Using a mobile phone or headphones while driving in Spain: what is allowed, and the points
Reviewed on 11 October 2026 · sources: BOE (Reglamento General de Circulación, RD 518/2026; Ley de Tráfico)
Short answer. While driving in Spain you may not use a mobile phone, and you may not wear headphones or earphones, not even one. The only way to talk is hands-free, with no headset or earphone, for example through the car's built-in system. Holding the phone costs 6 points. Wearing an earphone, trapping the phone between helmet and head, or using a phone or sat nav manually costs 3 points. The rule is in article 18.2 of the Reglamento General de Circulación and article 13.3 of the Ley de Tráfico.
If you come from a country where one earbud is tolerated, or where a phone on a mount is fine to tap at a red light, check your habits: in Spain neither is allowed.
What is forbidden and what is not
| What you do at the wheel | Allowed? | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| Hold the phone in your hand | No | 6 points and 200 euros |
| Trap the phone between helmet and head | No | 3 points and 200 euros |
| Type, dial or operate the phone or sat nav by hand | No | 3 points and 200 euros |
| Wear headphones or one earphone connected to a device | No | 3 points and 200 euros |
| Talk with no hands and no headset, earphone or similar | Yes | none |
| Certified wireless intercom or navigation built into a motorcycle or moped helmet | Yes | none |
The points are in annex II of the Ley de Tráfico (items 8 and 20). The fine is the standard 200 euros for serious offences (art. 76.f and g and art. 80.1).
What changed on 1 October 2026
Royal Decree 518/2026 rewrote paragraph 2 of article 18 of the regulation. It now bans "any type of audio helmet, headphones or similar instruments" connected to sound devices, bans mobile phones "and any other means or system of communication" while driving, and writes the two exceptions into the text: communication without hands and without helmets, headphones or similar instruments, and certified wireless devices in a motorcycle or moped helmet, only for intercom or navigation and only if they do not affect safety. Police officers on duty and armed forces vehicles in convoy are exempt. The Ley de Tráfico already had the substance of this rule since March 2022.
Screens: the other half of the rule
Article 18.1 treats the use, while the vehicle moves, of screens with internet access, television monitors and video players as incompatible with permanent attention to driving. It excepts monitors needed to see pedestrians getting on or off, rear-view manoeuvring cameras, and GPS devices.
Four drivers on the same street
- Ana talks through the car's built-in hands-free system. She is within the rule: the call needs no hands and no earphone.
- Ben wears a single earphone for a call and keeps the phone in his pocket. He breaks the rule: the earphone is banned even though he touches nothing. That is 3 points.
- Carla holds the phone to read a message. This is the most serious of the four: 6 points.
- Dani rides a motorcycle and follows directions through a certified intercom built into his helmet. He is within the rule, provided it does not affect the safety of his riding.
The trap. "Hands-free" does not mean "headset". The regulation allows talking without using your hands, but on condition that you use no helmet, headphones, earphones or similar. And a sat nav is not a licence to tap the screen: the GPS is excepted as a screen, but operating it by hand while driving is a sanctioned conduct (3 points).
Keep going
- The topic in the syllabus: fatigue, sleep, distraction and medication.
- Another conduct that costs points: drink-driving limits.
- Practise: today's free 30-question DGT exam, available in English.
Reviewed against the consolidated BOE text on 11 October 2026. DrivingLingo is independent and is not endorsed by the DGT. This page is not legal advice.