VTC Licenses – Permits, Cards, Price And Much More

Rental cars with drivers are becoming more and more popular in Spain. Companies like Uber, My Taxi or Cabify are growing by leaps and bounds and more and more drivers are needed. If you want to be a part of those companies, you will need a VTC license, but you may not know how to get it. You should not worry, here we tell you everything you need to know about how to get a VTC license. And yes, that includes the permits you will need and the approximate price.

You see, in these times, normal taxis are being left behind. People prefer to skip the part about having to raise their hand and wait for a taxi to stop. Now, applications make everything easier and make it possible to call a vehicle with a few taps on the screen.  Obviously, people prefer this to a normal taxi. You can be the driver of one of these vehicles.

The problem is that, for this, you will need a special license; the VTC license. These acronyms refer to passenger cars with drivers, and their purpose is very simple. With them, as its name says, a rental service can be provided to cars with drivers. In a nutshell, that’s what mobile apps do; Rent the client a vehicle with a driver for a certain time.

The Apps for taxi drivers

Contrary to what people think, these licenses did not come with the birth of taxi service apps;  they are quite old. The thing is that they had never been given more importance and they had been set aside for quite some time. Until now!

Although obtaining these licenses is somewhat complicated (just like regular taxi licences), they are worth it. As we told you, more and more people prefer vehicles through apps over traditional taxis. This translates into more customers and more income for you. It is a stable business.

Although the most frequent reason for which VTC licenses are requested is to become a taxi driver for companies like Cabify, it is not the only thing you can do with it. These authorizations are also good for limousine drivers or, for that matter, any vehicle that lends itself to a chauffeur-driven lease . Having a VTC license you can work as a driver for tourists, celebrities, etc. There are a wide variety of opportunities. Firms such as Jojucar or Rent a Car request drivers with this type of license.

If you are interested in knowing how to obtain a VTC license, keep reading. Pay close attention to what we will tell you today, you may be finding your next job.

Instructions

As we said before, however, applications for VTC licenses are not being processed.  We repeat, this is due to the imbalance in relation to VTC licenses and taxi licences.

You should not fear, however, all is not lost. The transmission of these authorizations is perfectly legal. Therefore, it is possible to obtain one without having to request it directly.

This means that VTC licences, like taxi licences, must be purchased from third parties.  Now, despite the fact that legally these licenses would cost around 5,000 euros, it changes on the street. Two big factors have influenced the price of licenses; scarcity and the law of supply and demand.

Both concepts go hand in hand in this case. Thanks to the arrival of Cabify, Uber and these companies in Spain, the number of people who want one of these licenses is greater. However, thanks to the blockade by the City Council, there are not many that circulate on the street. They can be bought, but they really are hard to find. You must bear in mind that VTC licenses are linked to a vehicle.

The first prices of VTC licenses were around 40,000 euros at most. Ha, what memories. Now they can easily reach 150,000 euros, in second-hand pages. This scenario reminds us of what once happened with taxi licences.

What do you need:

• First of all, there are some numbers that you should know. In the case of Madrid, there are laws that stipulate that there must be a rental vehicle for every 30 taxis.  Well, the sudden increase in demand for VTC licenses has caused an imbalance in terms of these numbers. There are more and more rental vehicles for each taxi. For this reason, it has stopped the granting of new VTC licenses.
• According to the Community of Madrid, article 181 paragraph 2 of the ROTT or Regulation of the Land Transport Regulation Law, the leasing of vehicles with a driver cannot be authorized if there is an imbalance between these and the number of public transport for tourists.
• From time to time, however, the Supreme Court grants  concessions for new VTC licences, always for a specified time. This was the case last November 2017 in which eighty VTC licenses were approved that had been denied in 2014. Yes, you read that right: 2014. This means that technically you can still apply for a VTC license through the town hall, but the waiting time is really undefined.
•  In case you think you might get lucky and decide to apply for a VTC license, let us tell you about the requirements. You have to have Spanish nationality, or of any other State of the European Union. If you are a legal person, you must have at least 7 vehicles for the activity. Said vehicles cannot be more than 10 years old. Naturally, you can’t have a criminal record or unpaid fines.
• Other than that, there are the lifetime requirements. Address in the community of Madrid, address and electronic signature, etc. You will have to pay the required fees, and that’s it. Your request will be in process.
•  In case you are a foreigner and you are interested in obtaining a VTC license, do not worry. We also take you into account and we will explain some details that you should keep in mind when requesting it.
• To get a VTC license, you must have all the authorizations required by Immigration in order. It is important that these authorizations are for the professional activity of carrier. As we said, you will not need to have this authorization if you have the nationality of any other State belonging to the European Union. The rest of the process is quite similar to that of a common citizen.

Tips

1. You can find VTC licenses for sale on pages like Mil Anuncios, where you will also find offers for two or three vehicles per license. You must be very careful that the seller is reliable and that he has all the papers in order.
2. In case you want to obtain the license to work at Cabify or Uber, you have another solution. They will advise you on obtaining authorization. More importantly, it is easier to get it through the company.
3. Without anything else to add, we know that after this guide you will only have to wait for your license and get to work. Remember that all work must be filled with effort and love, otherwise it will be meaningless.

We hope that our information and advice have been very useful. You will see that getting the VTC license can be complicated, but not impossible. In addition, once you have obtained your license you will be able to carry out an innovative and great job. We wish you the best of luck and we hope that you will soon have a license in your hands. Until next time!