How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one: Guide for 2023
UPDATED: 30.11.2023.
A foreign driver’s license can be exchanged for a Croatian driver’s license called vozačka dozvola without taking any additional driving exams, in most cases. Before you can exchange a license, you must be a legal resident of Croatia.
The rules for exchanging a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one vary depending on whether you have a driver’s license from an EU/EEA member state or a third country (non-EU/EEA member state).
If you want to learn how to take a driving school in Croatia called autoškola, hop over to this post.
In this post, we cover:
- Exchange of driver’s license
- EU/EEA driver’s licenses
- Non-EU/EEA driver’s licenses
- Tips for exchanging a license
The facts are these…
How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one
Exchanging foreign driver’s licenses in Croatia
There are two scenarios under which you can exchange your foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one, depending on whether or not your license is from an EU/EEA member state.
EEA (European Economic Area) or EGP (Europski gospodarski prostor) is an international agreement that enables the extension of the European Union’s single market to non-EU member parties.
EEA was founded in 1994 to create a single market that enables the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. EEA was created to enable participation in the single market to country members of EFTA without joining the EU.
EEA includes:
- EU countries
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- Non-EU countries
- Iceland
- Liechtenstein
- Norway
You can exchange your foreign license at most administrative police stations in Croatia. However, since not all administrative police stations can make this change, if you are coming from a smaller town you might need to come to Zagreb to do this exchange. In Zagreb, you must go to Heinzelova 98 as they do not process exchanges at their main office at Petrinjska 30.
[Read: How to find administrative police stations in Croatia]
How to exchange an EU/EEA driver’s license for a Croatian
In Croatia, you may drive using a driver’s license issued by a member of the EU/EEA until its expiration date. Exchanging the EU/EEA driver’s license for the Croatian driver’s license isn’t mandatory.
After your EU/EEA driver’s license expires, you may extend it at any administrative police station in Croatia. If your license is lost, stolen, or damaged, you can get a new one.
However, after you get a temporary or permanent stay in Croatia, if you want, you can replace your EU/EEA driver’s license with a Croatian one right away.
[Read: How EU/EEA citizens can get temporary residence in Croatia]
[Read: How EU/EEA citizens can apply for permanent residency in Croatia]
If you want to exchange your EU/EEA driver’s license for a Croatian license, you must go to an administrative police station in Croatia.
You must provide:
- Proof of identity
- Proof of residence in Croatia
- Foreign driver’s license issued in an EU/EEA country
- 35×45 mm photo
- Proof of payment for the procedure
- All administrative costs associated with this procedure are available here.
Payment information is available here.
Instructions on how to make this payment are available here.
A list of MUP administrative police stations in Croatia is available here.
How to exchange a non-EU/EEA (third country) driver’s license for a Croatian one
If your driver’s license was issued in a foreign country that is not a member of the EU/EEA, then you may use your foreign driver’s license for a period of one year after coming to Croatia. After a year, you are required to replace your foreign driver’s license with a Croatian driver’s license.
You can see the excerpt from the law below:
(1) Stranac kojem je odobren privremeni ili stalni boravak u Republici Hrvatskoj i hrvatski državljanin koji se iz inozemstva vrati u Republiku Hrvatsku, a i osoblje diplomatskih i konzularnih predstavništava i misija stranih država i predstavništava međunarodnih organizacija u Republici Hrvatskoj, stranih trgovinskih, prometnih, kulturnih i drugih predstavništava te stranih dopisništava, mogu upravljati motornim vozilima na osnovi važeće inozemne vozačke dozvole za vrijeme do godinu dana od dana ulaska u Republiku Hrvatsku.
This translates to…
A foreigner granted temporary or permanent residence in the Republic of Croatia and a Croatian citizen returning to the Republic of Croatia from abroad, as well as staff of diplomatic and consular missions and missions of foreign countries and missions of international organizations in the Republic of Croatia, foreign trade, transport, cultural and other missions and foreign bureaus, may operate motor vehicles on the basis of a valid foreign driver’s license for up to one year from the date of entry into the Republic of Croatia.
However, after you get a temporary or permanent stay in Croatia, you can replace your foreign driver’s license with a Croatian one once you have lived in Croatia for at least 185 days.
[Read: How third-country (non-EU/EEA) citizens can apply for temporary residency in Croatia]
[Read: How third-country citizens can apply for permanent residency in Croatia]
If you drive with a foreign non-EU/EEA license after a year, the license isn’t considered valid in Croatia anymore. It would be the same as if you’re driving without a driver’s license at all.
If your license has been expired for more than 6 months, you cannot exchange it for a Croatian license. In this case, you must enroll in driving school and take the standard procedure to get a Croatian driver’s license.
[Read: How to take driving school (autoškola)]
To exchange your non-EU/EEA driver’s license, you must go to an administrative police station in Croatia.
You must provide:
- Proof of identity
- Proof of residence in Croatia
- Foreign driver’s license issued in a third (non-EU/EEA) country
- Translation of a foreign driver’s license if driving categories and a validation period isn’t clear (if more than 6 months has expired)
- Medical certificate stating driving capability (not older than 6 months)
- 35×45 mm photo
- Proof of payment for the procedure
- All administrative costs associated with this procedure are available here.
Payment information is available here.
Instructions on how to make this payment are available here.
A list of MUP administrative police stations in Croatia is available here.
Medical certificate stating driving capability (Uvjerenje o zdravstvenoj sposobnosti za upraljanje vozilama) can be issued by health centers and private policlinics that perform the activity of occupational medicine and occupational/sports medicine specialists in private practice (Medicina rada/sporta).
Additional tips on exchanging driver’s licenses in Croatia
If you are trading in your driver’s license, you must surrender your foreign license when picking up your Croatian license. You cannot have both.
All visible categories in your current foreign driving license will be transferred to a new Croatian license.
If the date of issue isn’t specified on your current license, you must provide confirmation from the foreign competent authority about the date of issue for every driving category. If you don’t enclose the confirmation, the first date of issue will be taken as the general date of issue.
You don’t need to provide a passport photo if you have already received a Croatian biometric passport, an e-identity card, an identity card with OIB, or an e-driver’s license in the past five years from the Republic of Croatia.
[Read: How to apply for a Croatian passport]
View our other driving posts
- Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Croatia
- Everything you need to know about car insurance in Croatia
- How HAK (Croatian Auto Club) helps drivers in Croatia
- How to buy a car in Croatia
- How to get a driver’s license in Croatia
- How to import your car and belongings to Croatia
- How to register a vehicle and get an annual inspection in Croatia
- Vehicle and driver’s license categories in Croatia
Sources:
Zamjena vozačke dozvole by MUP
Vozačka dozvola by MUP
Please note: Information provided by Expat in Croatia is only for the purposes of guidance. It does not constitute legal or financial advice in any form. Croatian laws and bureaucratic rules often change, and each personal case is individual, so different rules may apply. For legal advice, contact us to consult with a licensed Croatian lawyer. For financial advice, contact us to consult with a licensed Croatian tax advisor or accountant.
