What this letter is
It is a requerimiento de identificación del conductor (request to identify the driver). It goes to the vehicle’s registered keeper when an offence was committed without the car being stopped, for example caught by a speed camera or a traffic camera. The authorities don’t know who was driving and ask you to tell them. It is very common with company cars, rentals, leased cars or cars lent to someone.
How to read it: the key parts
| What you see on the letter | What it means |
|---|---|
| Órgano (issuing body: Jefatura de Tráfico / Ayuntamiento) | Who is investigating the offence and who you reply to. |
| Nº de expediente (case number) | The number that identifies the case. Include it in your reply. |
| Requerimiento de identificación del conductor (request to identify the driver) | The formal request to say who was driving. |
| Hecho denunciado (reported offence), date, time and place | The offence committed with your vehicle. |
| Matrícula (registration plate) | Check that it’s your vehicle. |
| Advertencia (art. 77.j) (warning) | Warns you that not identifying the driver is a very serious offence. |
| Plazo (deadline) | 20 calendar days to reply. |
| Formulario de identificación (identification form) | If it comes on paper, the form you must fill in and return. |
What deadline you have
You have 20 calendar days from the day after notification (art. 93.1 of the Traffic Act). Weekends and public holidays count.
If you were notified through the Dirección Electrónica Vial (DEV) (the DGT’s electronic mailbox), you must also identify the driver online. The notification date is the day you opened it. If you don’t open it within 10 calendar days, it is treated as refused and the deadline runs anyway.
Example: you open the request in the DEV on 10 June. The period starts on the 11th and ends on 30 June.
What you can do
| Option | When it makes sense | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Identify another person | If someone else was driving | The fine and points are redirected to them. |
| Identify yourself | If you were driving | You will receive the offence report in your name and can pay with the discount or object. |
| Send a copy of the rental contract | If you are a rental company without drivers | Identifying the hirer with the contract is enough. |
| Argue the vehicle wasn’t yours | If you had sold it or it was stolen | Provide the sale contract or the police theft report. |
| Not reply | Never | A new fine for not identifying, double or triple. |
What happens if you do nothing
- You commit the offence under art. 77.j: failing to truthfully identify the driver.
- The fine is double the original if it was minor and triple if it was serious or very serious (art. 80.2.b). For example, a serious €200 fine becomes €600.
- That fine has no 50 % discount (art. 93.2).
- Naming a false driver also counts as failing to comply: the identification must be truthful.
Common mistakes
- Thinking that if you don’t know who was driving, nothing happens. The registered keeper is obliged to know.
- Naming someone with a foreign licence without having a copy of it.
- Replying on paper when the notice came through the DEV: it must be done online.
- Letting the 20 days pass while waiting to talk to the driver.
- Confusing this request with the fine and paying without identifying the driver.
How to respond, step by step
- Find out who was driving on the date and at the time stated.
- Gather their details: full name, DNI or NIE, address and driving licence number.
- If the letter is from the DGT: identify the driver on the DGT online portal (sede electrónica) with the case number, using Cl@ve or a digital certificate.
- If it is from a town hall: use its online portal or the form that comes with the letter.
- If the driver has a foreign licence, keep a copy and attach it if asked.
- Keep the submission receipt.
Sample text (write it in Spanish):
Expediente n.º [número]. En respuesta al requerimiento notificado el [fecha], comunico que el conductor del vehículo [matrícula] el día [fecha] a las [hora] era D./D.ª [nombre], DNI/NIE [número], domicilio en [dirección], permiso de conducción n.º [número].
(In English: Case no. [number]. In response to the request notified on [date], I state that the driver of vehicle [plate] on [date] at [time] was [name], DNI/NIE [number], residing at [address], driving licence no. [number].)
Cartamiga tip: if a family member or an employee uses your car often, consider registering them with the DGT as the usual driver. It saves you these requests and the risk of a triple fine.