European driving licence

This article is about the driving licences for vehicles issued by member states of the EEA. For driving licences issued in other European countries, see Driving licence. For the computer literacy certification, see European Computer Driving Licence.
European driving licence
Examples of the European driving licence issued in Croatia and Norway. Licences issued in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway do not feature the EU flag.
Issued byEU member states and member states of the European Economic Area[a]
First issued29 July 1991
PurposeAccess to unified driving licence in any of the EEA member states
Valid inThe European Economic Area
EligibilityEEA residency

The European driving licence is a driving licence issued by the member states of the European Economic Area (EEA); all 27 EU member states and three EFTA member states; Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, which give shared features the various driving licence styles formerly in use. It is credit card-style with a photograph. They were introduced to replace the 110 different plastic and paper driving licences of the 300 million drivers in the EEA. The main objective of the licence is to reduce the risk of fraud.

A driving licence issued by a member state of the EEA is recognised throughout the EEA and can be used as long as it is valid, the driver is old enough to drive a vehicle of the equivalent category, and the licence is not suspended or restricted and has not been revoked in the issuing country. If the holder of an EEA driving licence moves to another EEA country, the licence can be exchanged for a driving licence from the new EEA country. However, as all EEA driving licences are recognised throughout the EEA, it is usually not necessary to exchange it before it expires.[1]

The exception is for those holding EEA driving licences issued in exchange for a non‑EEA licence. When holding a converted licence, one should not assume the licence is recognized when moving to another EEA country, which might require that the driving licence be converted again to a licence issued by that country.[1]


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  1. ^ a b "Driving licence recognition and validity". Europa.eu. Retrieved 10 September 2022.