Lorraine Williamson
If you use an electric scooter in Spain, you’ve probably heard the same date repeated for months: 2 January 2026. That’s when compulsory insurance was expected to bite for a wide swathe of personal mobility vehicles — and when a new registration requirement was meant to become the gateway to getting insured.
Now the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT) has issued a clear message: the register isn’t legally ready, so the “register-first” obligation will not apply yet — and, for many riders, that also pushes back when insurance can be enforced.
What the DGT has actually said
The new law, Ley 5/2025 (24 July), expands the obligation to insure personal mobility vehicles and instructs the DGT to regulate a prior registration system as a condition for that compulsory insurance from 2 January 2026.
But the DGT says the final legal framework is still moving through government:
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The technical build for the VMP register is finished, but it still needs a Real Decreto to give it proper legal cover.
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The Council of Ministers agreed on 18 November 2025 to fast-track that decree, yet it still won’t be approved in time for 2 January 2026.
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Until the register is “properly regulated and operational”, the prior registration requirement won’t apply.
In other words, you can’t be told to complete a process that doesn’t yet legally exist.
So… does this mean “no insurance” from 2 January?
For many everyday riders, yes — for now.
The DGT is explicit that the insurance obligation tied to vehicles classed as “
That matters because this is the category many people associate with typical urban e-scooters. It also helps explain why some local authorities and media reporting have been warning about January, while the DGT is now drawing a line between what the law intends and what can realistically be enforced until the register is live.
The big exception: heavier, faster VMP still need insurance
The DGT’s clarification comes with a firm reminder that not all VMP are treated the same.
If your personal mobility vehicle is over 25kg and can exceed 14 km/h, the DGT says it must be insured even without prior registration. There is also a defined transition window, and it ends on 26 January 2026.
This is the part many riders may miss: the delay isn’t a blanket pause for every device. If you’re using a bulkier, higher-powered scooter or mobility vehicle, the insurance requirement can still be imposed soon, and fines and enforcement tend to follow once rules are clear.
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Key dates you can actually plan around
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2 January 2026: the date originally linked to compulsory insurance + prior registration — now delayed where registration is required.
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26 January 2026: end of the transition period for insuring certain heavier/faster VMP (over 25kg and over 14 km/h).
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After the Real Decreto enters into force: registration will become mandatory for all VMP via a telematic process on the DGT’s electronic portal.
What registration will look like (once it’s approved)
When the Real Decreto is finally approved and in force, the DGT says all personal mobility vehicles will need to be entered into the Registro de Vehículos through a “simple” online process via the DGT’s Sede Electrónica.
The practical takeaway is that Spain is edging closer to treating e-scooters less like informal gadgets and more like a regulated part of the transport system — something that has been coming for years as cities wrestle with pavement riding, collisions, and the sheer speed at which micro-mobility has spread.
What riders should do now
If you own a standard e-scooter, this is not a free pass to ignore the direction of travel. The rule change is delayed, not dropped.
A sensible approach is to:
Keep your purchase documents and model details in one place, because registration processes often require proof of the device’s identity.
Check your vehicle’s weight and speed specs — the 25kg/14 km/h threshold is the dividing line the DGT is highlighting right now.
Watch for the DGT’s next announcement once the Real Decreto is approved, because that is when the registration clock effectively starts.
What to watch next
The headline date may have slipped, but the direction is unchanged: a national register is coming, and with it a more formal insurance culture for personal mobility vehicles. The next meaningful moment will be the publication and entry into force of the Real Decreto — because that is when riders will finally be told, step-by-step, how to register and what insurers will require.
This article is a journalistic explainer based on an official DGT statement and the underlying law, not legal advice.