Driving licences in Lithuania are administered by Regitra, the state enterprise that also runs the vehicle register. Whether your foreign licence turns into a Lithuanian one over a counter, or over a theory test and a practical test, comes down to one question with a short answer: which state issued it.
This page is organised around that question, because everything else โ the fee, the paperwork, how long it takes, whether you can drive next week โ follows from it.
EU and EEA licences are recognised here. You do not have to swap, and if you choose to, there is no exam. Six other states have an agreement with Lithuania: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Moldova and Ukraine. Their licences are exchanged without exams, in named categories only. Everything else means sitting the theory test and the practical test, the same ones a Lithuanian learner sits.
In every case you must be resident here โ 185 days declared in Lithuania per calendar year, or documents proving your ties. The licence itself costs โฌ17.15 in 15 working days.
Table of Contents
- Which of the four cases is yours
- EU and EEA licences
- The six agreements that skip the exams
- Everyone else: the exams
- The 185-day residence test
- The one-year deadline
- Documents and the medical certificate
- What it costs
- What happens to the licence you hand in
- Categories, ages and validity
- Starting from nothing
- The international driving permit
- Common mistakes
- FAQ
Which of the Four Cases Is Yours
Nobody comes to this question wanting to read about driving licences in general. They want to know whether the plastic card in their wallet still works, and what it takes to turn it into a Lithuanian one.
Find yourself in the four routes below and read the section it points at. The rest of the page is detail you will need eventually, not now.
An EU or EEA state
- Recognised in Lithuania as it is
- Exchange is available, not demanded
- No theory test, no practical test
- Health certificate and residence still required
The one case where doing nothing is a legitimate answer.
or One of the six agreement states
- UK, Switzerland, South Korea, UAE, Moldova, Ukraine
- Exchanged without exams
- Only in the categories the agreement names
- Anything outside those categories goes to exams
Check the category list before you book anything.
or Any other third country
- Theory test and practical test
- Same tests a Lithuanian learner sits
- First aid certificate needed
- Your licence must still be valid when you hand it in
Budget for the exam fees on top of the licence fee.
or You have no licence at all
- Driving school, then both exams
- You start as a novice driver
- Novice licence runs 2 years
- Minimum ages are set by statute, not by Regitra
The longest route, and the only one with a syllabus.
Regitra splits exchanges into two service pages โ one for EU and EEA licences, one for everything else. The six agreements sit inside the second.
One question decides almost everything, and it is not your nationality. Not your residence permit either. The issuing state. A Canadian citizen holding a German licence exchanges without exams; a German citizen holding a Canadian licence sits both tests. The passport is irrelevant to this process except in the two cases โ Ukraine and the UAE โ where the agreement itself is written around citizenship.
EU and EEA Licences
If your licence was issued anywhere in the EU or the EEA, it works in Lithuania. That is EU law rather than Lithuanian generosity: the Commission's own guidance for citizens puts it as "if you move to another EU country, you don't usually have to exchange your driving licence for a local one."
Regitra runs a service page for exchanging one anyway, and it is worth understanding what that page does and does not say.
What the page states
- The exchange is available to anyone resident here
- No theory or practical test
- You need ID, a valid driver's health certificate and the licence itself
- The fee is the ordinary issue price โ โฌ17.15, โฌ34.30 or โฌ51.45 depending on speed
What it does not state
- Any deadline for doing it
- Any obligation to do it at all
- What becomes of the old card once handed over
- Whether the Lithuanian card carries the original issue dates
So this is a service, not a duty. Regitra describes how to exchange and what it costs. It does not anywhere say you must, and no deadline appears on the page. Read 27 August 2026.
Three moments when the choice stops being yours
The EU guidance names the points at which exchange becomes compulsory rather than optional:
- The licence is lost, stolen or damaged
- A licence of indefinite validity held two years by a resident, where national rules require it
- After a traffic offence in your country of residence
None of those three is on Regitra's page โ they are in the EU guidance โ so a reader relying on Regitra alone will not meet them until one applies.
