Spain

Using or carrying any illegal drug in public in Spain is a serious offence under the national Citizen Security Law, even a small amount that is only for your own use. It applies in streets and other public places, in bars and other establishments open to the public, and on public transport, and dropping used drug paraphernalia in those places is covered too. Growing drug plants where the public can see them, and driving people somewhere so they can get drugs, are also serious offences. This law deals with personal possession and use as an administrative matter with heavy fines; possession intended for trafficking falls under the Criminal Code instead.

Consuming or possessing illegal drugs in public places, establishments or public transport, even when not intended for trafficking, is a serious infraction (Ley Orgánica 4/2015, art. 36.16), fined 601 to 30,000 euros; the lowest band is 601 to 10,400 euros (art. 39.1). The drugs and the items used can be confiscated (art. 39.2.b). Visible cultivation (art. 36.18) and transporting people to obtain drugs (art. 36.17) are serious infractions with the same fine range when they are not crimes.

Verified Sep 22, 2026

Spain has no legal cannabis shops and a tourist cannot lawfully buy cannabis anywhere in the country. Mere possession is not a crime unless it is intended for trafficking — but consuming or carrying cannabis in a street, public place, public establishment or on public transport is a serious administrative offence fined between 601 and 30,000 euros, a range the law itself splits into bands starting at 601 to 10,400 euros. Driving someone to get cannabis is an offence in its own right: carrying people in any kind of vehicle in order to give them access to drugs is fined in that same band, even where it falls short of a crime. The "cannabis clubs" tourists are offered in Barcelona have no legal protection, and the owner, administrator or manager of any public premises is fined in the same band for tolerating drug use or dealing on the premises, or for failing to take care to prevent it.

Public consumption or possession: administrative fine of 601 to 30,000 euros, minimum grade 601 to 10,400 euros (Ley Orgánica 4/2015, arts. 36.16 and 39.1). Transporting people in any vehicle to facilitate their access to drugs, and an owner's, administrator's or manager's tolerance of illegal drug use or trafficking on public premises, are graded the same way (arts. 36.17 and 36.19). A fine may be accompanied by confiscation of the goods, means or instruments used to prepare or commit the infraction (art. 39.2.b), though the authority may decline or limit confiscation where the item is of lawful commerce and its value is out of proportion to the offence. Trafficking or supply of cannabis: 1 to 3 years imprisonment plus a fine of the value of the drug up to double (Código Penal art. 368).

Verified Sep 10, 2026

Spain does not permit the international shipment of medications; carry prescription medicine in its original packaging with your doctor's prescription, and check with the Spanish embassy that your medication is legal in Spain.

Spanish customs will reject and return mailed medication; the US Embassy cannot retrieve seized medication.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Spain bans outright, even just owning one: defence sprays such as pepper spray (unless the model has been approved by the Ministry of Health and is bought from a gun shop by an adult showing ID), stun guns and other electric weapons, rubber or extendable batons, tonfas, knuckle-dusters, nunchaku, switchblades, sword-canes and daggers (double-edged, pointed blades under 11 cm). Even a lawful knife or other bladed weapon may not be carried, shown or used outside your home, your workplace or a sporting activity, and it is up to the police to judge whether you really needed to carry it; carrying weapons into bars, clubs and other places of entertainment or gatherings is treated as unlawful as a general rule. Carrying a banned weapon, or carrying any weapon outside the places authorised for its use, is a serious administrative offence fined 601 to 30,000 euros, and the police may take the item.

Carrying, displaying or using a prohibited weapon, or carrying, displaying or using any weapon negligently, recklessly, intimidatingly or outside the places authorised for its use (even with a licence), where it is not a crime: serious infringement fined 601 to 30,000 euros, minimum grade 601 to 10,400 euros (Ley Orgánica 4/2015, arts. 36.10 and 39.1). Police may check people, belongings and vehicles for weapons in public places and temporarily take any weapon or instrument of aggression (art. 18). The banned items are listed in the Reglamento de Armas (Real Decreto 137/1993), arts. 4.1 and 5.1; the rule against carrying bladed weapons and short firearms outside home, work or sport is art. 146.

Verified Sep 21, 2026

Bringing or taking EUR 10,000 (about $10,600) or more in cash or other payment methods into or out of Spain requires a tax declaration with Spanish Customs.

Undeclared cash may be detained and penalized.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

You clear Spanish customs even on a trip that can feel domestic: the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla are not part of the EU customs territory, so arriving in mainland Spain from them puts you under the non-EU regime. At Spanish ports and airports you must take the RED channel if you carry goods for commercial use, goods for personal use above the permitted amounts or values, goods subject to any restriction or control, or means of payment worth EUR 10,000 or more; otherwise the GREEN channel. Souvenirs and gifts are allowance-free up to EUR 430 if you travel by sea or air and EUR 300 by other means, but only EUR 150 for travellers under 15, and travellers under 17 get no tobacco or alcohol allowance at all. Staff of international transport companies get one tenth of the normal amounts. Bringing in meat and meat products, milk and dairy products is prohibited, and for medicines you should carry a copy of a prescription or a medical report.

Verified Oct 1, 2026

Most cities in Spain ban drinking alcohol in the street, except at registered cafes and bars.

On-the-spot fines for public street drinking (botellón).

