Spain's new traffic rules from 1 October 2026: every change, in tables
On 1 October 2026, Royal Decree 518/2026 comes into force — the biggest reform of Spain's General Traffic Regulations in years. Its goal: better protection for vulnerable road users — pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooter users and motorcyclists. Here is each rule as it was until now and as it will be from 1 October, topic by topic, with the fines and the exact dates.
Preparing for the theory test? Several correct answers change with this reform. Every question on TraficoTest is already updated — and available in English.
🚴 Cyclists: the helmet
The change with the most direct impact on the theory test: every helmet exemption on interurban roads disappears.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Adults on interurban roads | Helmet compulsory, but with three exemptions: long uphill climbs, extreme heat and a medical certificate. | Helmet compulsory in every case, no exemptions left. Fine: €200 |
| Food-delivery riders on bicycles | No specific rule: treated like any other cyclist. | Must always wear a helmet and a reflective vest, in town too. |
| Riders under 16 | Helmet always compulsory, in town and on the road. | No change: helmet always compulsory. |
🚗 Driving near cyclists
If you drive a car, how you overtake a cyclist and the distance you keep behind them both change.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Overtaking a cyclist outside town | Leave at least 1.5 m of lateral space and, with two or more lanes per direction, move completely into the next lane (compulsory since 2022). | Everything above still applies, plus a new duty: reduce your speed by at least 20 km/h below the road's limit while overtaking. |
| Driving behind a cyclist in town | Only the general duty to keep a "safe distance", with no figure. | A concrete minimum: 5 metres when a cyclist is ahead of you in your lane. |
| Where the cyclist rides in town | Had to keep as close as possible to the right-hand edge. | May ride in the centre of the lane (in the right-hand one if there are several). In jams, may pass stopped cars on the left or the right. |
| One-way streets | A bicycle could only ride against the flow if there was a signed contraflow bike lane. | Councils may allow bicycles in both directions on one-lane streets limited to 30 km/h (with a sign). |
🛴 Electric scooters (VMP)
The first complete state-wide regulation: one minimum age and a compulsory helmet across Spain.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | No national minimum age: each council set its own. | 15 years across the whole country. |
| Helmet | Only a recommendation (unless a local by-law required it). | Compulsory always and on any road, homologated or certified, fastened. Fine: €200 |
| Reflective vest | No state-wide obligation. | Compulsory at night or in low visibility; delivery riders: always. |
| Where you may ride | Banned: pavements, motorways, dual carriageways, main roads through towns, interurban roads, urban tunnels. | No change: same bans. Outside town only on cycle paths or roads closed to motor vehicles. |
| Lights | On at night or in poor visibility. | Same until 1 October 2027: from then on, lights on at all times, in daylight too. |
🏍️ Motorcycles: the gear
Gloves, closed footwear, R22 helmet and vest: rider equipment moves from recommendation to obligation.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Gloves | Only a DGT recommendation. | Compulsory on interurban roads (rider and passenger). The exact homologation will be set by a ministerial order. Fine: €200 |
| Footwear | No rule at all. | Closed footwear covering the whole foot, on every road, in town too. No flip-flops or sandals. Exception: vehicles with a protective structure and seat belts. Fine: €200 |
| Helmet | A helmet that was "homologated or certified" was enough. | Only a helmet homologated under the European standard UNECE R22. Certified-only helmets are tolerated until 1 October 2027 to give time to replace them. |
| Reflective vest | Motorcycles did not have to carry one. | You must carry it on the motorcycle to put on if you stop on the road; professional delivery riders must wear it at all times. Fine: €200 |
Taking your test after 1 October? Every TraficoTest question is already updated to the new rules — in English.
