Re-registering a Car on Mallorca Takes Up to 10 Months - What You Can Do Now

How long re-registering a car on Mallorca takes is currently the question on many foreign residents' minds: if you file the application now, expect a waiting time of 6 to 10 months (as of July 2026). The oldest known unprocessed application dates from May 2025. In this guide you will learn why things are so jammed right now, what that means for you legally, and which three ways out you have.

Why re-registration is taking so long right now

Since January 2025, the technical approval of foreign vehicles (the so-called homologacion) no longer sits with the private ITV stations but with the Consell de Mallorca, the island council. This transfer of responsibility has slowed the process down considerably.

The core problem is a staff shortage: approving imported vehicles requires engineers, and the island council has too few of them. Since mid-2025 this has built up a backlog affecting hundreds of foreign owners. The local press covered it in detail in early 2026, including the Mallorca Magazin (23 January 2026, in German).

Unlike the regular ITV, which you can book online at several stations, the re-registration inspection only happens in Manacor. You cannot book the appointment yourself, it is assigned to you. That is exactly what creates the long queue. How the process works in detail is covered in our guide to re-registering a car on Mallorca.

Making things harder, you now have to submit the paperwork for the approval digitally through the island council's Registre Electronic. For that you need a Certificado Digital and the signature software AutoFirm@. If you are missing your vehicle's CoC document (Certificate of Conformity), the check immediately counts as failed. Many applications are therefore stuck not only in the queue but also on missing papers.

The problem with the green plates

While the re-registration is in progress, you may drive on temporary green plates (placas verdes). They are valid for two months initially and can be extended. With the current waiting times, that is exactly the trap: the temporary plates expire before the Manacor appointment comes up.

If your vehicle is then neither validly registered nor on valid temporary plates, it is effectively grounded. If you drive anyway, you risk a fine at a Guardia Civil checkpoint and, in the worst case, the vehicle being immobilized or impounded. On top of that comes the insurance risk, which we get to further down.

What re-registration costs and requires

Before you pick an option, it helps to look at the costs. Besides the waiting time, re-registration triggers the registration tax (Impuesto de Matriculacion). It depends on your vehicle's CO2 emissions and ranges from 0 to almost 15 percent of the vehicle's value. Add the ITV fee for the technical approval, the cost of the Spanish plates, and, depending on the route you take, a gestoria's fee.

Important for new residents: if you move your residence to Spain, you can be exempted from the registration tax under certain conditions. This runs through the Modelo 06 and requires, among other things, that you used the car beforehand and file the application within the deadline. The official registration procedure is described by the Spanish traffic authority DGT. Only with these numbers in mind can you honestly judge whether the whole effort is still worth it for your vehicle.

Your three options

Option 1: Wait and see it through

Who this makes sense for: if your car is new or valuable, you have the CoC document (Certificate of Conformity), and you are staying on the island for good. Then re-registration is the right path, even if it takes time.

What matters is a realistic expectation. As of July 2026, plan for at least six months, probably more. Make sure your green plates are extended in time, and keep all receipts and appointment confirmations in the car. Add up the taxes and fees beforehand so you know what you are committing to.

Use the waiting time well: obtain missing documents such as the CoC, sort out the tax exemption, and set up your Certificado Digital if you have not already. Whoever has a complete file when the appointment is first assigned does not lose another round in the queue. That is the difference between six and ten months.

Option 2: Sell the car

If you do not absolutely need to keep the car, selling is often the simpler solution. No homologacion appointment, no registration tax, no months-long trek through the authorities. The sale also works with foreign plates and without a valid roadworthiness test from home, you just have to accept a price discount because the buyer takes over the re-registration.

Through our free car buying service you reach buyers on the island: dealers who buy EU vehicles and re-register them themselves, and private buyers who do not mind the extra work.

Option 3: Take it back home

The third possibility is transporting the car back to its home country: by ferry and transfer, passing the roadworthiness test there, and then either keeping or selling the car. This pays off mainly if the residual value is high or you are planning a trip back anyway.

Consider the costs for the ferry and the transfer, plus the question of whether your vehicle may be moved at all with an expired test. For a very old car or one needing repairs, the effort is often out of all proportion to the residual value, and option 2 is the more pragmatic choice.

What you should definitely not do

Do not simply keep driving with an expired roadworthiness test or an expired re-registration deadline. That is not just an administrative problem, it is a real risk.

The most important point is insurance. After an accident, your insurer may reduce the payout or claim money back from you if the vehicle was not properly registered or inspected. How that plays out depends on your policy, so if in doubt, clarify the question directly with your insurer. If your Spanish ITV has already expired, read our guide on the expired ITV.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion

A quick improvement in waiting times is not in sight as of July 2026. So think honestly about how attached you are to the car. If you want to keep it, prepare for a long procedure and keep your temporary plates current. If you do not want the hassle, selling is the fastest way out: through our free car buying service you submit your offer in a few minutes. We will update this article as soon as the situation changes.