Having a foreign driving licence registered, exchanged or converted
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You can apply to the National Society of Automotive Traffic (Société nationale de circulation automobile - SNCA) to have a foreign driving licence exchanged, registered or converted, subject to certain conditions.
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.
Having your foreign driving licence registered speeds up the issue of a duplicate copy in the event of loss or theft of the licence. In this case, the SNCA is responsible for producing a duplicate of your licence, provided that it has already been informed of the existence and details thereof.
If you wish to obtain a document attesting to your right to drive as soon as possible, registration speeds up the procedure. In the absence of registration, you have to submit 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).
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
EEA driving licences
Driving licences issued by other EEA Member States are recognised in Luxembourg when you move there (principle of mutual recognition between Member States). You 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 have your foreign driving licence registered, you must send the form (see 'Online services and forms') to the SNCA Driving Licence Office (Service des permis de conduire) by post, accompanied by the following documents:
- a legible photocopy of both sides of your 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 your situation, additional documents may be required.
Exchange
To have your foreign driving licence exchanged for a Luxembourg one, you must 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 your 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 your situation, additional documents may be required.
As a holder of an EEA driving licence having your permanent place of residence in Luxembourg, you must exchange your 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;
- restoration of licence following a court-ordered driving ban or the 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 you have moved to Luxembourg.
Non-EEA driving licences
Please note that applications may be made immediately upon arrival in Luxembourg.
Licences can be converted, at the earliest, 185 days after you have moved to Luxembourg.
During that year, you can, however, drive in Luxembourg using your foreign licence.
You are strongly advised to have your non-EEA licence translated if it is written in a language that is little known, or not at all known, in Luxembourg.
Licences can only be converted if they were issued after you had been a resident or student, for at least 6 months, in the issuing country. Moreover, you must meet the Luxembourg legal age requirement.
If you fail to have your driving licence converted within this one-year period, you 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.
If you convert your licence within one year of arriving in Luxembourg, you are not obliged to take, and pass, a driving test (theory and practical test) 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.
However, you are required to take a driving test (theory and practical test) in order to drive lorries or buses.
To have your foreign driving licence converted, you must 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 medical certificate (no more than 3 months old), drawn up on the required form 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).
You can also submit the form and the supporting documents in person at the 'Guichet.lu - Reception Desk', 11, rue Notre-Dame (opposite the Knuedler underground parking), in Luxembourg city.
Depending on your situation, additional documents may be required.
You must hand in your foreign driving licence to the SNCA Driving Licence Office in order to be issued a Luxembourg driving licence. The foreign licence will then be returned to the authorities that issued it.
If you hold a driving licence issued by a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA), the conversion procedure is mandatory.
After having established your normal residence in Luxembourg, you have a maximum of one year in which to convert your foreign driving licence.
The conversion of a foreign driving licence for all categories 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
Ministry of Mobility and Public Works
-
Ministry of Mobility and Public Works
- Address:
- 4, Place de l'Europe L-1499 Luxembourg Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247-82478
- Website:
- http://mmtp.gouvernement.lu
-
Public Transport Administration - Adapto PMR Transport Service
- Address:
-
Luxembourg
BP 640, L-2016 Luxembourg
- Email address:
- adapto@atp.etat.lu
-
Public Works Department
- Address:
-
4, Place de l'Europe
L-1499
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2940 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 - 83300
- Email address:
- info@tp.etat.lu
-
Department of Mobility and Transport
- Address:
-
4, Place de l'Europe
L-1499
Luxembourg
Luxembourg
L-2938 Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 247 84 400
- Fax:
- (+352) 264 78 948
- Email address:
- contact@tr.etat.lu
- Website:
- https://transports.public.lu
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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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