How transport with a driver works in Spain
What holds in any province: the law, the price, the invoice, insurance, minors, animals, groups. Each piece starts with the answer, cites its dated sources and says nothing the code does not do. What belongs to an area — routes, prices, timetables — lives on that area's site.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026
For travellers
Fixed price: how the price of a transfer with a driver is worked out and why there is no meter
What a fixed price is in a transfer with a driver, what it depends on (distance, estimated time, hour, vehicle type, tolls), what it includes and what it does not, how it differs from a meter and from app surge pricing, and what can change it after booking.
Read →Pre-booking: what it means that a VTC may only work with a prior booking and why that protects the traveller
Spanish law requires chauffeured hire vehicles to be contracted before the service, with the trip and price known, and forbids picking up customers in the street. What the rule says, how the regions have developed it, what the route sheet is, and what the traveller gains: a fixed price, traceability and a vehicle that knows where it is going.
Read →Taxi, VTC, train or bus to an airport in Spain: a method for deciding by time, luggage and how many are travelling
A five-question method for choosing how to get to the airport from anywhere in Spain: what time the flight boards, how many are travelling and with how much luggage, whether a train or bus arrives in time, what it costs in total (tickets, changes, parking) and what happens if the flight is delayed. No local recipes: what holds in any province.
Read →Pickup at airports and stations: how a transfer that waits for the flight or train works, where you meet the driver and what happens with delays
What an arrival transfer needs (flight or train number, terminal, luggage), how the driver tracks the delay, where to wait at a Spanish airport (regulated pickup zones, meeting points, name board), what it is like at a high-speed station, the included waiting and what happens if the flight is cancelled.
Read →Travelling with pets in taxis and VTCs in Spain: assistance dogs, companion animals, carriers and what to say when booking
What Spanish law says about assistance dogs in transport, what happens with other companion animals in a taxi or a VTC, how they must travel under the General Traffic Regulation and the animal welfare act, what the driver may require and how to book a transfer with an animal so there are no surprises.
Read →Accessibility in taxis and VTCs: what an adapted vehicle is, what Spanish law requires and how to book a wheelchair transfer
What Spanish transport accessibility rules say about adapted taxis (the five per cent fleet minimum), what a eurotaxi or adapted vehicle is and how it secures the wheelchair, what applies to VTCs, how companions and assistance dogs travel, and what to say when booking so the vehicle that arrives is the one needed.
Read →Safety in a transfer with a driver: which insurance covers the passenger, what documents the vehicle must carry and what a traveller can check
Compulsory passenger insurance, the vehicle's liability cover, the transport authorisation (VTC card or taxi licence), the technical inspection and the badge: what each one covers for whoever travels in a taxi or a VTC in Spain, what the vehicle must carry, how to check before getting in and what to do in an accident or incident.
Read →How to know whether a driver and a vehicle are authorised: the VTC authorisation and the taxi licence in Spain, and how to check the equivalent abroad
What a VTC authorisation and a taxi licence are, which badges and documents travel on board, how to look up the Ministry's public register by registration plate, which signs give away an unlicensed service, how to check the equivalent in other European Union countries and beyond, and what to do if something does not add up.
Read →Delayed or cancelled flight: what happens to the transfer that is waiting, what details to give when booking and what rights the passenger has against the airline
Why an airport pickup is arranged on the landing time and not the departure time, what happens to the transfer if the flight is delayed, early, cancelled or diverted, why the flight number changes everything, what rights Regulation 261/2004 gives against the airline, separate from the transfer, and what to ask any platform about its waiting and change policy.
Read →Cancelling or changing a transfer: when the money is refunded, what consumer law says and how to complain if something goes wrong
The difference between changing a transfer (time, address, passengers) and cancelling it, why transport on a specific date falls outside the general right of withdrawal and what that obliges a platform to publish before contracting, what sets a reasonable cancellation policy apart, how the money is refunded depending on the payment method, what to keep and who to complain to.
Read →Getting between cities in Spain for visitors from abroad: how the train, the bus, the hire car and the car with a driver work, and how to choose
A guide for visitors from another country: how high-speed and conventional trains work (named tickets, luggage screening, stations outside the centre), the intercity bus, car hire with its tolls and permits, and the pre-booked car with a driver; plus a rule for choosing by distance, time, luggage, group size and final destination.
Read →How to choose an airport transfer in another country without surprises: price, operator, licence, meeting point, payment and scam warning signs
What to look at before booking a transfer in a country that is not yours: fixed price versus meter and surge pricing, who the operator is and what licence and insurance it holds, where the meeting point is, what happens with a delayed flight, how you pay and get an invoice, how to read reviews, how to spot a tout in the terminal and what to carry in writing.
