Before you start

Registered residence in Vienna (Meldezettel)
The original foreign licence, with a certified German translation where it is not in German or on an EU model
A medical fitness assessment where required
Proof of identity and, for some categories, an eyesight test

Step-by-step

1
Check first whether you need to do anything at all
EU and EEA licences remain valid in Austria without exchange. If yours is one of those, you can stop here — though voluntary exchange is possible and makes replacement after loss simpler.
OnlineWho: You
2
Non-EEA: start the exchange well inside six months
The Führerscheingesetz gives you six months from establishing residence to convert a non-EEA licence. An extension of a further six months can be requested if you are in Austria for professional or training reasons. Miss the window and the foreign licence no longer authorises you to drive here.
In personWho: YouWithin 6 months of taking up residence
3
Find out whether your country is exempt from the driving test — and for which classes
Licences from Albania, Andorra, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland and the UK convert without theory or practical test across all classes. Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Hong Kong, Israel, New Zealand, North Macedonia, South Africa, South Korea, the UAE and the USA are exempt for class B — cars — only. Everything else means an Austrian practical test.
OnlineWho: You
4
Book at the Landespolizeidirektion and surrender the original
The application goes to the Vienna police licensing office with the original licence, translation, Meldezettel, a photo and the medical assessment where required. Your foreign licence is retained; you receive the Austrian card licence in its place.
In personWho: You
5
Sort parking before you sort the car
Since 1 March 2022 the whole of Vienna is managed parking. Residents apply for a district Parkpickerl, which is valid only in the district you are registered in and costs a set annual fee; without one you are paying short-stay tariffs at your own front door. Garage rental in the central districts is a substantial monthly cost.
OnlineWho: You
6
Know the two seasonal rules before your first winter drive
Austria applies a situational winter-tyre requirement from 1 November to 15 April — winter tyres are compulsory when conditions are actually wintry, not on every day of that window. Separately, any drive on a motorway or expressway needs a Vignette, now sold digitally and tied to the number plate.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Original foreign driving licence
Certified German translation where required
Meldezettel and passport
Passport photograph to Austrian specification
Medical fitness certificate, where the category or age requires it

Things most newcomers don’t know

The exemption from the driving test is per class, and for North American and Australian licences it stops at cars.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, South Korea, the USA, Israel, Hong Kong and the UAE are on the exemption list for class B only. A US motorcycle endorsement or a truck category does not come across with it — those need the Austrian test. Riders in particular arrive assuming their whole licence converts and discover otherwise inside the six-month window, by which point there is little time to prepare.

Source: Führerscheingesetz-Durchführungsverordnung

The six-month clock runs from taking up residence, not from when you first drive.

It starts when you establish residence in Austria, which the Meldezettel evidences precisely. People who did not intend to drive for the first year find that their foreign licence quietly stopped authorising them long before they got round to it — and once expired for these purposes, the exchange route is gone and only a full Austrian licence remains. A further six months can be granted for professional or training stays, but it has to be requested.

Source: Führerscheingesetz

All 23 districts became short-stay parking zones in March 2022, which changed the economics of owning a car here.

Vienna extended managed parking city-wide, so there is no longer an outer district where you simply park free on the street. Residents need a Parkpickerl valid in their own district only — cross a district boundary and it does not help you. Combined with a transport network that reaches almost everywhere, this is why a large share of Viennese households run no car at all.

Source: City of Vienna

The winter tyre rule is situational, not calendar-based, and that catches people both ways.

Between 1 November and 15 April winter tyres are required when there is snow, slush or ice on the road — not automatically on every day in that period. So a dry December drive on summer tyres is lawful, and a snowy 20 April drive on them is not. Insurers and the police both look at conditions rather than the date, and the fine plus the insurance consequences of an accident are what make this worth understanding properly.

Source: Kraftfahrgesetz § 102 Abs 8a

Common mistakes to avoid

Letting the six-month exchange window lapse and losing the right to convert at all.
Assuming a US, Canadian or Australian licence converts for every class rather than cars only.
Buying a car before checking the Parkpickerl position for your district.
Parking on a neighbouring district's street with your own district's Parkpickerl.
Treating 1 November to 15 April as a hard tyre-change calendar and ignoring actual road conditions.

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