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Vaping is legal in Spain, but national law bans it in specific places: inside public-administration buildings; in hospitals and health centres, including their outdoor grounds; in schools and training centres (outdoor areas of universities and adult-education centres excepted, but not the building entrances or the pavements around them); on urban and intercity public transport, trains and boats; on flights of Spanish airlines, including codeshares with foreign airlines; and inside fenced children's playgrounds. Premises where vaping is banned must post a sign at the entrance - obey it.

Vaping where it is banned is a minor infraction under Ley 28/2005: a fine of up to EUR 30 when it is an isolated act, otherwise EUR 30 to EUR 600 (art. 20.1, applied to nicotine-releasing devices by additional provision 12, section Three).

Verified Sep 20, 2026

Flying into Spain from outside the EU, you can bring 200 cigarettes free of customs duty and tax - or 100 cigarillos (max 3 g each), 50 cigars, or 250 g of smoking tobacco. You can mix categories as long as the combined total stays within 100% of one allowance, and you must be 17 or over. Reduced figures on the same official page (80 cigarettes; one-tenth for crew) apply only to Gibraltar-border-zone residents and workers and to transport staff - not to ordinary travellers.

No fine is stated. Above the allowance the goods become liable to customs duty, VAT and excise - a TAX consequence, not a penalty. The Agencia Tributaria states the traveller may choose to clear the goods for consumption (pay), import them temporarily (only if established outside the EU customs territory), or place them in the customs deferred-goods warehouse or re-export them, documented on a "TALON PARA DECLARACION VERBAL" form.

Verified Aug 29, 2026

Spain's blood-alcohol limit is 0.5 g/L (0.05%) for standard drivers and 0.3 g/L for novice (first 2 years) and professional drivers.

Serious-infraction fines plus license points; higher rates bring larger fines.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

You must obtain an International Driving Permit before arriving in Spain and to rent a car; it is valid for only 1 year.

Police may impound your rental car and issue an on-the-spot fine if you lack an IDP.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

It is illegal to use a mobile phone without a hands-free device while driving in Spain.

EUR 300 fine and risk of losing your license.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Taking a photograph of Spanish police in a public place is not itself an offence — the offence is what you do with the image. Article 36.23 of Ley Orgánica 4/2015 makes it a serious (grave) administrative infraction to make unauthorised use of images or personal or professional data of authorities or members of the security forces where that use may endanger the personal or family safety of the officers, endanger protected installations, or put the success of an operation at risk, expressly subject to respect for the fundamental right to information. This is an administrative fine, not a crime, and the qualifying words matter: an ordinary photo published without any of those risks is not caught.

Serious (grave) infractions under Ley Orgánica 4/2015 are fined 601 to 30,000 euros under art. 39 (minimum grade 601–10,400 €, medium grade 10,401–20,200 €, maximum grade 20,201–30,000 €). Consolidated text last updated 23 February 2021.

Verified Sep 23, 2026

Buying a prepaid SIM in Spain is not anonymous - by law the seller must record your name, nationality and ID document number before handing it over, so bring your passport. The duty sits on the mobile operator, so expect to be refused the sale if you have no document.

No fine falls on you as the buyer - the sanctions land on the mobile operator. Failing to keep the register at all is an "infraccion muy grave"; keeping it repeatedly or systematically incomplete is "grave"; keeping it incomplete is "leve" (DA unica.5). The practical consequence for a traveler is refusal of sale, and cards that could not be registered must be cancelled or deactivated (DA unica.8). No euro figure is stated: DA unica.6 still routes the sanctioning regime to Ley 32/2003, which is itself repealed, so the current ceiling is not readable off this page and is not asserted here.

Verified Aug 30, 2026

Leave signal jammers at home. Spain bans even POSSESSING any device built to jam phone, Wi-Fi, GPS or other telecom signals — importing it, carrying it, installing it or using it is a "very serious" infringement carrying a fine of up to EUR 20 million and seizure of the equipment. The only exemptions are institutional (public security, national defence, national security, air and maritime navigation safety, prisons). There is no personal-use exemption.

Classified a very serious infringement (art. 106.9). Fine of up to EUR 20,000,000 (art. 109.1.a). Sealing or seizure of the equipment is available as an ACCESSORY sanction (art. 109.2.c) rather than automatically, and equipment may be withdrawn from the market (art. 109.3). The law states no minimum fine and no figure specific to individuals.

Verified Sep 1, 2026

There are no legal restrictions on same-sex sexual relations or the organization of gay or lesbian events in Spain.

Verified Jul 5, 2026

Spain's national Citizen Security Law fines a range of public behaviour that is not a crime. Serious infractions include refusing to identify yourself when police ask, or giving them false details, and disobeying or resisting police. Minor infractions include drinking alcohol in streets, public places, establishments or public transport when it seriously disturbs public peace, obscene exposure in public, disrespecting police officers doing their job, damaging or defacing public property or private property on the street, climbing buildings or monuments without permission where it puts people or property at real risk, and unauthorised street selling. This is the national law; towns and regions can have additional local rules.

Serious infractions (Ley Orgánica 4/2015, art. 36, including refusing to identify yourself or giving false details, art. 36.6): fine of 601 to 30,000 euros, lowest band 601 to 10,400 euros. Minor infractions (art. 37, including drinking in public when it seriously disturbs public peace, art. 37.17; obscene exposure, art. 37.5; disrespecting police, art. 37.4; damage to public property, art. 37.13; unauthorised street selling, art. 37.7): fine of 100 to 600 euros (art. 39.1). Items used to commit the infraction can be confiscated (art. 39.2.b).

Verified Sep 22, 2026