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Convert your foreign driving licence in Israel: deadline and steps

Misrad HaRishui

The short answer

Applies to every new oleh. No test required if you held a valid Category B licence continuously for 5 years before aliyah. Described by one specialist guide as the most frustrating step of the whole process. Deadline: 5 years after your last entry to Israel.

Checked on 2026-09-10 against the sources below. Confirm with Misrad HaRishui before you rely on it.

Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before acting

Deadline

Deadline: 5 years after your last entry to Israel. Miss it and it is still possible, but slower or harder.

Counted from your own date, never from today. Your plan turns it into a calendar date.

Steps

  1. 1

    Finish what this depends on

    Complete first: Get your Teudat Zehut (biometric ID card).

  2. 2

    Mark the deadline

    Deadline: 5 years after your last entry to Israel.

    Miss it and it is still possible, but slower or harder.

  3. 3

    Apply

    Handled by Misrad HaRishui. Expect to go in person: it cannot be done fully online.

  4. 4

    Know the key figure

    Approximate cost if a practical test is required: 960 NIS.

    The licence itself (517 for ten years, up to 602 to age 70) plus the 165 test, the 229 test-car fee and a 30 to 100 eye test. One to three lessons at 140 to 220 each come on top.

  5. 5

    Avoid a known trap

    Treat the 1-year date as the real deadline and start the conversion around month 3, because appointment scarcity alone can absorb 3 to 4 months.

    Why: Two different clocks run at once: you may drive on a foreign licence for only 1 year from your last entry, while the 5 years is the window to convert without a test. Driving in years 2 to 5 on the foreign licence can void your insurance.

  6. 6

    Avoid a known trap

    Bring a full driving record or abstract from your licensing authority, not just the plastic card. Most people learn this only after being turned away.

    Why: The commonest rejection: a licence that renews every few years shows a recent issue date, which does not prove 5 years of holding.

  7. 7

    Avoid a known trap

    Check at 07:00 to 08:00 for released slots, and look at smaller branches such as Afula, Karmiel, Beer Sheva or Katzrin.

    Why: Major-city branches show no availability for months.

Costs and figures

Approximate cost if a practical test is required

960 NIS

The licence itself (517 for ten years, up to 602 to age 70) plus the 165 test, the 229 test-car fee and a 30 to 100 eye test. One to three lessons at 140 to 220 each come on top.

Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before acting

What it costs

Every fee, on your own dates

What it depends on, and what it unlocks

Do these first

This unlocks

No other step waits on this one.

Sources

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