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I plan to go to Spain for 10 days and drive around. I read on http://www.speedingeurope.com/spain/ (mirror) that speed tickets are half cheaper if one has a Número de Identidad de Extranjero (mirror):

If you have a spanish identity card (for foreigners this is NIE – Número de Identidad de Extranjero) you are wise to pay all fines within 20 days, you will then be given a discount of 50% – except for very serious offences. This means that the real fines are half of those shown below. If you do not have a spanish identity , all fines are to be paid on-the-spot. If you do not pay, the police may take your vehicle as security.

How can I get an NIE number for a 10-day trip in Spain, how does it take to get the number, and how much does it cost?

(I don't have any residence in Spain: I live in France and the USA, and I have the French citizenship)

Franck Dernoncourt
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is asking for assistance in violating the law (speeding), which is in violation of Stack Exchange terms and conditions. – gerrit Mar 17 '17 at 10:38
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    @gerrit OP wants to follow the law, not violate it – JonathanReez Mar 17 '17 at 11:17
  • @JonathanReez If he wants to follow the law, why would he care about speeding tickets? – gerrit Mar 17 '17 at 11:49
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    @gerrit you might get a speed ticket accidentally. In that case it might be useful to avoid paying 100% of the cost. If you ask me it's a blatant rip-off of tourists. – JonathanReez Mar 17 '17 at 11:51
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    And in any case minor speed tickets are civil violations, not criminal. – JonathanReez Mar 17 '17 at 11:51
  • @JonathanReez I didn't use the word criminal; speeding is in violation of traffic laws/regulations. I don't know how common it is to be falsely accused of speeding (I've never had a speeding ticket). But in that case any question involving violations of the law could be phrased as "just in case I get falsely accused of X, how do I…" (this question is not phrased as such, though). – gerrit Mar 17 '17 at 11:54
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    @gerrit e.g. see http://www.mit.edu/~jfc/NMA/limits.html in the USA "Spring Street, Lexington is illegally posted 30. The authorized limit is 35"; "Speed limits on major highways are set by politicians. Compliance is around 5% in 55 MPH zones (which were mostly posted 60 until 1974) and up to 25% in 65 MPH zones. Based on these measurements, speed limits should be increased from 55 and 65 to 70, 75, and 80.". I don't know about Spain, but I prefer to be careful since in many countries speed tickets are often used as a tax and not a safety measure. – Franck Dernoncourt Mar 17 '17 at 13:13
  • @gerrit other case: hard to read speed limit signs Am I supposed to respect traffic signs that are upside down (in the USA)? ; Am I supposed to pay for parking when the parking meter is buried under the snow (USA)? – Franck Dernoncourt Mar 17 '17 at 13:21
  • @FranckDernoncourt For the record, that first article in your comment is quackery. It's clearly labeled as provided by a pro-car group and attempts to apply the federal highway standard to state- and locally-owned roads where it does not apply, then claims that the posted speed limits on several major roads are "illegal" under that standard. – A. R. Dec 19 '22 at 20:40

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You cannot get an NIE unless you are a resident of Spain, so forget about it for your 10 day trip. As part of the application process, you will have to show a certificado de empadronamiento, which is a document from your local Spanish town hall showing that you actually live there.

Getting an NIE isn't a particularly easy or quick process, and requires documentation, visits to multiple municipal offices, and a not insignificant amount of time waiting in line. Even if you could get one, it almost certianly wouldn't be worth it to potentially save some money on a speeding ticket.

Nuclear Hoagie
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  • If anyone from the future is reading this answer, bear in mind that the process for getting a NIE can and does change! Always check up-to-date information from the official http://gobierno.es source. The only part that never changes is that it "isn't a particularly easy or quick process" :-D – Aaron F Dec 18 '19 at 13:34