Driving license

DRIVER'S LICENSE – a document issued by the competent authorities of the state, which gives a person the right to drive a vehicle of the appropriate category. A driver's license in Ukraine is issued in two versions: a national driver's license and an international driver's license.

NATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE is issued in the form of a pink-blue plastic card, which, in addition to the driver's personal data, also contains information on:
- dates of issuance and expiration of the driver's license
- entries in the State Demographic Register (for persons with ID cards)
- opened categories of vehicles and their opening dates
In the future it is also planned to add information about the blood group and the type of gearbox on which the person passed the driving test (automatic or mechanical) to the driver's license. A national driver's license is issued for a period of 2 years first time, in the future you can get a driver's license for 30 years.

INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE is issued in the form of a booklet on the basis of the International Convention on Road Traffic and is an appendix to the national driver's license and is essentially a translation of the national driver's license in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Spanish, German and French (a separate page of the license is dedicated to each language).

PROCEDURE FOR ISSUING A DRIVER'S LICENSE

A citizen of Ukraine, a foreigner or a stateless person who has reached the age of 18 can get a driver's license for the first time (from 16 years old for motorcycles and mopeds, for categories BE and CE - 19 years old, for categories D and T - 21 years old), underwent professional training in a driving school, for which received a relevant certificate (electronic certificate) and passed exams for the right to drive a vehicle (theoretical and practical). It is worth noting that not all service centers are able to take practical and theoretical exams, so it is not possible to get your first driver's license everywhere. At the same time, you do not depend on the registered place of residence when choosing a service center where you will receive a driver's license. The theoretical exam is written in Ukrainian, so foreigners and stateless persons may face certain difficulties. The theoretical test for the right to drive vehicles can be "retaken" in the event of failure no earlier than 5 days later, with no limit on the number of retakes. The practical exam can be passed in the same service center as the theoretical one, a reappointment is not allowed (exceptions are allowed during the period of martial law). After completing studies in the driving school, the person must contact the service center to pass the exams within 2 years. The first driver's license is issued for 2 years with the right to replace it with a 30-year one after the expiration of the time limits. Without exams, the license is replaced if the person had no more than 2 administrative offenses in road safety. If there were more violations, one will have to retake the exams.

SOME NUANCES IN GETTING A DRIVER'S LICENSE

Obtaining a driver's license for the first time, replacing a driver's license or restoring a lost driver's license is possible only for persons who have registered residence place. That is, citizens of Ukraine who are "not registered" or "the registration is cacelled", as well as foreigners who do not have a residence permit in Ukraine, and accordingly do not have registration in Ukraine, cannot obtain a driver's license.

A person may also not obtain, replace or restore a driver's license if he/she has a restriction on the right to drive a vehicle, which is imposed by the enforcement service as a way to enforce the obligation. Such a person does not have the right to obtain a driver's license until the executive proceedings are closed. The same applies to persons who were guilty of a traffic accident under articles that provide for the withdrawal of the driving license as a sanction (if guilt is not proven, a court order must be submitted, in case of withdrawal of the right to drive under Article 130 of the Code of Administrative Offenses - wait for the expiration of the withdrawal term).

INTERNATIONAL DRIVER'S LICENSE

First of all, if you drive a car only on the territory of Ukraine, you do not need to get an international driver's license. If you plan to drive a car abroad, be sure to check which driver's license is valid in the country of your destination - Ukrainian national or international. Do you need to get an international driver's license? You can know by surfng at our website, online help at the top of this page, by simply selecting the country of destination. It is worth noting that the international driver's license is only an addition to the national one, so when traveling, do not forget to take both documents. Also, an international driver's license is issued only for a new model of a national license: blue or blue-pink plastic. If you are a holder of an old-style driver's license (pink plastic, laminated license or USSR-era driver's license), you need to replace your driver's license for a new one first, and then get an international license.
It is also worth remembering that an international license is issued for a period of 3 years, so it is not necessary to issue it in advance or "just in case".

DRIVER'S LICENSE AND INTERNATIONAL DRIVING GROUP LICENSE - WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE

There have been more cases in Ukraine when citizens obtain an international driver's license from the INTERNATIONAL DRIVING GROUP, supposedly an international organization that has the right to issue international driver's licenses on the basis of a national license. INTERNATIONAL DRIVING GROUP is an international company registered in the USA with an extensive system of "authorized" representative offices throughout the CIS countries. At the same time, the American websites of the INTERNATIONAL DRIVING GROUP position their "product" simply as a translation of a national driver's license into 9 or 22 languages, i.e. they do not call the document an "international driver's license", but only a translation. Representatives of the organization in Ukraine already state that the document is precisely the "international driver's license" that has legal force. Companies offer to issue a driver's license online. The procedure for obtaining such a license is too simple: fill out the form, attach a scan of your driver's license and a photo, pay for the service and receive an international driver's license by mail. At the same time, according to the legislation of Ukraine and the International convention on road traffic, it is hardly possible to recognize the legitimate issuance of such a driver's license.

First of all, this international organization is not recognized by the official authorities of Ukraine as the subject of issuing an international driver's license.
Secondly, the company notes that this is just a translation of the national certificate, while offering to obtain an international certificate for different terms: one year, three, five and even ten years. However, Conventions on road traffic specify that an international license cannot be issued for more than 3 years.
Thirdly, an international driver's license, according to the Convention on road traffic is issued exclusively on the basis of a national driver's license, which must be checked for its validity. At the same time, only a state body, not any legal entity, can check the validity of the certificate based on a scanned copy of the document.

In summary, Ukraine does not recognize an international license from the INTERNATIONAL DRIVING GROUP, a legal driver's license is issued exclusively by the service center.

FOREIGNERS DRIVING A CAR

Foreigners and stateless persons have the right to drive vehicles in Ukraine. At the same time, a foreigner can use a Ukrainian driver's license and his national license.
Foreigners temporarily residing in Ukraine, that is, those who have a temporary residence permit in Ukraine or are in Ukraine on a visa or visa-free regime, can legally drive a car using their foreign driver's license (if it has transliteration in Latin letters), as well as international driver's license. At the same time, a person has the right to drive a car on the basis of a foreign license as long as his/her stay in Ukraine is temporary and legal (if it is a visa-free regime of stay - 90 days, if a visa - for the period of validity of the visa, if a temporary residence permit - during the validity period of the permit). If a foreigner has received a permanent residence permit in Ukraine, he/she must, within 60 days after receiving a permanent residence permit, replace the foreign permit with a Ukrainian one or obtain a Ukrainian permit through the initial registration procedure after completing studies in a driving school. Any fines by the patrol police during the period of legal temporary stay of a foreigner, related to the use of a foreign ID, if it meets the requirements, are unjustified.
The same applies to citizens of Ukraine who have moved to a permanent place of residence abroad. Such citizens can use a foreign identity card in Ukraine as long as they are registered in a permanent consular list at the Embassy of Ukraine. In the case of returning to Ukraine for permanent residence, such persons must obtain a national driver's license.
If you did not find the answer to your question in our material or you want to get a more detailed consultation, the "ENWOLT" legal association lawyers will be happy to provide you with all the information!