Converting Your Driving Licence in Israel: The Steps for New Residents
You can drive on your foreign licence for a while after arriving, and then you have to convert it. The process is mostly online and a single short drive, if you start before the clock runs out.
New residents and olim can drive on a valid foreign licence for an initial period after arrival, and must convert it to an Israeli licence within a set window; leave it too late and the conversion route closes and you start from scratch with lessons and a full test. Most conversions need an eye test, a medical declaration, an online application and one short practical drive (the "control test") with an instructor's car; some licence holders are exempted from the drive depending on the issuing country and how long they have held the licence. The rules are revised from time to time, so confirm the current version on the Ministry of Transport's site or with your absorption counsellor before relying on the sequence below. Whether you want a car at all is another question: the car-buying guide and the transport guide help with that.
Before you start
- Check the window. The period during which you can drive on the foreign licence and the deadline for conversion both run from your arrival or status date. Note both.
- Have the licence in hand, valid, with the date it was first issued visible; a licence held for several years is treated more generously than a new one.
- Get your Israeli ID first; the application keys off it.
The steps
- Eye test at an optician or the licensing bureau's photographers, who submit the result and your photo digitally to the Ministry of Transport (the form once called the green form is now digital).
- Medical declaration completed online or at the same visit; drivers over a certain age and holders of some medical conditions need a doctor's signature.
- Online application to convert a foreign licence on the Ministry of Transport's site, uploading the foreign licence and ID; the ministry issues a temporary permit to take the control test.
- Control lesson and test: book a driving school, take one or two lessons in their car to learn the examiner's expectations, then the short practical test with an examiner. Instructors in the Anglo neighbourhoods know the routine; ask in the community groups.
- Pay the fee and receive the licence: a temporary permit prints immediately after a pass and the card arrives by post.
Exemptions and exceptions
Depending on the issuing country and the years held, some drivers convert without the control test, on paperwork alone; others must take the theory test as well; and licences from some countries are not convertible at all, which means the full learner route. The ministry's list is the only reliable source. Motorcycle and heavy-vehicle categories have their own rules.
After conversion
The Israeli licence is renewed periodically with a fee and, at older ages, a medical check. A converted licence may count as new for insurance purposes for the first year or two, which raises premiums: bring a no-claims letter from your previous insurer (the car insurance guide explains). Points for offences, the traffic-court system and the rules on phones and child seats apply from day one; child seats are required to a higher age than in many countries.
Driving in Jerusalem
Hills, narrow streets, aggressive merging, scarce parking and a light rail that has right of way: give yourself a few weeks of passenger seats before the control test. Waze is the local navigation app because it knows the closures. Blue-and-white kerbs are paid parking via Pango or Cellopark; red-and-white is no parking; the resident permit from the municipality covers your own zone.
Hebrew you will meet
- rishayon nehiga — driving licence
- Misrad HaRishui — the licensing bureau
- mivchan shlita — control test
- bdikat einayim — eye test
- moreh nehiga — driving instructor
- nahag chadash — new driver
More everyday words are in our Hebrew vocabulary guide.
Common questions
How long can I drive on my foreign licence in Israel?
For an initial period after arrival set by the Ministry of Transport, after which you must hold an Israeli licence; the conversion route itself has a deadline from your arrival or status date. Check both dates when you land.
Do I need to take a driving test to convert my licence?
Most people take a short practical control test with an examiner after a lesson or two; some licence holders are exempt depending on the issuing country and years held, and a few must take theory too. The ministry's list decides.
How long does conversion take?
The eye test and application take a day; the control test depends on driving-school availability, typically a few weeks. Start early in the window.
Can I rent a car on my foreign licence?
During the initial period after arrival, yes, with the licence and passport; once you are required to hold an Israeli licence, rental companies expect it.
A rule that changed since we wrote this? Tell us and we will fix it.