The trap on the way out
There is one asymmetry worth knowing before you exchange anything. Under the same EU guidance, a licence issued by an EU state as the result of exchanging a non-EU licence may not be recognised by other EU states. Turn an Australian licence into a Lithuanian one and you have a Lithuanian licence, but not necessarily one that Spain or Portugal will treat as an ordinary EU licence if you move on. If Lithuania is a stop rather than a destination, ask before you swap.
The Six Agreements That Skip the Exams
Outside the EU and EEA, Lithuania has a short list of states whose licences are exchanged without examinations. For four of the six, Regitra names the bilateral instrument behind the entry; for the United Kingdom and Switzerland it simply lists them. It is not a judgement about driving standards, and it is much narrower than people expect โ it names categories, and in two cases it names citizenship as well.
| Issuing state | Categories exchanged without exams | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | All, except categories marked with codes 101, 102, 105, 107, 122, and category BE acquired from 16 December 2021 | Listed by Regitra |
| Switzerland | All | Listed by Regitra |
| South Korea | B and BE only | Agreement of 14 October 2014 |
| United Arab Emirates | A1, A2, A, B and D1 only โ Lithuanian or UAE citizens | Memorandum of 11 July 2017 |
| Moldova | AM, A1, A2, A, B1 and B only | Agreement of 7 October 2021 |
| Ukraine | A and B only โ Lithuanian or Ukrainian citizens | Agreement of 30 May 2023 |
A seventh case that is not an agreement
Regitra also exchanges without exams where every category on the licence was originally obtained in an EU or EEA state, whoever printed the card you are holding. That covers the common case of somebody who qualified in Ireland or Poland, moved to a third country, exchanged there, and has now moved back. It is worth raising explicitly at the counter, because it does not look like any of the six rows above.
What the category limits mean in practice
Read the middle column literally. A Moldovan licence carrying C and CE is exchanged for AM through B without exams โ and the lorry categories are not exchanged at all unless you sit the tests for them. A South Korean licence carrying A is a licence whose motorcycle entitlement does not come across.
The UK row is the one that catches people. Most British licences exchange cleanly. The exception is category BE acquired from 16 December 2021 โ the date the UK stopped requiring a separate trailer test โ and a set of restriction codes. If your BE entitlement appeared without a test after that date, expect to be told it is not covered.
Everyone Else: The Exams
If your licence is from anywhere not named above, the exchange runs through the same two examinations a Lithuanian learner sits. This is the single largest cost difference between the routes, and it is the part most often missing from budgets.
| Examination | What it costs | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Theory test | โฌ10.00 | Sat in Lithuanian, English, Polish, Spanish or French from 1 January 2026 |
| Practical test, category B | โฌ41.26 | In a Regitra vehicle |
| Practical test, A / A1 / A2 | โฌ77.90 | In a Regitra vehicle; โฌ37.90 in your own |
| Practical test, category C | โฌ89.54 | In a Regitra vehicle |
| Practical test, category CE | โฌ94.54 | In a Regitra vehicle |
| Every other category, own vehicle | โฌ34.54 | The price list's own-vehicle line |
The theory test is now sat in five languages
From 1 January 2026 Regitra conducts examinations in Lithuanian, English, Polish, Spanish and French. That is a material change for anyone who assumed they would need an interpreter.
Where an interpreter is still used, you arrange and pay for one yourself and tell Regitra at registration, and from the same date the interpreter may only translate into an official EU language. Regitra notes the theory test may be extended by up to fifteen minutes when an interpreter is present.
How the practical test is marked
Regitra grades in three categories: non-critical errors, specific recurrent errors โ six identical non-critical errors โ and critical errors. You pass with at most 8 non-critical errors, and zero critical or specific recurrent errors. The test includes vehicle checks and an independent-driving section of 10 to 15 minutes navigated without turn-by-turn instructions.
A theory pass stays valid until you pass the practical, for no longer than 12 months. Miss your slot without proper notice and you cannot re-sit for 30 calendar days unless you pay the full fee for the test you missed.
