The DGT is preparing a change to adapt to the new reality for drivers in Spain by eliminating Code 78. What’s that? It’s the restriction applied if you learn to drive in an automatic, which impeded you from driving manual-gear vehicles.

The boom in electric and hybrid vehicles, combined with the fact that manufacturers are selling fewer manual models, is changing how people drive.

So the DGT has decided to be more flexible. The aim is to allow learners who get their licence with an automatic to drive manual ones after receiving a specific course lasting seven hours at the wheel. Upon finishing these classes, the driver will be authorised to drive any car, whether automatic or manual.

Because of the Code 78 restriction, very few learners opted for taking their test in a vehicle with automatic gears but now, it is hoped that more will choose this option.

So, when will this change (the elimiation of Code 78) come into force? The European directive was approved in late 2025; however, its application in Spain will not be immediate. Member states have a deadline expiring on the 26th of November 2028, to approve nationally the necessary laws. The deadline for general application, however, one year later.

The DGT and the Ministry of the Interior have backed the measure, but driving schools cannot issue this direct validation until the Spanish transposition law is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and the national regulation is formally activated. For now, the National Confederation of Driving Schools (CNAE) is demanding “aid” to renew driving-school fleets and incorporate hybrid and electric vehicles.

(News: Spain)

Keywords: Automatic gears, Manual Gears, Learner Drivers, Code 78, Extra Course

news, spain, automatic gears, manual gears, learner drivers, code 78, extra course