Having a foreign driving licence registered, exchanged or converted
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Under certain circumstances, the National Society of Automotive Traffic (Société nationale de circulation automobile - SNCA) may require foreign driving licences to be exchanged, registered or converted.
Registration and exchange are the preserve of drivers who obtained their driving licence in a Member State of the European Economic Area (EEA).
Exchange is only mandatory in the event of an offence resulting in the restriction, suspension or cancellation of the licence or the loss of points.
The objective of the registration is to speed up the issue of a duplicate copy: in the event of loss or theft of a foreign driving licence. The SNCA is responsible for producing a duplicate licence in the event of the loss or theft of a driving licence, provided that it has already been informed of the existence and details of the foreign driving licence. Registering a foreign driving licence greatly simplifies the administrative procedures. In the absence of registration, a certificate of authenticity drawn up by the foreign authorities and containing the various details of the foreign driving licence (categories, date obtained and date of validity) must be submitted. Registration speeds up this procedure for interested parties wishing to obtain a document proving their right to drive as soon as possible.
Conversion is for drivers who obtained their driving licence in a non-EEA Member State. These licences must be converted into Luxembourg driving licences within one year of taking up normal residence in Luxembourg.
Who is concerned?
This applies to holders of foreign driving licences who have established normal residence in Luxembourg.
Costs
The exchange fee and the conversion fee amount to EUR 30.
The registration of a foreign driving licence is free of charge.
How to proceed
Holders of EEA licences
Driving licences issued by other EEA Member States are recognised in Luxembourg when the holder moves there (principle of mutual recognition between Member States). Holders can, at any time, exchange such a licence for a Luxembourg driving licence or have it registered.
Registration and exchange are optional except for under certain circumstances, where exchange is mandatory.
Registration
To register their foreign driving licence, holders send the form to the SNCA Driving Licence Office (Service des permis de conduire) by post, along with the following documents:
- a legible photocopy of both sides of the foreign driving licence;
- a legible photocopy of a valid identity document (ID card, passport, travel document).
The form and the supporting documents can also be submitted in person at the 'Guichet.lu - Reception Desk', 11, rue Notre-Dame (opposite the Knuedler underground parking), in Luxembourg city.
Depending on the applicant's situation, additional documents may be required.
Exchange
To exchange their foreign driving licence for a Luxembourg one, holders send the form (see 'Online services and forms') to the SNCA Driving Licence Office by post, accompanied by the following documents:
- a recent ID photo measuring 45 x 35 mm (please note that the photo can be taken at the SNCA sites of Sandweiler or Fridhaff, or at the 'Guichet.lu – reception desk');
- a EUR 30 tax stamp (timbre de chancellerie) to be obtained from the SNCA or from the Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority (Administration de l'enregistrement, des domaines et de la TVA - AED), or to be paid by card at the 'Guichet.lu - Reception Desk', 11, rue Notre-Dame in Luxembourg city;
- a legible photocopy of both sides of the foreign driving licence;
- a legible photocopy of a valid identity document (ID card, passport, travel document);
- bulletin n°4 from the Luxembourg criminal records (no more than 3 months old).
The exchange also involves the obligation to submit the foreign driving licence to the SNCA Driving Licence Office. It will then be returned to the authorities that issued it.
The form and the supporting documents can also be submitted in person at the 'Guichet.lu - Reception Desk', 11, rue Notre-Dame (opposite the Knuedler underground parking), in Luxembourg city.
Depending on the applicant's situation, additional documents may be required.
Holders of EEA driving licences who have their permanent place of residence in Luxembourg must exchange their licence for a Luxembourg driving licence in the following cases:
- right to drive extended to other categories;
- right to drive restricted as a result of a court or administrative order which involves endorsements being placed on the driving licence;
- driving licence restricted following a court-ordered driving ban or revocation of the right to drive by administrative decision.
