Photo: The Q915, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
If you move to Western Australia to live, you can drive on your current interstate or overseas licence for up to 3 months, then you must transfer it to a WA licence. Interstate licences transfer with no theory test or driving assessment. Overseas licences from recognised countries transfer without tests too, while others need the Computerised Theory Test and a Practical Driving Assessment. This guide covers both routes, fees and the countries newly recognised from 31 October 2026.
Key facts
- New residents: 3 months to apply for a WA licence. For overseas licence holders, the clock starts once you hold a permanent visa and usually live in WA.
- Visitors (tourists, business travellers, and students or workers in WA temporarily) can keep driving on a current licence.
- Interstate: no tests if your licence is current or expired less than 5 years. Fees from $49.40 (1 year) as of November 2026.
- Recognised country: no tests if your car licence is current or expired no more than 12 months; $63.50 transfer fee plus a licence fee.
- Non-recognised country: theory test ($22.40) and PDA (included in the $150.80 application fee).
- From 31 October 2026, car and motorcycle licences from 14 more countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and Poland, transfer without tests.
- An overseas learner permit is not recognised in WA. You cannot drive on it.
How long can you drive on your old licence?
| You are | Rule in WA |
|---|---|
| Visiting from interstate or overseas | Drive on your current licence for as long as it stays valid. Carry it, follow its conditions, and carry an approved translation if it is not in English. |
| Moving from interstate | Apply for a WA licence within 3 months of becoming a WA resident |
| Moving from overseas (citizen or permanent resident) | Drive for up to 3 months on your overseas licence, then transfer. After 3 months you cannot legally drive on it, even if it is current. |
| Holding an overseas learner permit | Not recognised. You cannot drive on WA roads with it. |
Drive Safe sets out when authorisation on an overseas licence ends: when it expires or is disqualified, or once you hold a permanent visa and have usually lived in WA for 3 months since the visa was granted.
Moving from another Australian state
What you get
- A licence that is current, or expired less than 5 years, transfers for all classes with no theory test or driving assessment. You do need to pass an eyesight test.
- The time left on your interstate licence carries over, so you pay a transfer fee rather than a renewal fee: $49.40 for 1 year or $172.00 for 5 years (as of November 2026).
- If your licence expired 5 or more years ago, you must pass a theory test and a PDA.
What to bring
- A completed Driver’s Licence Application (Form DLA1).
- Your interstate licence card.
- WA proof of identity, including proof of your WA address such as a utility bill. WA’s rules differ from other states, so check them first: proof of identity in each state.
- Any medical declarations.
Only physical original documents are accepted. Laminated, photocopied or photographed documents are refused. Your photo is taken at the DTMI service centre or regional agent.
P platers: does your time count?
Yes. Time held on an interstate provisional licence counts towards a full WA car licence. In WA the provisional period is a total of 730 days or until you are 19, whichever is greater. Inactive time, such as late renewal, suspension or disqualification, does not count. You then follow WA’s P plate rules. See WA red P plate rules and WA green P plates.
Learners: what transfers
If you hold an interstate, New Zealand or Indian Ocean Territories learner’s permit, WA can recognise:
- the learner’s permit or licence itself
- theory tests you have passed
- a hazard perception test you have passed
- your supervised driving hours.
Apply in person with Form E60. New Zealand permit holders also need a Certificate of Particulars confirming their test dates. If you are under 25 you still need a total of 50 supervised hours (5 at night), with any recognised hours counting towards it, and you then sit the WA PDA. See WA learner rules and the 50 hour logbook and the WA PDA.
Moving from overseas
To apply for a WA car licence you must be at least 17. Your route depends on whether your licence comes from a recognised or non-recognised jurisdiction. DTMI’s website has the current list.
Recognised jurisdictions
- If your car licence is current, or expired no more than 12 months, you do not sit a theory test or PDA.
- You pass an eyesight test and declare any medical conditions or medication.
- Fees: $63.50 transfer application, then a licence fee of $49.40 (1 year) or $172.00 (5 years), even if your overseas licence has not expired.
- Verification can add time. DTMI says Irish licences can take up to 10 business days to verify, and Singapore licence holders must access Singpass using biometrics at the application.
Non-recognised jurisdictions
- Pass the car theory test ($22.40; resits $19.20). See the WA Computerised Theory Test.
- Pass the PDA. The $150.80 transfer application fee includes the driving test where one is needed. Each PDA resit costs $120.50.
- Pay the licence fee: $49.40 (1 year) or $172.00 (5 years).
If you pass the PDA in an automatic, your licence covers automatic vehicles only. See automatic licence conditions in each state.
DTMI’s non-recognised page does not mention the Hazard Perception Test. Check with DTMI on 13 11 56 whether you need one in your circumstances.
Newly recognised from 31 October 2026
Car and motorcycle licences from these jurisdictions now transfer without the theory test or PDA, for applications made on or after 31 October 2026:
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Republic of Cyprus, Republic of Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea and Taiwan.
Applications made before that date were handled under the non-recognised rules. Identity, residency, medical and eligibility rules still apply.
Translations
An overseas licence must be entirely in English, or it may need a translation, depending on whether the jurisdiction is recognised. Drive Safe lists accepted translators:
- NAATI certified translators (DTMI does not accept translations by accredited NAATI translators dated after 1 January 2018, unless they hold permanent pre-2007 accreditation)
- tertiary qualified translators
- the Department of Home Affairs Free Translating Service
- consulates or embassies, only where NAATI or a tertiary qualified translator does not cover the language.
If you cannot produce the physical licence, a letter of verification from the issuing authority or a consulate may be accepted.
Worked examples
A Queensland P1 driver, 18, moving to Perth
They transfer within 3 months with no tests. Their Queensland P time counts towards WA’s 730-day provisional period. From then on, they follow WA P plate rules.
A South Korean permanent resident arriving in November 2026
Their Korean car licence transfers without tests, because South Korea is recognised for applications from 31 October 2026. They apply within 3 months and pay $63.50 plus the licence fee.
An Indian student on a temporary visa
As a visitor on a temporary visa, they can keep driving on their current licence, with an approved translation if it is not in English. If they later get a permanent visa, the 3-month clock starts.
Common questions
Is the interstate transfer free?
No. You pay $49.40 for 1 year or $172.00 for 5 years (as of November 2026). The time left on your interstate licence carries over.
Do I need to resit the theory test if I move from NSW?
No, unless your licence expired 5 or more years ago.
Can I learn to drive in WA on my overseas learner permit?
No. WA does not recognise overseas learner permits. Apply for a WA learner’s permit. See learning to drive in WA.
Is the UK a recognised country in WA?
DTMI keeps the official list. Its recognised-jurisdiction page mentions the UK in its translation rules. Check the list before you book.
I have been in WA 4 months on a permanent visa without transferring. Can I drive?
Not on your overseas licence. After 3 months you are no longer authorised to drive on it. Stop driving and apply for the transfer.
Can my overseas licence time count for supervising a learner?
WA requires 4 years of licence time to supervise. Ask DTMI how overseas time is treated. See supervising a learner driver in WA.
Compare other states: driving in Australia on an overseas licence and driving interstate on L or P plates.
Sources
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Visit or move to WA” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Moving from interstate” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Moving from overseas” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Transfer a licence from a recognised jurisdiction” and “Transfer a driver’s licence from a non-recognised jurisdiction” (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Drive Safe: A handbook for Western Australian road users”, Appendix 2 (transport.wa.gov.au)
- Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure WA, “Identity requirements” (transport.wa.gov.au)