Category B is tested in Regitra's car โ and its price list says otherwise
Regitra's practical-test page states that category B candidates take the test in a Regitra vehicle, while motorcyclists may use their own if it meets the requirements. The examination price list, on the same site, nonetheless carries an own-vehicle line of โฌ34.54 that includes category B. The two pages were read on the same day and they do not resolve each other. Budget for โฌ41.26 and ask at registration if you were hoping to use your own car.
The 185-Day Residence Test
Every route above has the same gate in front of it, and it is not a residence permit. Regitra asks for a permanent place of residence in Lithuania, and it accepts two different proofs of that.
The automatic route: 185 declared days. Your place of residence is declared in Lithuania for at least 185 days in each calendar year. Regitra checks this against the Population Register itself โ you do not file anything. This is what a completed residence declaration buys you here.
The documentary route: your ties. If your declaration is missing or the days do not add up, you supply documents evidencing personal or professional ties to Lithuania โ an employment contract, proof of enrolment at a Lithuanian institution, family relationships. Regitra names these examples on both exchange pages.
The second route matters more than it looks. Somebody who moved in October has nothing like 185 days behind them, and would otherwise be locked out of the process for a year. The ties route is how that person still exchanges. It is also, in practice, a discretionary assessment rather than an arithmetic one, so bring more than you think you need.
Residence for a licence is not residence for tax. 185 days is Regitra's test. The tax authority's test is a different number โ 183 days โ applied by a different institution for a different purpose. Crossing one does not automatically cross the other, and neither has anything to do with the validity of your residence permit. See income tax for the tax test.
The One-Year Deadline
There is exactly one hard deadline published anywhere in this process, and it is narrower than the rumour version.
What the rule actually says
Regitra: "If a driving licence has expired when its holder already resides in Lithuania, it may be exchanged within 1 year of arrival."
The ministerial Rules put the same limit in operative form: the expired licence must be surrendered to Regitra within one year of the day the applicant arrived to live in the Republic of Lithuania.
Read it carefully. It is a rescue provision for a licence that expired while you were already living here, and the clock runs from your arrival rather than from the expiry. Let that year run out with an expired foreign licence in your pocket and the exchange route closes; what is left is qualifying from scratch.
For a licence that is still in date, the Rules impose the other half of the same idea: a foreign licence is exchanged only if it is surrendered to Regitra before its validity expires. There is no separate grace period bolted onto that.
The absence worth naming
No Lithuanian authority publishes a plain answer to the question everyone actually asks: how long may a new resident go on driving here on a third-country licence before exchanging it?
Regitra's two exchange pages give the one-year rescue rule and nothing else. The Rules on the issue of driving licences set the surrender conditions, not a driving grace period. The Lithuanian Police FAQ on road safety answers a neighbouring question instead โ that a foreign licence must be produced at a check because it was not issued here, and that a person disqualified abroad is disqualified here too โ but not this one. All read 27 August 2026.
Do not read that silence as permission
An absence of published guidance is not a rule in your favour; it means the position is decided case by case by whoever stops you. If you are resident here on a third-country licence, treat the exchange as urgent rather than optional, and put the question to Regitra in writing if the answer would change your plans.
Planning your move to Lithuania?
The order you do things in matters more than any single step โ permit, address registration, asmens kodas, bank, Sodra. Get matched with someone who sequences it for you.
Documents and the Medical Certificate
The list is short, and one item on it is the one that delays people.
- Identity document โ passport or ID card
- A valid driver's health certificate, issued by a medical facility
- The licence being exchanged, with a translation into Lithuanian
- A first aid certificate โ required only where you are sitting the driving tests
- An international driving permit, where the foreign licence does not comply with the international conventions
The health certificate is electronic, and that is the good news
Lithuanian medical facilities issue the driver's health certificate electronically, and it lands in Regitra's database automatically. There is no paper to carry and nothing to file. You book the check, attend it, and the record appears.
Nobody publishes what the medical check costs. Neither Regitra's price list nor its service pages carry a price for the driver's health certificate, because Regitra does not perform it โ clinics do, and each sets its own charge. Budget separately, ring the clinic, and do not assume the Regitra fee covers it.
