Exchanging a driving license in Armenia, including a foreign one

A driving license obtained abroad is exchanged for a national driving license of the Republic of Armenia without qualification exams, for the same category or subcategory, if it meets the requirements the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of November 8, 1968 sets for driving permits (Decision No. 385-N, Annex 1, point 73; Law "On Ensuring Road Traffic Safety", Article 27, part 13). A license that does not meet them is not exchanged, and no duplicate is issued if lost, apart from the diplomatic cases in point 76 (point 75; Article 27, part 15).

You bring an identity document, the receipt for the state duty for issuing a license, and the old license (Annex 2, items 1, 4 and 6). The duty is 12,000 AMD, twelve times the base duty, and the same rate covers issuing a license, exchanging one and replacing a lost one (Law "On State Duty", Article 20, item 1, and Article 8, which sets the base duty at 1,000 AMD; the same figure is in the roadpolice.am FAQ, checked September 18, 2026). The new license runs for ten years (point 5; Article 27, part 8).

One question decides everything

Everything turns on one criterion, not on the name of the country: does your license meet the Vienna Convention requirements? No list of countries is published anywhere, and bibip will not invent one — the MIA registration and examination unit assesses the document in front of it.

Exchanging a license obtained abroad

The exchange happens after the validity of the foreign license has been verified, and the exchanged license is returned to the competent authorities of the state that issued it, unless an RA international treaty provides otherwise (point 74, as amended by Decision No. 242-N of March 6, 2025). You do not get the old license back.

One narrow door exists for licenses outside those requirements: non-RA-citizen staff of foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations, whose licenses are exchanged, and duplicates of lost ones issued, without exams — on a reciprocity basis and on a certificate from the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating how the categories correspond (point 76). Here the old license goes back to its holder on request, and a copy stays in the exchange file (point 77). Everyone else takes the ordinary road — the theory and practical exams.

Dual citizens: on the basis of, not in exchange for

If you are an RA citizen and also a citizen of another state, an RA license is issued on the basis of your Convention-compliant foreign license rather than in exchange for it, again without exams. You present a copy of the foreign license with your identity document and the duty receipt (point 73.1, added by Decision No. 242-N of March 6, 2025; Article 27, part 12). Once the checks pass you are photographed, and the license is issued within one working day after the foreign license's validity has been verified (point 73.2).

Armenian, Soviet and lost licenses

A license issued by RA competent authorities (including one exchanged in another state), or by the competent authorities of the USSR states before February 21, 1992, is replaced on loss or exchange with a new license of the same category, without exams (point 63; Article 27, part 11). Where a Soviet license is not Convention-compliant, the old designations convert: "шофер-любитель" becomes category B, "шофер-профессионал" becomes B and C (point 64). That pre-1992 Soviet case is also the law's only exception to the rule that a lost or stolen foreign license is never replaced by an Armenian one (Article 27, part 14).

Where a duplicate is issued at all, you bring items 1 and 4 of the list — plus, for licenses issued in Armenia before July 1, 2000 or obtained abroad, the document the license was based on (item 7 of the list) or any other document or information carrying its series and number — get a temporary license valid 20 days on request, and receive the license itself 15 days after filing (points 68–71).

Timing, the digital license and the medical question

In an ordinary exchange you are photographed on the spot and the license is issued within one working day, provided you are not on the narcological or psychiatric register, not deprived of the right to drive, and none of the grounds in point 8 apply (point 66). The digital version is a driving license too, and it is made available when an RA license is issued or exchanged on the basis of a foreign one (point 1.1, added by Decision No. 1279-N of September 4, 2025). Where only a digital license is issued in place of or on the basis of a foreign one, the duty receipt drops out of the document list (Annex 2, item 4).

A medical certificate is usually not needed. For categories A, B and BE and subcategories AM, A1 and B1, an exchange or a duplicate sends you for medical accreditation only where a possible contraindication or restriction is obvious, or the health declaration records a condition that prevents driving (Law, Article 28, part 1.3; point 8); part 1.7 applies the same logic to C, D, T, CE and DE. More in the article on medical documents.

How long you may drive on a foreign license

For RA citizens, dual citizens included, a Convention-compliant license obtained abroad is valid in Armenia for three months from the moment that person enters the country (Article 27, part 5, point 2). A license from a country with no road-safety treaty with Armenia is valid here, on a reciprocity basis, only with a notarized Armenian translation, unless all its entries are in or duplicated in Latin letters (part 18). One more rule catches people out: driving as a business or a job in Armenia on a foreign license is prohibited except for international carriage, though not, on a reciprocity basis, for citizens of EAEU states (part 17).

If you are refused, and what is not published

A refusal comes as a written decision (forms No. 5 and No. 6), appealable under the Law "On the Fundamentals of Administration and Administrative Proceedings" (point 72), so it is not a final answer. Two things nobody publishes: which countries' licenses count as Convention-compliant, and how long verifying one takes — the points say only "after verification". The addresses of the registration-examination units are published on roadpolice.am; questions go to 060 83-83-02.

If an exchange is not open to you and the road runs through the exams, start with the official question bank: Group 2 practice covers the very Law this article quotes, the Group 2 theory chapter sets it out in full, and the exam simulation is free on bibip. Fees and retakes and the international driving permit have articles of their own, and foreigners and Russians have a short summary of the rules. If the license is lost or expired, see replacing a lost or expired driving license.

Short answer: Driving license replacement in Armenia: how to do it and what you need