In Spain, there are currently more than a million vehicles in the name of people who have died. This is the estimate made by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) about a reality that reveals a latent problem in the event of committing an infraction or being involved in an accident due to the administrative and legal obstacles that may arise.
This situation poses a series of significant challenges for traffic authorities and society in general. On the one hand, failure to update vehicle ownership records can make it difficult to apply sanctions to offending drivers, which in turn can contribute to irresponsible behavior on the roads.
On the other hand, in cases of traffic accidents, the lack of clarity in the ownership of a vehicle can complicate the assignment of responsibilities and the insurance claim process. This situation can generate legal conflicts and delays in obtaining compensation for affected parties.
If you have not notified the DGT and the insurance company of the death of the owner of the vehicle and you suffer an accident, it is likely that the insurance company will not be responsible for the expenses incurred, even if the policy is still valid. It all depends on the conditions and coverage with which each insurance is contracted. For example, when the person involved has little experience or is very young, he is not usually accepted as a second driver.
In the case of notifying the insurer of the death of the owner of the vehicle, the company has a period of 15 days to decide if it wants to continue insuring the car under the new conditions. If you accept, the premium price will likely increase, but there is also a chance that you will forgo insuring the new driver.
When committing an infraction, the penalty is notified by mail to the address of the vehicle owner. The fine is sent to the address listed in the DGT Vehicle Registry, but when it is the address of the deceased and no one resides there, it is likely that notifications for non-payment will accumulate without being received. In this way, the final amount will end up being much higher than it was originally.
The DGT explains in its publications that while it is awarded to his heirs, the person in charge of the car must notify the death of the owner within a period of 90 days from his death. This person will appear as provisional custody in the Vehicle Registry and will be subject to all the obligations that correspond to the owner until the vehicle is awarded to his heirs.
Notification of the death of the vehicle owner must be carried out at the nearest Traffic Headquarters. If there is no heir, the person requesting provisional custody of the car must fill out a general form containing his or her details, the vehicle registration number and the date of death of the owner, and pay the corresponding fee.
In addition, you must make the responsible declaration of obligations and responsibilities that entail the change of ownership of the vehicle and provide the new tax address of the car.
Apart from the responsible declaration of change of ownership, the new owner of the vehicle must regularize the new situation. To do this, he will have to pay the Inheritance and Donation tax in his autonomous community and transfer the vehicle at a Traffic Headquarters or Office.
To carry out this last procedure you must first make an appointment, although if you have an electronic DNI or Digital Certificate you can do it directly online.
There is also the possibility of permanently deregistering the car of the deceased owner. To do this, you must carry out a process that is similar to deregistering a private car. In both cases, it is necessary to take the car to an authorized treatment center or scrap yard.
However, the difference lies in the documentation required to complete this process, which includes the vehicle’s driving license and technical data sheet, along with a responsible declaration for the definitive deregistration of the vehicle due to the death of the owner. In addition, you must present copies of the DNI of the deceased owner, the death certificate and the DNI of the heir who will deliver the car.
