Driving without a license already accounts for 53% of traffic convictions.

Amending Article 384 of the Penal Code requires processing in the General Courts an Organic Law reforming the Penal Code, because the current Penal Code is the Organic Law 10/1995 and its subsequent amendments. This is done generally following the ordinary legislative procedure, but with the special requirement of an absolute majority in the Congress in the final vote on the entire text.

1. Type of necessary initiative

The reform of art. 384 PC is always channeled through an organic law (art. 81 CE). This law can take different forms of initiative:

• Organic bill, submitted by the Government to the Congress after approval in the Council of Ministers.
• Organic law proposal, presented by:
  • A parliamentary group or 15 deputies.
  • The Senate.
  • An autonomous legislative assembly.
  • A popular legislative initiative that meets constitutional and legal requirements.

In practice, the most relevant Penal Code reforms have almost always been organic bills from the Government, although nothing prevents a law proposal.

2. Processing in the Congress of Deputies

The Congress is the origin chamber of government bills and, normally, also of law proposals on criminal matters.

• Admission for processing:
  • The Congress Board qualifies the initiative and decides its admission and the form of processing (ordinary, urgency, possibly single reading).
  • If it is a law proposal, a debate on taking it into consideration must be held in the Plenary.
• Overall amendments:
  • In bills, groups may present overall amendments for return or alternative text.
  • They are debated and voted in the Plenary; if a return is approved, the bill falls; if rejected, processing continues.
• Amendments to the articles and Committee:
  • A period opens for partial amendments (including an amendment that changes art. 384 PC itself, if it was not in the initial text).
  • The competent Committee debates the amendments, approves a report and, if applicable, introduces the new wording of art. 384.
• Congress Plenary and final vote:
  • The Plenary debates the report and the live amendments.
  • The entire organic law is voted on finally: an absolute majority of the members of Congress is required, according to art. 81 CE.

3. Processing in the Senate

Once the text is approved in Congress, it is sent to the Senate:

• The Senate Board qualifies it and opens a period for amendments and, if applicable, veto.
• The corresponding Committee prepares a report, which is debated in the Senate Plenary.
• The Senate can:
  • Approve the text without changes: the law is definitively approved.
  • Approve amendments: the text returns to Congress for acceptance or rejection of those amendments.
  • Formulate veto: Congress can lift it by absolute majority in a first vote or simple majority once two months have passed.

In the Senate, no specific organic majority is required: its agreements are generally adopted by simple majority of the senators present, except for special regulatory cases.

4. Definitive approval, sanction, and entry into force

Once the Senate's intervention is resolved:

• The final text is approved by the General Courts.
• It is sent to the King for sanction and promulgation within a maximum period of fifteen days (art. 91 CE).
• It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) as a new Organic Law reforming the Penal Code, which will include the modified wording of art. 384.
• It will come into force on the date established by the law itself; if nothing is said, after 20 days of its publication, according to art. 2.1 of the Civil Code.

5. Alternative channels

Technically, art. 384 PC can be amended:

• In a monographic organic law that only changes that provision.
• Or as an amendment to another organic reform of the Penal Code already in process, always respecting the rules of homogeneity and the amendment regime of the Chambers' Regulations.

In all cases, the key requirement is the same: the amendment must be integrated into an organic law approved with an absolute majority in Congress in the final vote on the whole, after following the ordinary legislative procedure in Congress and Senate.

In the Spanish legal system, the Public Prosecutor's Office does not have administrative sanctioning powers in traffic matters (which correspond, among others, to the Directorate-General for Traffic and other authorities), but plays a central role in the criminal prosecution of crimes against road safety and in the defense of legality in the judicial proceedings arising from them.

1. Basic regulatory framework

The general functions of the Public Prosecutor's Office are regulated in Law 50/1981, of December 30, on the Organic Statute of the Public Prosecutor's Office, amended, among others, by Laws 10/1995, 12/2000, 14/2003, and 24/2007 (text in BOE). Article 1 defines the mission of the Public Prosecutor's Office as to promote the action of justice in defense of legality, citizens' rights, and the public interest, as well as to ensure the independence of the courts and the satisfaction of social interest.

To fulfill this mission, the Statute itself lists, among others, these functions (relevant for road safety crimes):

• Exercise criminal and civil actions arising from crimes, oppose those exercised by others when appropriate, and intervene in the criminal process (art. 3).
• Request from the judicial authority precautionary measures and investigative proceedings and, in certain areas, directly instruct the procedure, being able to order actions to the Judicial Police.
• Ensure the procedural protection of victims and witnesses and experts, promoting the mechanisms provided so that they receive effective help and assistance.
• Exercise other functions attributed by the legal system, which includes acting in the criminal process regulated by the Criminal Procedure Law.

2. Role in the investigation of crimes against road safety

Crimes against road safety (driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, serious speeding, driving without a license, etc.) are processed according to the Criminal Procedure Law (LECrim), approved by Royal Decree of September 14, 1882 (text in BOE) and extensively reformed.

On this basis, the functions of the Public Prosecutor's Office in the investigation phase are:

• Promotion of the criminal investigation: the prosecutor requests the investigating judge to carry out proceedings to clarify the facts (breathalyzer or drug tests, expert reports on accident reconstruction, witness statements, medical reports, etc.).
• Relationship with the Judicial Police: the Public Prosecutor's Office may request the Judicial Police to carry out specific proceedings (taking statements from drivers and witnesses, accident reports, obtaining camera images, etc.).
• Request for precautionary measures: for example, provisional withdrawal of the driving license or personal measures regarding the investigated person when the seriousness of the facts, the risk to road safety, or possible criminal recidivism justify it.

