Do you need a child seat in a Spanish VTC? What the traffic regulations require and how to request one when booking
Yes. Article 117 of Spain's General Traffic Regulations requires children whose height is 135 centimetres or less to travel in an approved child restraint system matched to their height and weight, in the rear seats. The only exemption the regulation provides is for taxis in urban traffic; a VTC is not a taxi and, besides, a transfer to an airport, to a station or from one municipality to another is interurban, so the seat is always fitted. When booking you give each child's age, height and weight, the car leaves with the seat already fitted and the fixed price includes it; the exact figure for each journey appears before you confirm the booking.
Written by Ridelta - Taxi y VTC · published on 12 September 2026 · reviewed on 27 October 2026
What do the General Traffic Regulations say about children in the car?
The rule is Royal Decree 1428/2003, which approves the General Traffic Regulations, and the article that matters is 117. It states that minors whose height is 135 centimetres or less must use an approved child restraint system matched to their height and weight, and that they must occupy the rear seats. They may only sit in front, always with their restraint, when the vehicle has no rear seats, when all the rear seats are already taken by other children in seats, or when it is not possible to fit all the necessary systems there. If the seat faces rearwards in the front seat, the front airbag must be switched off. The rule is national and applies in the same way on any road in Spain.
The legal criterion is height, not age, because what the seat does is place the three-point belt where the body can bear it: the diagonal strap across the shoulder rather than the neck, the lap strap across the hips rather than the abdomen. A child below that height with the car's belt alone has the strap on the neck and, in hard braking, the belt itself does the damage. That is why the Directorate-General for Traffic recommends keeping the booster beyond the legal minimum, until the belt sits correctly without it, and why in this guide height takes precedence over the "he is big now" so often heard at the car door.
Why does the taxi have an urban exemption and the VTC not?
The same article 117 provides a very specific exemption: in taxis, when operating in urban traffic or in the urban areas of large cities, children below the legal height may travel without a restraint system provided they occupy a rear seat. The reason is practical, because a rank taxi does not know who is about to get in, and the scope is narrow: taxis only, and only inside the city. As soon as the taxi heads out onto the open road, from a city to a neighbouring village or from a hospital to a municipality with no rank, the exemption vanishes and the seat is compulsory again, just as in any other car.
A VTC is not a taxi and the exemption is not written for it. And even if it were, it would be no use for almost any of the transfers booked on this platform, which are interurban: to an airport, to a station in another city, to a referral hospital, from one municipality to another. That is why this guide's answer has no shades of grey: in a VTC the seat goes in every case. The advantage over the taxi is that the VTC knows in advance who is getting in, because the service is contracted before it starts, and that allows the right seat to be fitted beforehand instead of sorting it out at the door. The guide on the differences between VTC and taxi explains the rest of what changes between the two for the passenger.
Which seat does each child need under i-Size (R129) and R44?
Child seats are approved under two United Nations regulations that coexist in Spanish cars. The newer one is R129, known as i-Size, which classifies seats by the child's height, requires them to travel rearward-facing until at least fifteen months of age and subjects them to side-impact testing. The older one is R44, which classifies by weight in groups 0 to III; no new seats are approved under it any more and its sale has been phased out in the European Union, but those already in use remain legal. What is not legal is a seat with no approval label from either, however well it seems to hold the child.
In practice, a baby travels in a rearward-facing infant carrier; past the minimum R129 sets, in a seat of the next band, which can keep facing rearwards if the seat allows it; and a child who already sits upright and outgrows that seat moves to a high-backed booster, which guides the car's belt until the legal height. That is why when booking you are asked for age, height and weight, not just how many children: a booster is no use for a two-year-old, and an infant carrier is no use for a seven-year-old. The more exact the information, the easier it is for the fitted seat to be the one that child needs rather than an approximation.
How do you request the seat when booking, how many fit, and can I bring my own?