The translation is a real requirement
Regitra's third-country page asks for "a driving license to be exchanged with its translation to Lithuanian". That is a document you obtain before your appointment, not at it. Where the licence is not in Latin script the translation is the only way the categories can be read across at all.
What It Costs
Regitra runs two price lists, and an exchange from a third country draws on both. Reading only the driving-licence one is how people arrive at a number that is โฌ50 short.
| Item | Standard | Urgent | Express |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driving licence | โฌ17.15 | โฌ34.30 | โฌ51.45 |
| Working days | 15 | 5 | 1 |
| International driving permit | โฌ5.65 | โฌ11.30 | โฌ16.95 |
| Restoration of driving rights | โฌ3.50 | โ | โ |
| Delivery | Price |
|---|---|
| Collection at a Regitra branch | Free |
| Parcel terminal | โฌ4.90 |
| Courier to your door | โฌ6.99 |
Two worked totals
A Dutch licence, no exams, no rush. โฌ17.15 for the card, collected at a branch. That is the entire Regitra bill, plus whatever your clinic charges for the health check.
An Indian licence, category B, exams, no rush. โฌ10.00 theory plus โฌ41.26 practical plus โฌ17.15 for the card comes to โฌ68.41, assuming you pass both first time. Add the health check, the translation, the first aid certificate and any driving-school hours you decide you need.
Unlike the vehicle-registration fees on the car registration page, which Regitra publishes in Lithuanian only, every figure above appears on Regitra's own English pages. Both price lists read 27 August 2026.
What Happens to the Licence You Hand In
You do not keep both. The foreign licence is surrendered, and what happens next depends on where it came from โ a detail nobody asks about until the day they need the original back.
| Licence from another state's authority | Third-country licence | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it goes | Returned to the competent authority that issued it | Retained by Regitra |
| Do you get the card back | No | Not returned to you on request |
| What follows | The issuing state learns the licence was exchanged | Destroyed no sooner than 5 years afterwards |
Both rules come from the Rules on the issue of driving licences, not from any Regitra service page โ the service pages are silent on it.
The mark left on the new licence
The Lithuanian licence you receive records that it came from an exchange. The Rules require the exchange data to be entered, using harmonised code (70) โ the EU code meaning "exchange of a licence issued by a non-EU state". It is not a demerit and it does not restrict anything in Lithuania. It is the reason the recognition caveat in the EU section above exists: another member state reading code 70 on your card can see the entitlement did not originate in the EU.
If you need to drive in your home country again, think about this before you exchange. Once the original is with Regitra or on its way back to the issuing authority, getting an equivalent document in that country is that country's process, not one Lithuania can help with. People who split their year between two countries most often regret this step, not the fee.
Categories, Ages and Validity
Lithuania uses the standard European category set. The minimum ages are set by statute โ Article 23 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety โ rather than by Regitra, which is why they do not appear on Regitra's service pages at all.
| Category | What it covers | Minimum age |
|---|---|---|
| AM | Mopeds and light quadricycles | 15 |
| A1 | Motorcycles over 50 cmยณ and up to 125 cmยณ | 16 |
| B1 | Quadricycles | 16 |
| A2 | Motorcycles up to 35 kW, power-to-weight up to 0.2 kW/kg | 18 |
| B | Cars up to 3,500 kg | 18 |
| BE | Category B car plus trailer combinations | 18 |
| C1 | Vehicles over 3,500 kg and up to 7,500 kg | 18 |
| C1E | C1 vehicle plus trailer combinations | 18 |
| A | Motorcycles, and tricycles over 15 kW | 20 |
| C | Vehicles over 3,500 kg | 21 |
| CE | C vehicle plus trailer combinations | 21 |
| D1 | Vehicles for up to sixteen passengers | 21 |
| D1E | D1 vehicle plus trailer combinations | 21 |
| T | Trolleybuses | 21 |
| D | Vehicles for more than eight passengers | 24 |
| DE | D vehicle plus trailer combinations | 24 |
Article 23 also carries conditions on progression between the motorcycle categories, which is why category A appears at 20 rather than the higher direct-access age familiar from other member states. Those conditions are not reproduced here โ read the article, or ask Regitra, before planning a motorcycle entitlement around the number in the table.