Please note that applications may be made immediately upon arrival in Luxembourg. Licences can be exchanged, at the earliest, 185 days after moving to Luxembourg.
Non-EEA licence holders
For holders of licences issued in third countries outside the EEA, the conversion procedure is mandatory.
After having established their normal residence in Luxembourg, these drivers have a maximum of one year in which to convert their foreign driving licence.
Please note that applications may be made immediately upon arrival in Luxembourg. Licences can be converted, at the earliest, 185 days after moving to Luxembourg.
During that year, holders of foreign licences can, however, drive in Luxembourg on their foreign licence.
Holders of non-EEA licences are strongly advised to have their licences converted when they are written in languages that are little known, or not at all known, in Luxembourg.
Licences can only be converted if they were issued when their holders had been permanent residents or had held student status, for at least 6 months, in the issuing country. Moreover, applicants must meet the Luxembourg legal age requirement.
Should holders fail to have their driving licences converted within this one-year period, they will have to pass a driving test (theory and practical test) before receiving a new licence. Moreover, foreign licences not converted within a period of one year are no longer valid in Luxembourg.
To convert their foreign driving licences, holders must send the form to the SNCA Driving Licence Office by post, accompanied by the following documents:
- a recent ID photo measuring 45 x 35 mm (please note that the photo can be taken at the SNCA sites of Sandweiler or Fridhaff, or at the 'Guichet.lu – reception desk');
- a medical certificate (no more than 3 months old), compiled in the required format by an authorised general practitioner and/or specialist in internal medicine in Luxembourg;
- a criminal record extract (no more than 3 months old) from the country of origin covering the last 5 years;
- a EUR 30 tax stamp to be obtained from the SNCA or from the Registration Duties, Estates and VAT Authority;
- a legible photocopy of both sides of the foreign driving licence;
- a legible photocopy of a valid identity document (ID card, passport, travel document);
- bulletin n°4 from the Luxembourg criminal records (no more than 3 months old).
The form and the supporting documents can also be submitted in person at the 'Guichet.lu - Reception Desk', 11, rue Notre-Dame (opposite the Knuedler underground parking), in Luxembourg city.
Depending on the applicant's situation, additional documents may be required.
Being issued with a Luxembourg driving licence also involves the obligation to submit the foreign driving licence to the SNCA Driving Licence Office. It will then be returned to the authorities that issued it.
Applicants who convert their licences within one year of arriving in Luxembourg are not obliged to take, and pass, a driving test (theory and practical) if the conversion relates to a foreign driving licence corresponding to categories A, A2, A1, AM, B, BE or F of the Luxembourg driving licence.
It follows that licence holders must take a driving test (theory and practical test) in order to drive lorries or buses.
The conversion of a foreign driving licence for the abovementioned categories and issued by a country that is not party to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 19 September 1949, or the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 8 November 1968, will be refused.
This list (French, Pdf, 110 Kb) specifies the contracting countries of the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 19 September 1949, or the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 8 November 1968.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
Driving Licence Office
-
National Society of Automotive Traffic Driving Licence Office
- Address:
-
11, rue de Luxembourg
L-5230
Sandweiler
Luxembourg
B.P. 23 - L-5201 Sandweiler
- Phone:
- (+352) 26626 - 400
- Fax:
- (+352) 8002 3666
- Email address:
- pdc@snca.lu
- Website:
- http://www.snca.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
-
Formations obligatoires automobilistes (cat.B)
sur le site du Centre de formation pour conducteurs (CFC)
-
Permis de conduire
sur le Portail Transports
-
Our membership cards
on the website of the Automobile Club of Luxembourg (ACL)
-
Driving licences
on the website of the National Society of Automotive Traffic (SNCA)
-
Sécurité routière
Site web
-
Timbres fiscaux
sur le Portail de la fiscalité indirecte
-
Liste des pays signataires de la Convention sur la circulation routière
Pdf • 110 Ko
Legal references
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