Speed limits in Spain: the numbers the theory test asks about

Speed questions in the Spanish theory test are mostly about numbers, and the numbers depend on two things: the type of road and the type of vehicle. Below are the limits from the General Traffic Regulations (Reglamento General de Circulación, RGC) as consolidated in the official gazette, the BOE, on 26 June 2026, with the fines and points from the Traffic Act (Ley sobre Tráfico). Everything is current as of 28 October 2026.

A sign always beats the general limit. Article 47 says the road owner sets specific limits with signs, and only where there is no sign does the general limit for that road apply. Everything below is that general limit.

Outside built-up areas

Article 48 of the RGC sets the maximum speeds outside towns:

All figures in km/h. A few details that show up in test questions:

• Ordinary roads with a physical barrier between directions can get 100 km/h for cars, motorcycles and motorhomes up to 3,500 kg, but only if the road owner sets it.
• Towing a trailer puts your car in the bottom row: 90 on the motorway, 80 elsewhere.
• School transport and dangerous goods: 10 km/h less than the vehicle's normal limit on that road. A bus with standing passengers, or without seat belts, is limited to 80 on any road outside towns.
• Unpaved roads: 30 km/h.
• Mopeds, light quadricycles and bicycles: 45 km/h, although cyclists may go faster where the road allows it.
• Three-wheelers and quadricycles: 70 km/h on any road where they are allowed.

There is no separate limit for new drivers. Article 52 allows lower limits for some drivers and vehicles, but the general table in article 48 is the same for someone who passed last week.

In towns

Since 11 May 2021 the general limit in a built-up area depends on the street (article 50):

Bus and other reserved lanes do not count when you count lanes. The town council can lower these limits with signs, and can raise a one-lane street to 50 with signs. Vehicles carrying dangerous goods are limited to 40 km/h on multi-lane urban streets and in travesías.

Minimum speeds

Driving too slowly is also an offence. Article 49 bans motor vehicles from going below 60 km/h on motorways and dual carriageways, even with no other traffic. On other roads the minimum is half the general limit for your vehicle on that road: for a car on an ordinary road, 45 km/h.

If your vehicle cannot reach the minimum and there is a risk of being hit from behind, you must use the hazard lights while driving.

When you must slow down below the limit

The limit is a ceiling, not a target. Articles 45 and 46 require you to adapt your speed so that you can always stop within what you can see, and to drive at moderate speed, stopping if necessary, in a list of situations. Among them:

• pedestrians on the road or likely to step onto it, especially children, older people and blind people;
• approaching cyclists, junctions, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings, markets and schools;
• approaching a stopped bus, especially a school bus;
• slippery surfaces, standing water or loose gravel;
• level crossings, roundabouts and junctions where you do not have priority;
• dense fog, heavy rain, snow, or dust and smoke.

One number from this article: at a signposted junction where visibility is practically nil, you must not exceed 50 km/h.

No extra speed for overtaking

For years Spanish rules let cars and motorcycles go 20 km/h over the limit on ordinary roads while overtaking. That was article 51, repealed with effect from 21 March 2022. The current rule is that the limit does not change when you overtake.

What speeding costs

Annex IV of the Traffic Act sets fines and points by how far over the limit you were caught. Four common limits:

The first four bands are serious offences; the last is very serious. You cannot lose more than 8 points in a single day for several offences, except for some very serious ones listed in article 77 (article 64.4). Remember that a new licence starts with 8 points.

At the top end it stops being an administrative fine. Article 379 of the Criminal Code makes it an offence to drive more than 60 km/h over the limit in a town or more than 80 km/h over it outside towns: above 110 in a 50 zone, above 200 on a 120 motorway. The penalty is prison, a fine or community service, and in every case a driving ban of more than one year and up to four.

Keeping distance

The same chapter of the regulations covers following distance. Article 54 requires a gap that lets you stop without hitting the vehicle in front if it brakes hard. Vehicles over 3,500 kg and vehicles or combinations over 10 metres long must also leave at least 50 metres outside towns, so that others can overtake them. That 50-metre rule does not apply in towns, where overtaking is banned, where there is more than one lane in your direction, or in traffic too dense to overtake.

Practising the speed questions

You can try speed questions in our free DGT mock test, in the exam format: 30 questions in 30 minutes, three mistakes allowed. The Carnet de Conducir B Test 2026 app has 9,419 questions across the 17 syllabus blocks, each with an explanation, in Spanish or English as in the exam; it is a free download, with in-app purchases, and it is not a DGT product.

Sources

• Reglamento General de Circulación (Royal Decree 1428/2003), articles 45 to 54 — BOE-A-2003-23514, consolidated text updated 26 June 2026. Article 48.1.b as amended by Royal Decree 518/2026, in force from 1 October 2026; article 50 as amended by Royal Decree 970/2020, in force from 11 May 2021; article 51 repealed by Law 18/2021 from 21 March 2022.
• Ley sobre Tráfico, Circulación de Vehículos a Motor y Seguridad Vial (Royal Legislative Decree 6/2015), articles 21, 64, 76, 77 and 80 and Annex IV — BOE-A-2015-11722, updated 26 June 2026.
• Criminal Code (Organic Law 10/1995), article 379 — BOE-A-1995-25444.