3. Exercise of criminal action and accusation criteria

In the trial phase, the Organic Statute configures the Public Prosecutor's Office as the ordinary holder of criminal action:

• It files the indictment, legally qualifying the facts as one or more crimes against road safety and setting the requested penalty (imprisonment, fine, community service, deprivation of the right to drive, etc.), as well as civil liability towards the victims.
• It may propose or accept plea agreements, within the margins allowed by the LECrim and the Penal Code, when the accused admits the facts and a penalty agreement with legal reduction is reached. Many traffic crime procedures are channeled through fast trials and plea agreements, under the reforms introduced by Law 38/2002 partially reforming the LECrim.
• It defends in oral trial its qualification and the evidence produced, or may modify its accusation (aggravating or mitigating it) if the result of the evidence so requires, always under the principle of legality.

4. Protection of victims and defense of legality

Although crimes against road safety have a marked character as danger crimes regarding the community, in many cases they produce concrete victims (injuries, deaths, significant material damages). Here the Public Prosecutor's Office:

• Ensures the rights of the victims of the criminally relevant accident, promoting their appearance, the carrying out of necessary expertises to quantify damages, and the adoption of protection and information measures.
• Controls that insurance companies and other parties respect the legality regarding civil liability derived from the crime, requesting, if applicable, measures to ensure payment of compensation.
• Exercises a function of defense of the public interest: even if there is no private prosecution, it may maintain the accusation as long as there are indications of a crime, or, on the contrary, request acquittal if it considers that the criminal offense has not been proven.

5. Coordination and specialization

These functions are inserted in the unitary and hierarchical organization provided in Law 50/1981. The State Attorney General's Office may issue internal circulars and instructions to unify criteria of action in road safety matters (for example, alcohol or drug thresholds, accusation guidelines in certain cases, use of fast trials, etc.), which bind prosecutors throughout the territory.

In summary, the Public Prosecutor's Office is the axis of the criminal response to crimes against road safety: it directs and promotes the investigation, files and sustains the accusation, protects victims, and guarantees that the entire criminal process is conducted with full respect for legality and the public interest in traffic safety.

In Spain, when a person exhausts all the points on their driving license, it is declared invalid and the right to drive is lost for a period. To regain it, it is not enough to “recover points,” but a series of administrative and training requirements must be met and, afterwards, pass a test before the DGT.

1. Total loss of points: what it implies

Exhausting the points balance means the loss of validity of the license. The Traffic Headquarters notifies the resolution and, once it is final:

• The affected person is disqualified from driving for a minimum period.
• They must hand over the license at the Provincial or Local Traffic Headquarters.
• Driving during this period is considered a crime against road safety.

The administrative prohibition period to regain the license is generally:

• 6 months for non-professional drivers.
• 3 months for professional drivers (e.g., freight or passenger transport).

If the person loses all points again within a relatively short time, the deprivation period may increase (usually up to 12 months), making recovery harder.

2. General requirements to recover the license

After the prohibition period, recovery involves two main blocks: mandatory training and test at the DGT.

2.1. Take a road awareness and re-education course

It is mandatory to take an intensive road awareness and re-education course at a center authorized by the DGT. In the case of total loss of points:

• The course is of longer duration than partial recovery courses (usually 24 teaching hours spread over several days).
• The content focuses on:
  • Basic traffic rules and risk factors.
  • Speed, alcohol, drugs, distractions, and fatigue.
  • Human, criminal, and administrative consequences of accidents.
  • Reflection on attitudes and behavior at the wheel.

It is essential to pass the course (attendance and performance). The center itself notifies the DGT that the student has successfully completed it.

2.2. Pass a theoretical test at the DGT

Unlike partial recovery courses, if all points have been lost, it is mandatory to pass a specific theoretical test at the Traffic Headquarters:

• It is a multiple-choice exam on road safety and regulations.
• The questions focus on the content of the course taken.
• If failed, the person must retake it (paying the corresponding fee).

Only after passing the course and this test does the DGT allow the license to be recovered.

3. Other administrative and medical requirements

Besides training and the exam, the person must meet a series of formal requirements:

• Have fully completed the period of loss of validity (the 3 or 6 months, or the longer period that applies).
• Not be simultaneously serving a judicially imposed driving disqualification. In that case, recovery depends on the judicial body's decision.
• Pass a psychophysical examination at an authorized Driver Recognition Center, certifying that the person meets the necessary physical and psychological aptitudes.
• Pay the administrative fees to Traffic both for the knowledge test and for issuing the new license.

4. Points with which the license is recovered

Once all requirements are met, the DGT issues the license again, but it is not recovered with the previous balance, but with a new reduced initial balance:

• The license is reobtained with 8 points.
• From there, if no infractions that deduct points are committed, it is possible to reach the maximum again (12 or 15, depending on the sanction-free seniority).

5. Particularities in case of serious crimes or sanctions

If the loss of validity is linked to crimes against road safety (e.g., driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs with criminal conviction) or very serious administrative sanctions, the following may be required:

• Longer disqualification periods, set by sentence.
• Specific medical controls or more frequent renewals.
• Prior compliance with accessory penalties or additional training programs.

In these cases, license recovery combines the administrative requirements of Traffic with the conditions set by the judge.

In summary, to recover the license after losing all points in Spain, it is necessary to respect the prohibition period, take and pass a road awareness and re-education course, pass a theoretical exam at the DGT, pass the medical examination, and pay the fees, thus recovering the license with a new initial balance of 8 points.