Can I apply for the 500 euros today?

No. Only the rules have been published. Under base 9.2 a call must first appear in the BDNS with an extract in the BOP. On 24 September 2026 nothing had been entered.

How long will I then have?

20 calendar days from the day after the extract appears in the BOP (base 5). Applications go to the Registro General, Calle San Agustín 38, or through the sede electrónica.

Do driving lessons and the psicotécnico count?

Lessons yes: base 3.c names theoretical and practical tuition, alongside enrolment, examination fees and teaching material. The medical and psychological certificate is not in the list.

Does this apply only to the car licence?

No. The rules refer to all categories set by the Dirección General de Tráfico, so motorcycle, lorry and bus categories too.

What if there are more applications than money?

Then the scoring under base 7 applies and, under base 8, a proportional reduction. A tie is broken by filing date.

TENERIFE · YOUTH

500 euros towards a driving licence in La Laguna — but you cannot apply yet

San Cristóbal de La Laguna intends to reimburse young people up to 500 euros of the cost of a driving licence. The official gazette of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife published the rules in final form on 23 September 2026 (BOP no. 114, anuncio 4061, pages 26934 to 26943). Anyone walking into the town hall now will still be turned away without a form: under base 9.2 the procedure only begins with a separate call, which must appear in the national grants database BDNS with an extract in the gazette. Only the day after that extract does the clock start — and on 24 September 2026 neither register contained anything of the kind.

24 September 2026 · By Julia Roca Bethencourt · 5 min. · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief

A street in the old town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna (illustrative)

Photo: Almedra, CC BY-SA 3.0 es (illustrative image).

The key points and where they come from

BOP Santa Cruz de Tenerife no. 114 of 23 September 2026, anuncio 4061, registry number 1925450, pages 26934–26943: final approval of the rules, agreed by the full council (Pleno) on 9 July 2026.
Base 8: a maximum of 500.00 euros per applicant, measured against the receipts filed.
Bases 9.2 and 5: the procedure opens only with a call published in the BDNS with an extract in the BOP; the window is then 20 calendar days.
La Laguna town hall statement of 31 July 2026: a budget line of 75,000 euros, enough on paper for up to 150 grants.
Our own check on 24 September 2026: no La Laguna call in the BDNS; the most recent gazette is the 23 September issue.

What was published is the rulebook, not the call

The gazette carries the bases reguladoras: 13 bases and two annexes. Base 9.2 is unambiguous: the procedure begins "de oficio mediante convocatoria", published in the BDNS and as an extract in the BOP. Until then there is no application window; after it the deadline runs for 20 calendar days, weekends and public holidays included. We searched the BDNS on 24 September 2026 for the term conducir: since July 2026 it lists Mislata, Benidorm, Lalín, Bermeo and Breña Baja on La Palma, among others — but not La Laguna.

Who qualifies — and which papers count

Base 3 requires: registered on the padrón in La Laguna for at least six months before the call is published; aged 18 to 30, counted at the close of the application window; expenses incurred between 1 January 2026 and the cut-off set in the call; holder of the account given, and registered with the town hall for third-party payments ("alta a terceros"); no outstanding tax or Social Security debts. The sixth condition is easy to miss: enrolled at the moment of applying at a driving school inside the municipality. Base 6 lists six documents: Annex I, a copy of the DNI, proof of enrolment at that driving school, the bank receipt for the sums paid (a stamped invoice if paid in cash), evidence for the scoring criteria, and Annex II. Ten working days are allowed to make good anything missing.

What is covered and what is not

Base 3.c sets out the eligible costs exhaustively: enrolment fee, examination fees, teaching material and theoretical and practical tuition. Driving lessons are therefore included. The state fee falls under examination fees; the Interior Ministry lists tasa 2.1 at 94.05 euros. The medical and psychological certificate, the psicotécnico, is not named — and there is no catch-all clause for other costs. All licence categories set by the DGT are covered, not only the car licence. The aid can be combined with other grants as long as the total does not exceed the actual cost (base 4).

Points, not first come first served

Awards are competitive. Base 7 lists the points: large family, general category 2, special category 5; single-parent family 2; young person living independently 5; registered as a jobseeker with the Servicio Canario de Empleo 5; enrolled in the Youth Guarantee 5; recognised disability of 33 per cent or more 5. Only a tie is broken by filing date. The Junta de Gobierno Local decides within six months; if the deadline passes, applications count as refused.

Why the scheme exists — and what a licence costs

La Laguna had 161,108 inhabitants on 1 January 2025 according to the official padrón figures of the INE, making it the second-largest municipality in the Canaries. Base 1 justifies the scheme by employability: without a licence, it argues, entry to the labour market often fails at the application stage. In the town hall statement of 31 July 2026, Javier Báez, president of the Federación de Autoescuelas de Canarias, is quoted as saying the scheme "responde a una necesidad real". What a licence actually costs in the Canaries cannot be stated honestly: no Canary-wide survey by a driving-school association or a consumer group could be found. The last broad survey by the consumer group OCU dates from June 2015, covered 321 driving schools in 25 cities and produced figures between 558 and 1,575 euros depending on the city — not reliable today. A figure of 1,332 euros per Canary candidate that circulates online could not be checked, because its only source is offline. That leaves only the state fee of 94.05 euros as solid ground.

How to be ready when the window opens: the deadline is only 20 calendar days, and three steps routinely take longer than that. Check your padrón certificate — the six months are counted back from the day the call is published, not from the day you apply. Register now through the town hall's sede electrónica for third-party payments and obtain the certificates showing you are up to date with tax and Social Security. Keep every receipt dated from 1 January 2026 onwards, and gather whatever earns points: large-family or single-parent papers, jobseeker certificate, Youth Guarantee certificate, disability certificate.

There is nothing to apply for yet: filing a form today means entering a procedure that has not formally been opened. Nor do the rules name a total pot — base 2 refers only to budget line 152/152/23160/48000. The 75,000 euros come from the town hall statement of 31 July 2026, not from the gazette. And even applicants who meet every condition are not guaranteed 500 euros: under base 8 the assessment committee may scale the amounts down proportionally if demand is high.

FAQ

Can I apply for the 500 euros today?: No. Only the rules have been published. Under base 9.2 a call must first appear in the BDNS with an extract in the BOP. On 24 September 2026 nothing had been entered.
How long will I then have?: 20 calendar days from the day after the extract appears in the BOP (base 5). Applications go to the Registro General, Calle San Agustín 38, or through the sede electrónica.
Do driving lessons and the psicotécnico count?: Lessons yes: base 3.c names theoretical and practical tuition, alongside enrolment, examination fees and teaching material. The medical and psychological certificate is not in the list.
Does this apply only to the car licence?: No. The rules refer to all categories set by the Dirección General de Tráfico, so motorcycle, lorry and bus categories too.
What if there are more applications than money?: Then the scoring under base 7 applies and, under base 8, a proportional reduction. A tie is broken by filing date.

Read on

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