Read →Booking a transfer for someone else: a relative, a client or a guest; what details are needed, what data protection says and how the pickup is coordinated
The person booking, the person travelling and the person paying may be three different people. What passenger details the driver needs and why, what data protection requires when giving them, how a transfer is organised for a minor, an older person or someone with reduced mobility, and for a company's or hotel's guest, who gets the notifications and what happens if they do not show up.
Read →What details a booking for a transfer with a driver asks for and why: addresses, time, flight, passengers, contact, payment and data protection
Every detail in a transfer booking has a reason: addresses set the fixed price, the time sets the tariff and availability, the flight adjusts the pickup, passengers decide the vehicle, the phone number lets the driver make contact. What a form should not ask for, what the GDPR requires, who sees the data and how to correct a mistake.
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For companies and organisers
VAT and invoicing of a transfer with a driver: the tax rate, full or simplified invoice and what to ask for as a company
Passenger transport is taxed in Spain at the reduced VAT rate, and a pre-booked transfer is invoiced to whoever orders it. What a full invoice contains, when a simplified one is enough, how a company deducts the VAT, what happens with tolls and waiting, and how a business account's monthly invoice works.
Read →Recurring transfers for companies, schools and clinics: what a fixed service is, how it is contracted and what the law requires when carrying minors or patients
How a repeating transfer works — shifts, pupils to an activity, patients to treatment —: the agreed price per service, the calendar with days skipped, the monthly invoice, regular drivers, and the rules that apply to carrying minors and to non-medical patient transfers in Spain.
Read →Groups and events: how to organise a group's transport with a driver, how far a nine-seat vehicle goes and when a coach is needed
How to plan transport for a wedding, a conference or an outing: the legal nine-seat limit per vehicle, several cars versus a discretionary coach, staggered outbound and return times, pickups at several points, what applies to minors and alcohol, how it is quoted per car and what details to give so it goes well.
Read →Non-urgent medical transfers: what they are, what they are not and when a car with a driver is right for taking a patient to an appointment, check-up, discharge or rehabilitation
The difference between medical transport by ambulance, regulated by Royal Decree 836/2012, and a transfer by car with a driver for a patient who can travel seated and without care: typical cases, what a driver must never do, what a clinic, insurer or care home should ask for when contracting, how a business account is organised and when an ambulance is required.
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For drivers
How a driver works with a pre-booking platform in Spain: authorisation, requirements, how services arrive and what changes compared with street-hailing apps
What a driver needs to provide pre-booked services in Spain (their own or a fleet's VTC authorisation, or a taxi licence; a licence, accreditation where required, insurance and a compliant vehicle), how booked services are allocated, how they are paid and how it differs from an on-demand app.
Read →What it costs to move a car with a driver: the cost per kilometre, why a short trip has a minimum and what lies behind a tariff
What costs a car with a driver carries (fuel or energy, depreciation, compulsory and passenger insurance, maintenance, tyres, taxes, fees, authorisation, driver time, the empty return, administration and platform), why a short trip has a minimum and a long one gets cheaper per kilometre, how to work out your own cost per kilometre and how to read a tariff to see whether it covers it.
Read →Tax for the self-employed driver in Spain: registering with the tax agency and the RETA, VAT, income tax, invoicing and obligations when working with a pre-booking platform
What a self-employed driver in Spain must do: census registration with the tax agency and the RETA, activity heading, VAT at the reduced rate with quarterly returns and an annual summary, income tax under direct or objective assessment with instalment payments, invoicing under Royal Decree 1619/2012, who invoices whom when there is a platform, books, keeping documents and contributions based on real income.
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For fleets
VTC and taxi fleets in Spain: what the authorities require (authorisations, endorsements, service register, inspection) and how daily operations are organised
What a passenger transport fleet must keep compliant in Spain — authorisations and endorsements, the VTC service register, insurance, technical inspection, drivers and their documents — and how operations are organised: services, expiries, expenses, maintenance and driver settlements.
Read →VTC regulation in Spain: from Law 16/1987 to Royal Decree-Law 13/2018, which authorisation covers what and what a fleet must check before accepting a service
History and legal framework of chauffeured vehicle hire in Spain: the LOTT and its regulation, the VTC authorisation and the ratio to taxis, prior contracting and the communications register, the 2018 royal decree-laws that left interurban transport to the State and urban transport to regions and councils, the case law and what it means for a fleet today.
Read →VTC regulation by region: what changes from one territory to another since Royal Decree-Law 13/2018 and how a fleet manages it
Since Royal Decree-Law 13/2018 left urban transport in the hands of the regions and town councils, the VTC is regulated differently in each territory: minimum pre-booking notice, bans on street hailing or on showing available cars, badges, urban authorisations and caps. What is urban and what is interurban, how to find out and what to do with a service that crosses territories.
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Looking for how to reach the airport or hospital from your province, with a price? That is in the guides on each area's site, found under "Where we operate". Where we operate