Owning a vehicle represents a significant economic expense at the end of the year. Increasingly. New cars are more expensive than ever, as are second-hand cars. And the purchase of the car is the first disbursement that drivers must face, but by no means the last.
Wasting fuel, maintenance, repairs, insurance, garage or taxes drive away the car from many citizens, who must opt for cheaper alternatives such as public transport. When the sum of money becomes unaffordable, owners have an option that allows them to stop using their private car without having to sell it, while saving on expenses.
This solution is to deregister the vehicle temporarily before the DGT. As its own name indicates, it is a temporary procedure, so it is a different alternative to the definitive deregistration to which those cars that have reached the end of their useful life are subjected, are withdrawn from circulation and taken to scrapyard for destruction.
The temporary leave exempts from complying with some of the requirements and demands of having an active car. When this procedure is applied, the owner of the car is exempt from paying the circulation tax (IVTM). This is one of the most important taxes that owners must pay annually and that is managed by town halls, so its price varies depending on the municipality in which the vehicle is domiciled.
Likewise, while the situation of administrative leave lasts, the driver must not pass the ITV or take out the compulsory vehicle insurance, which includes civil liability. However, if the car is parked on public roads and is not stored on private property, it will continue to be essential to have an up-to-date ITV and a valid policy.
Therefore, if there is no intention of using your own vehicle for a long period of time, you can cancel it temporarily and save the mandatory costs involved in registering it. This procedure costs 8.61 euros, can be applied to any vehicle (cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses...) and can be reversed at any time by requesting its registration with the DGT. While it lasts, it will not be possible to circulate with it under any circumstances.
The provisional cancellation has a maximum duration of one year, although an extension can be requested before the end of the period, without there being a maximum of chained extensions, as detailed on the Traffic website. Once the temporary deregistration period ends, the vehicle will automatically return to the administrative registration status, with all that this implies.
There are several cases in which it is worth requesting the temporary deregistration of a vehicle, especially in three different ones. To find out what is the reason that leads the holder to take this measure, the DGT requires, when completing the application, to check one of these three boxes: Voluntary, Subtraction or End of lease.
The first of the options is the one that offers a wider range of possibilities. When the decision to withdraw the vehicle from circulation is due to personal reasons, it can be justified by any aspect. For example, a delicate economic situation that requires cutting expenses or an injury or illness that makes it impossible to use a private car for a long period of time. Or simply a lifestyle change. Any reason is valid.
Another alternative is subtraction. When the owner suffers the theft of his vehicle, he must notify the State Security Corps and Forces and file a complaint. It is not necessary to carry out the procedure for the withdrawal, since when formalizing the complaint the police are in charge of automatically notifying the DGT of the withdrawal due to theft. In this case, the fee corresponding to the procedure will not have to be paid and it will be indefinite.
Finally, when presenting the documentation required by Traffic, you can select the third box: Sale. When the owner decides to sell his vehicle and hands it over to a dealer for subsequent transmission, he has the option of temporarily deregistering it until the transaction is confirmed.
