise of hybrid and electric vehicles, which are automatic by design. And although fewer than 5 per cent of driving school vehicles are currently automatic, that figure is expected to keep rising as fleets are renewed and automatic driving becomes what one industry figure called the main entry point to driving in Spain.

Why so many learners already choose the automatic route

Nearly 70 per cent of candidates fail Spain’s practical driving exam, and about half fail the theory test, out of some 1.5 million tests taken every year. Learning in an automatic typically takes 10 to 15 lessons compared with 25 to 30 for a manual, saving learners hundreds of euros and, instructors say, improving pass rates because there is no clutch control to master.

For now, though, anyone who takes advantage of that shortcut still faces the same restriction, and the same fine, for at least another three years until the new seven-hour course becomes available.