When booking you state how many children are travelling and, for each one, their age, height and weight. With that the vehicle leaves with the seats already fitted and the fixed price includes them, as many as needed; there is no per-child supplement. If you would rather use your own, say so too: on long trips with a baby it is often the most comfortable option, because the child travels in the seat they are used to, and the driver leaves room and does not fit one. On a same-day return transfer, yours can stay in the boot while you are out or remain fitted if the car is not going out on another job. The knowledge-centre piece on the details a booking asks for explains why each one is requested.
How many fit depends on the car and the seat model. In a saloon, two restraint systems fit comfortably on the rear bench; three are tight and often do not go in, because i-Size seats are wide and Isofix anchors are usually only in the two outer positions. For three small children, or for two with airline luggage, the sensible option is a people carrier, and you need to say so when booking so that the right vehicle is assigned. Remember the rule in article 117: in front only when all the rear seats are taken by other children in seats, and with the airbag switched off if the seat faces rearwards. A car with one spare seat is not the same as a car with room for one more child seat.
What should you bear in mind on a long trip with children and on an arrivals pickup?
An interurban transfer with a small child, from home to an airport or to a station in another city, goes well if the child is in their seat with something to do. The estimated road time is published on each route page alongside the price, and the pickup time is set from that figure and the margin your airline or your train requires, not the other way round. If the pickup is before dawn for an early flight, many parents prefer to carry the child in asleep and in pyjamas: the reclining seat of the smaller band allows it, which is why it pays to give the real height when booking and not the one from a year ago. The longer the trip, the more it matters that the seat is the right one rather than one that is too big or too small.
On the way back from a flight, the driver follows the flight by its number and waits in the arrivals hall with the seat already fitted in the car, so there is no need to haul your own through the terminal or sort anything out on the pavement with a tired child. At a station, they wait for the arrival time of the train you gave when booking. If you have travelled with your own seat, it goes in the boot and the driver does not fit one; if not, the seat fitted is the one matching the details you gave. On a night return the children usually fall asleep before the car leaves the car park, and the right seat is the difference between a comfortable sleep and a head lolling over a badly placed belt. The knowledge-centre piece on pickups at airports and stations explains how a transfer that waits works.
Frequently asked questions
Do you charge for the child seat?
No. Approved child seats are included in the fixed price of the service, as many as needed. All we ask is that you give each child's age, height and weight when booking so the car leaves with the right seat already fitted.
What if the child is taller than 135 centimetres?
Above that height article 117 allows the car's own belt in a rear seat. If they are close to the limit and the belt sits on their neck, the DGT recommends staying with a booster, and we bring one anyway: ask for it when booking and it costs nothing.
Can a child sit in the front seat?
Only in the cases article 117 lists: when the car has no rear seats, when all the rear seats are already taken by other children in seats, or when all the necessary systems cannot be fitted there, and always in their own seat. If the seat faces rearwards, the passenger airbag must be switched off. With three children the normal arrangement is a people carrier with everyone in the back.
Can I bring my own child seat?
Yes, and with a baby on a long trip it is often the most comfortable option. Say so when booking so the driver leaves room and does not fit one. It must be approved, with its R129 or R44 label, and it must be able to anchor to the car with Isofix or the belt as its manual indicates.
How many children in seats fit in one car?
In a saloon, two comfortably; three rarely, because current seats are wide and Isofix anchors are usually only in the outer positions. For three children, or two with airline luggage, ask for a people carrier when booking: the fixed price of the assigned vehicle appears before you confirm the booking.
Sources
- BOE · Real Decreto 1428/2003, Reglamento General de Circulación, artículo 117 (texto consolidado) (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- DGT · sistemas de retención infantil: obligaciones y recomendaciones (consulted on 27 October 2026)
- UNECE · Reglamentos n.º 129 (i-Size) y n.º 44 de homologación de sistemas de retención infantil (consulted on 27 October 2026)
How we write, where the figures come from and how we correct an error: editorial policy.
Practical information, not legal advice. The specific obligations are set out in article 117 of Spain's General Traffic Regulations and may change; the taxi's urban-traffic exemption is the one that article describes and does not extend to private hire. The figure for each journey is the one the platform shows before you confirm the booking.