How long a licence lasts
| Licence | Valid for |
|---|---|
| Standard licence โ AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, BE, T | 10 years |
| Lorry and bus groups โ C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE | 5 years |
| Novice driver's licence | 2 years |
The 10-year term is Regitra's own: its novice page describes the replacement as "a full 10-year licence". The 5-year term for the lorry and bus groups is from the Rules, not from any Regitra page โ Regitra's English service pages publish no category-by-category validity table, so the two rows above come from two different documents.
Starting From Nothing
If you have never held a licence, or your entitlement does not survive the exchange, the route is the Lithuanian one from the beginning: training, theory test, practical test, and a period as a novice driver.
Everyone who qualifies here starts as a novice. A first licence is issued for 2 years and marks you as a pradedantysis vairuotojas โ a novice driver who does not yet have the required experience. At the end of it you exchange for a full 10-year licence: a health certificate, an order through Regitra, and the ordinary โฌ17.15 card fee.
What a novice can lose, and how
The novice period is not decorative. Regitra sets out the two triggers that put a novice into remedial training: causing an accident in which another road user is injured, and breaching specified Road Traffic Act requirements โ the list runs to pedestrian safety, overtaking, mobile devices, traffic signals, speed limits and driving under the influence.
The training must be completed within 1 year of the resolution taking effect or the administrative order being issued. Miss that and, in Regitra's own words, you "have lost your right to drive": both examinations again, from the start.
This applies to a novice who exchanged in from abroad as much as to an eighteen-year-old. Twenty years of driving history in another country does not make the Lithuanian licence a non-novice one if Lithuania issued it as a novice licence. Ask which you are being given.
The International Driving Permit
The international driving permit is a translation booklet, not an entitlement. It carries no rights of its own โ it restates a licence you already hold, in a form other states' police can read.
Regitra issues them at โฌ5.65 in 15 working days, โฌ11.30 in 5 and โฌ16.95 in 1. Two situations make it worth having:
- You are driving outside Europe on a Lithuanian licence, in a state that expects the booklet.
- Your foreign licence does not comply with the international conventions. Regitra's third-country exchange page lists the international driving permit among the documents needed in exactly that case โ so for some applicants it is not a travel convenience but part of the exchange file.
Check the date on your home licence first. Check whether your existing home-country permit is still in date before paying for a Lithuanian one. An international permit issued elsewhere does not stop working because you moved, and it is usually cheaper to let it run out than to duplicate it.
Common Mistakes
Budgeting from one price list. The licence fee and the examination fees live on two separate Regitra price lists. A third-country exchange draws on both, and the difference is roughly the price of the card again.
Assuming an agreement covers every category. South Korea is B and BE. Ukraine is A and B. Moldova stops at B. The lorry and bus entitlements on your licence are not part of those agreements and do not come across.
Letting the year run out. A licence that expired after you moved here can be exchanged within one year of your arrival. After that the exchange route is gone and only qualifying from scratch is left.
Exchanging before checking the onward journey. An EU licence obtained by exchanging a non-EU one may not be recognised by other member states. If Lithuania is a stopover, ask first.
Turning up without the translation. Regitra asks for the foreign licence with a Lithuanian translation. That is arranged before the appointment, not during it.
Waiting for the health certificate on paper. It is electronic and reaches Regitra automatically. People delay their appointment waiting for a document that was never going to arrive.
Expecting to use your own car for the category B test. Regitra's practical-test page puts category B in a Regitra vehicle. Confirm at registration rather than on the day.
Missing a slot and re-sitting immediately. Fail to attend without proper notice and the next attempt is 30 calendar days away, unless you pay the full fee for the test you missed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to exchange my EU driving licence in Lithuania?
Not as a rule. An EU or EEA licence is recognised here, and EU guidance is that you do not usually have to exchange it when you move. Regitra offers the exchange as a service and publishes no deadline for it. Exchange does become compulsory in some situations โ if the licence is lost, stolen or damaged, if a licence of indefinite validity has been held for two years by a resident where national rules require it, or after a traffic offence in your country of residence.
