The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the CNMC regarding the driving school decree

The Third Chamber (Fifth Section) of the Supreme Court issued a judgment on July 20, 2026, partially granting the appeal filed by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) against Royal Decree 1010/2023. The decision declares a specific article of the decree, regarding the validity of driving school authorizations, null and void, and was published in BOE number 224 on September 10, 2026, in section I, pages 120893-120894.

Origin of the Appeal

The CNMC filed appeal number 329/2024 against Royal Decree 1010/2023, of December 5, 2023, as that decree modified two regulations: the Reglamento regulador de las escuelas particulares de conductores (approved by Royal Decree 1295/2003 of October 17, 2003) and the Reglamento General de Conductores (approved by Royal Decree 818/2009 of May 8, 2009). The decree was originally published in the BOE on December 6, 2023.

Nullified Article

The judgment declares article 1.21 of Royal Decree 1010/2023, in the wording given to article 48.ter of the REPC, null and void. Specifically, the following paragraph is declared null:

• “the validity of the authorization shall expire upon the completion of the training at the vocational training center…”

That is, the Court has removed the provision which established that the validity of a driving school’s authorization expired upon the completion of training at the training center.

Consequences of the Decision

The judgment does not impose specific costs. The operative part of the decision has been ordered to be published in the BOE, according to article 72 of the LJCA, and the resolution is not subject to appeal. The judgment was signed by president Carlos Lesmes Serrano, and magistrates Wenceslao Francisco Olea Godoy, José Luis Quesada Varea, María Consuelo Uris Lloret, María Concepción García Vicario, and Francisco Javier Pueyo Calleja.

The decision affects the application of the regulations for the driving school sector by clarifying a condition regarding the duration of authorizations, and is the result of the competition control promoted by the CNMC.

Source: Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado), number 224, September 10, 2026, section I, pp. 120893-120894 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18908).