Getting a driving license in the EU

Rules will vary for each country, but if you want a drivering licence in the EU and you are a non-EU citizen here are your general options.

Lets say you are an American citizen, you can drive with an international drivers license for one year in the EU. International drivers licenses simple to get and you can get them at AAA for example.

However, you are a resident of the EU and you have a US drivering licence and you want a EU drivering license you must take the full written and driving test in the country you live. However, you usually have another option.

You can exchange your US driving licence for an EU drivers license. You can surrender your US drivers licence to the driving office in that country and just pass the written exam without the road test. The written exams for EU drivers licenses are low stress and you can study with a computer program, you just need to memorizes the rules. This is great as you do not need a road test to get a drivers license in the EU (usually). But you will have to speak the language of the country enough to take the drivers test in the language of the country you reside in.

The road exam for a EU drivers license is notoriously hard. Natives will often fail five times. You can not do one little thing wrong; and it is illegal to bribe the examiner, which was the rule maybe ten years ago in many countries.

A driving course to get a drivers licence in the EU is about 700 dollars and well worth the investment if you are going to hang around the EU. You can even get it in English, for a 20% premium.

What will I do? I have a US drivers license. I live in Poland an EU country. I think I will take a course

Tags: EU driving license, getting a drivers license in the EU, getting a driving license in the EU