Which foreign licences are exchanged without an exam?
Licences from the EU and EEA, and licences from six agreement states: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Moldova and Ukraine. The last four are limited to named categories, and the Ukrainian and Emirati agreements also require Lithuanian or that state's citizenship. Regitra also exchanges without exams where every category on the licence was originally obtained in an EU or EEA state.
How long do I have to exchange a foreign licence after moving to Lithuania?
One published deadline exists and it is narrow. If your licence expires while you are already living in Lithuania, it may be exchanged within one year of your arrival. For a licence still in date, the Rules require it to be surrendered to Regitra before its own validity runs out. No authority publishes a general grace period for driving here on a third-country licence before exchanging, which is a gap rather than a permission.
What does it cost to exchange a driving licence?
The licence itself is 17.15 euros in fifteen working days, 34.30 euros in five and 51.45 euros in one. If you must sit examinations, add 10 euros for the theory test and 41.26 euros for a category B practical test in a Regitra vehicle. Collection at a branch is free; a parcel terminal is 4.90 euros and a courier 6.99 euros. The medical check is charged by the clinic and no authority publishes its price.
What documents does Regitra want?
An identity document, a valid driver's health certificate, the licence being exchanged together with a translation into Lithuanian, and โ where you are sitting the driving tests โ a first aid certificate. An international driving permit is also required where the foreign licence does not comply with the international conventions.
Do I need a medical certificate, and how do I get it?
Yes. A Lithuanian medical facility carries out the driver's health check and issues the certificate electronically, and it enters Regitra's database automatically. There is no paper form to collect or submit. Regitra publishes no price for it because clinics set their own.
What happens to my old licence after the exchange?
You do not keep it. Under the Rules on the issue of driving licences, licences issued by other states' authorities are returned to the authority that issued them, and third-country licences are retained by Regitra and destroyed no sooner than five years afterwards. The new Lithuanian licence records the exchange with harmonised code 70.
Can I sit the theory test in English?
Yes. From 1 January 2026 Regitra conducts examinations in Lithuanian, English, Polish, Spanish and French. If you use an interpreter instead you arrange and pay for one yourself and notify Regitra when you register, and from the same date an interpreter may only translate into an official EU language.
How long is a Lithuanian driving licence valid?
Ten years for the standard categories AM, A1, A2, A, B1, B, BE and T. Five years for the lorry and bus groups C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE โ that figure comes from the ministerial Rules, because Regitra's English pages publish no validity table. A first licence is issued for two years as a novice driver's licence.
Do I need to be a resident to exchange or to take the tests?
Yes, and residence here means a permanent place of residence in Lithuania. Regitra treats that as satisfied where your residence is declared in Lithuania for at least 185 days in each calendar year, which it checks against the Population Register itself. Where the days do not add up you can instead supply documents evidencing personal or professional ties โ an employment contract, enrolment at a Lithuanian institution, family relationships.
My licence has lorry categories. Will they come across?
Only if the agreement covering your licence names them, or the categories were originally obtained in an EU or EEA state. The South Korean agreement covers B and BE, the Ukrainian one A and B, the Moldovan one AM through B, and the Emirati one A1, A2, A, B and D1. Categories outside those lists require the corresponding examinations.
I passed the theory test but not the practical. Do I have to sit theory again?
Not immediately. A theory pass stays valid until you pass the practical test, for no longer than one year. Separately, if you fail to attend a booked test without proper notification you cannot repeat it for thirty calendar days unless you pay the full price of the test you missed.
Related Guides
Regitra handles the licence and then the car
Exchanging a licence is one job at Regitra; registering a car you bring with you is another, with its own paperwork โ and compulsory motor cover has to be in place before it is driven.
Disclaimer
General guidance, not legal advice. Fees, agreements and examination rules change, and Regitra decides individual cases. Confirm current requirements with Regitra before committing to a plan, particularly where a category limit or the one-year deadline applies to you.