🚀 Try a free DGT test🏍️ Motorcycles: hard shoulder and intercoms
Two long-awaited riding changes.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Hard shoulder in jams | Prohibited: the shoulder was only for bicycles, mopeds and slow vehicles. | In a jam, motorcycles may move along the right-hand shoulder at max. 30 km/h, in single file and only on signed stretches. No sign — still prohibited. |
| Helmet intercoms | A grey area: the law bans driving with headphones connected to sound devices and said nothing about intercoms. | Allowed: homologated devices built into the helmet, to talk to your passenger and hear the navigator, as long as they do not reduce your attention. |
🔒 The seat belt
The three historic urban exemptions disappear.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Taxi drivers | Could drive without a belt in town while on duty. | Belt always, like any other driver. Fine: €200 + 4 points |
| Delivery drivers | Exempt during loading and unloading runs. | Belt always. Fine: €200 + 4 points |
| Driving-school vehicles | Exempt during urban lessons. | Belt always, instructor included. Fine: €200 + 4 points |
| Who stays exempt | Medical certificate and some professional groups. | Only people with an official medical certificate and medical staff attending the patient in the back of an ambulance. |
🛣️ Roads and motorways: breakdowns, jams and snow
Three new, precise rules for situations that used to depend on the driver's judgement.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Passing a broken-down vehicle, accident or roadworks | Only the general duty to "moderate your speed". | A precise rule: leave 1.5 m of lateral space and reduce your speed by at least 20 km/h below the road's limit. |
| Jams: the emergency corridor | Only the general duty to let emergency vehicles through. | Duty to form a free corridor: with 2 lanes, in the middle; with 3 or more, between the left lane and the one next to it (left lane moves left, everyone else right). |
| Snow on motorways and dual carriageways | No specific rule: it depended on the signs. | Overtaking prohibited and duty to drive in the right-hand lane (with 3+ lanes, the adjacent one too). The left lane stays free for emergency vehicles and snowploughs. |
🚦 Traffic lights: flashing amber
One of the most dangerous pedestrian-crossing situations comes to an end.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Pedestrian crossing with lights | Cars could get a flashing amber ("go with caution") at the very moment pedestrians had a green light — and many drove through while people were crossing. | Those two lights can no longer coincide: while pedestrians have green, vehicles get a steady red and must stop. Fine: €200 + 4 points |
| Flashing amber and stop signs | Flashing amber never cancelled a STOP, a give-way or an officer's order. | No change: with a STOP sign, a give-way or an officer ordering you to stop, you must stop. |
🏙️ Motorhomes, vulnerable users and the city
Changes that mostly affect urban life and motorhome travel.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Motorhomes: parking vs. camping | The difference lived only in an internal DGT instruction. | Now in the Regulations: it is parked if nothing sticks out beyond its outline (awning, pop-out windows, chairs), it rests on the ground only on its tyres and discharges no liquids. Break any of that and it is camping — and can be fined. |
| "Vulnerable road user" | No closed legal definition. | Official definition: pedestrians, people with disabilities, minors, the elderly, people with reduced mobility, cyclists, e-scooter users and motorcyclists. |
| Safe school routes | The figure did not exist. | Councils may create protected routes for children to walk or cycle to school: lower speeds, traffic calming and restrictions near schools, hospitals and care homes. |
| Municipal powers | Low-emission and residential-priority zones without a clear regulatory basis. | The Regulations give a legal basis to LEZs, residential-priority zones, motorcycle parking on pavements (pedestrian passage guaranteed) and parking charges based on vehicle size or emissions label. |
📅 Key dates and official source
Not everything starts the same day.
| Aspect | ❌ Until 30 September | ✅ From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | — | Almost everything explained in this article comes into force. |
| 1 October 2027 | — | Two obligations deferred by a year: e-scooter lights on in daylight and motorcycle helmets homologated-only (R22). |
| Pending a ministerial order | — | The homologation details for motorcycle gloves and for bicycle child seats and trailers. |
📄 Official source: DGT press release — "Interior actualiza el Reglamento General de Circulación" (Royal Decree 518/2026, published in the BOE on 26 June 2026).
Don't study with outdated tests: a single old-rules question can cost you the exam.
✅ Practise with the updated questions❓ Frequently asked questions
When do Spain's new traffic rules come into force?
Almost all of them on 1 October 2026, under Royal Decree 518/2026, which amends the General Traffic Regulations. Two are deferred to 1 October 2027: compulsory daytime lights for e-scooters and the motorcycle-helmet homologated-only (R22) requirement.
Can I keep using my motorcycle helmet if it is only certified?
Yes, until 1 October 2027. From that date only helmets homologated under the European UNECE R22 standard will be valid.
What is the fine for riding an e-scooter without a helmet?
€200. From 1 October 2026 the helmet is compulsory at all times and on any road for e-scooter users, and the minimum riding age is 15 across Spain.
Are taxi drivers still exempt from the seat belt in town?
No. From 1 October 2026 the exemptions for taxi drivers, delivery drivers and driving-school vehicles disappear: the belt is compulsory for everyone. Not wearing it costs €200 and 4 points.
How must I overtake a cyclist from 1 October?
Leave at least 1.5 metres of lateral space, change lane completely if the road has two or more lanes in your direction, and additionally reduce your speed by at least 20 km/h below the road's limit.
Do the DGT theory-test questions change?
Yes: the exam tests the rules in force, so from 1 October 2026 the correct answers change in several topics (helmets, gloves, seat belts, traffic lights, overtaking…). Every question on TraficoTest is already updated to the new rules — and you can study fully in English.