Before you start

Permanent residence in Estonia, living here at least 185 days per calendar year
A foreign licence not suspended, withdrawn or revoked anywhere
A valid health certificate, unless already in the traffic register
Translation or international driving permit, depending on the issuing country

Step-by-step

1
Find out which convention your country signed
1968 Vienna Convention licences exchange without exams. 1949 Geneva Convention licences exchange without exams for categories A and B, but BE, C, D, CE and DE always require tests. Licences from countries in neither require tests outright.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get a health certificate
A valid Estonian health certificate is required unless the data is already in the traffic register. Family doctors and driver-health clinics issue these.
In personWho: You
3
Apply at a Transport Administration service bureau
Bring your identity document, the foreign licence, health certificate, and a translation or international driving permit where required. Photo and signature are pulled from the ID database if available.
In personWho: You
4
Pay the state fee
Issuing or exchanging a licence is €23 through the e-service or €33 at an office. Where tests are needed, the theory test is €30 and the practical test €50.
OnlineWho: You€23 e-service / €33 office
5
Sit the tests if your licence requires them
Tests are taken in the highest category on the licence being exchanged, theory first then practical, in a test vehicle specified by the authority.
In personWho: You€30 theory + €50 practical

Documents you’ll need

Identity document
The foreign driving licence
Valid health certificate
Certified translation or an international driving permit, depending on origin
Photograph and signature, if not already held
Proof of state fee payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

Non-EU licences expire for Estonian purposes 12 months after you establish residency.

The clock starts from the residence date proven in the population register, not from when you first drive. Registering your address promptly is what starts it, so exchange inside that first year or you'll be driving unlicensed and uninsured without noticing the transition.

Source: Transpordiamet — driving licence issued outside Estonia

The 185-day rule cuts both ways.

You must live in Estonia at least 185 days a calendar year to be eligible to exchange at all. Arrive in September and you cannot meet that for the current year, which quietly pushes the whole process into the next one.

Source: Transpordiamet — foreign driving licence eligibility

Even convention countries lose the no-exam route for the bigger categories.

Under the 1949 Geneva Convention only A and B exchange freely; BE, C, D, CE and DE require tests regardless. If you drive anything larger than a car, budget for €80 of exams and the time to prepare in a country whose road rules you don't know yet.

Source: Transpordiamet — when exams are required

There's a hard 2033 deadline sitting on old EU licences.

EU/EEA/Swiss licences with a validity longer than 15 years must be exchanged by 18 January 2033. It sounds far away, but it catches people holding old-format lifetime licences who assume EU recognition means never having to act.

Source: Transpordiamet — EU/EEA licence exchange deadline

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the 12-month window lapse — your non-EU licence stops being valid here.
Assuming an EU-style exchange when your country signed neither convention.
Overlooking that BE/C/D/CE/DE require tests even from Geneva Convention countries.
Paying the €33 office fee when the €23 e-service does the same job.
Arriving late in the year and not realising the 185-day rule blocks eligibility.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.