Photo: GoToVan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you move to British Columbia, you can drive on your valid licence from another province, state or country for 90 days, then you need a BC licence from ICBC. Whether you swap it straight over or take tests depends on where your licence is from, and whether you get a full Class 5 or start in graduated licensing depends on how much non-learner driving experience you can prove. This guide walks through both, step by step.
Key facts
- Deadline: 90 days after you move to BC.
- Other Canadian provinces and territories: exchange at an ICBC driver licensing office, usually without tests.
- Outside Canada: some licences exchange without testing; others need a knowledge test and road test.
- Full Class 5: you must prove at least two years of non-learner driving. Less than that means a Class 7 (N) with graduated licensing restrictions.
- You surrender your old licence. You can legally hold only one driver’s licence in BC.
- Update ICBC within 10 days whenever you change address.
Who needs to switch to a BC licence?
Anyone who becomes a BC resident, within 90 days. ICBC advises applying well inside that window. You don’t need a BC licence if you are:
- a tourist visiting for up to six months
- a full-time student with a valid student exemption at a designated BC educational institution
- a Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) worker, for up to 12 months on a valid home licence
- ordinarily resident outside BC
How to exchange your licence: step by step
- Book an appointment at an ICBC driver licensing office.
- Bring: accepted primary and secondary ID (most Government of Canada immigration documents count as primary ID), your current licence, proof of driving experience, and money for the licence fee.
- Translation: if your licence or records are not in English, ICBC may ask for a translation by an ICBC-approved translator. Requirements depend on the issuing country.
- Tests if required: vision screening, and a knowledge test and road test if your licence is not from an exchange jurisdiction.
- Surrender your old licence when you qualify for the BC one.
Applications that need extra verification are put on hold. Any unpaid fines or debts owed to BC courts, the province or ICBC must be settled first. Check the current licence fee on ICBC’s Fees page.
Moving to BC from another province
- ICBC can usually look up the date you were first licensed in your Canadian province or territory, so you often don’t need paper proof.
- If you are coming from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon or Nunavut, ICBC asks for additional documents. Check the list on ICBC’s Proving your driving experience page before your appointment.
- Coming from another province on a novice or learner licence? See the table below. You get credit for the time you have been driving.
Moving to BC from another country
ICBC exchanges licences from certain jurisdictions without extra testing, listed under “licence exchange jurisdictions” on its Moving from outside Canada page. ICBC’s handbook says holders of these licences can usually exchange the same day:
- United States
- Australia, New Zealand
- Austria, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom
- Japan, South Korea
ICBC’s online ID guide also names Belgium, Guernsey, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Taiwan as reciprocal countries. Confirm your country on ICBC’s exchange list before your appointment.
From any other country you take a knowledge test and road test. Prepare with the ICBC knowledge test guide, the BC road signs and rules of the road chapters of Learn to Drive Smart.
Will I get a full Class 5 or an N?
| Your experience | BC licence you can get |
|---|---|
| Two years or more on a full, non-learner licence, with proof | Full-privilege licence (exempt from graduated licensing) |
| Less than two years non-learner, or no proof | Class 7 (N) with N restrictions, with credit for your driving time |
| Out-of-province learner’s licence only | Class 7L learner licence, with L restrictions |
| Licence expired over three years ago, with no proof of recent driving | Knowledge test and road test required |
ICBC’s handbook words the experience rule differently: 24 months of non-learner driving if you are under 25, or 12 months if you are 25 or older. Ask the driver licensing office which applies to you.
If you start on an N in BC, you graduate through the Driving Record Assessment, not a second road test, since 19 October 2026.
What counts as proof of driving experience?
- An original, current licence printed by the issuing authority showing your first-issue date, or
- An original driver record or letter of experience from the licensing body: signed or on its letterhead, with its contact details, your name, date of birth, licence number, licence classes and the original issue date.
Photocopies and email printouts are not accepted, unless a copy has been approved and stamped by the licensing body. Emailed records can’t be used for the graduated licensing exemption. You can combine documents from more than one country to reach two years. If you already exchanged without proof, take the originals back to an office.
Insurance credit
Separately from licensing, ICBC credits up to 15 years of driving experience (learner time excluded) towards your insurance once it receives proof of your original licence date. Proof sent by email or fax must come directly from the licensing body, only some countries can use this route, and it can take up to 30 days to appear on your record.
Enhanced driver’s licence (EDL)
BC no longer issues the enhanced driver’s licence. ICBC says the program has been discontinued and existing EDLs stay in circulation until they expire. If you still hold one, changing the address needs an in-person appointment and a fee for the replacement card.
Common questions
Can I keep driving on my foreign licence after 90 days?
No, not once you are a BC resident, unless one of the exemptions above applies. Book your exchange early, and check with ICBC before relying on an international driving permit.
I’m an international student. Do I need a BC licence?
Not if you are a full-time student with a valid student exemption at a designated BC institution. Otherwise the 90-day rule applies.
Do I need a road test if I’m from Ontario?
Not for a normal Canadian exchange, but bring the additional documents ICBC asks Ontario drivers for to prove experience.
I had my licence two years back home but only have a photocopy. What now?
ICBC won’t accept it. Ask your licensing authority for an original record or letter of experience, or a stamped copy, and get it translated by an ICBC-approved translator if needed.
Can I keep my old licence as a backup?
No. You must surrender every driver’s licence you hold, and you can only hold one in BC.
Do I need a test from the US?
US licences are on the list ICBC’s handbook names for same-day exchange. Confirm on the exchange list when you book.
Back to the full guide: Learning to drive in BC. For other provinces: exchanging a foreign or out of province licence in Canada.
Sources
- ICBC, “Learn to Drive Smart, Chapter 9: Your licence” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Moving and your licence” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Moving from outside Canada” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Moving from within Canada” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Proving your driving experience” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Driver licensing identification requirements” (apps.icbc.com)
- ICBC, “B.C. government-issued credentials: card security features” (icbc.com)
- ICBC, “Graduated licensing” (icbc.com)