Exchanging a foreign or out-of-province driver’s licence in Quebec

The 6-month rule, exchanging without a test, which tests you need depending on where your licence is from, and what to bring.

Short answer: when you settle in Quebec you can drive on your valid licence for up to 6 months; after that you need a Quebec licence. A licence from another province, the United States or a country with an agreement with Quebec is exchanged for a car licence without a test. With a licence from a country without an agreement, held for at least one year, you take the SAAQ knowledge and road tests, with no course and no learner’s licence; with less than one year, it’s the driving course and graduated licensing.

Your first 6 months in Quebec

Someone who holds a valid licence issued elsewhere and settles in Quebec may, within six months of settling, drive a passenger vehicle there without an SAAQ licence (Code de la sécurité routière, Quebec’s Highway Safety Code, s. 89). The SAAQ specifies that this covers cars, motorcycles and mopeds, if your licence allows them, but not trucks, emergency vehicles, buses, minibuses or taxis. After that period, you need a Quebec licence to keep driving.

If you are not a resident (a tourist, for example), you may drive for up to 6 consecutive months on your valid licence, if the authority that issued it grants Quebec residents the same right (s. 85). Foreign students, co-operants and interns may drive a passenger vehicle for the length of their studies or internship (s. 86).

Exchange or tests: it depends where your licence is from

Licence issued…	For a car (Class 5)
In another Canadian province or territory, valid or expired less than 3 years	Exchanged without a test (s. 90)
In the United States, valid or expired less than 3 years	Exchanged without a competency test (s. 91)
In a country with an agreement (or administrative arrangement) with Quebec, valid licence	Exchanged without a competency test (s. 91.1); expired licence: tests in most cases
In a country without an agreement, held at least 1 year when you arrived	SAAQ knowledge and road tests, with no course and no learner’s licence (s. 91.3)
In a country without an agreement, less than 1 year of experience	Driving course and graduated licensing (learner’s licence)
In Canada or the US, expired 3 years or more	Driving course and graduated licensing

Sources: Highway Safety Code, ss. 90 to 91.3; SAAQ, “Permis de conduire canadien ou étranger”. For a motorcycle, the tests are required even with a licence from an agreement country (s. 91.1).

The 12-month deadline

An exchange of a licence issued outside Canada (the US or an agreement country) must be requested within 12 months of settling in Canada (Regulation respecting licences, s. 32.1). The same 12-month deadline applies to the course and learner’s-licence exemption for a licence from a country without an agreement (s. 32.2). Don’t mix this up with the 6 months during which you may drive on your original licence.

Countries without an agreement: the tests

You must pass the SAAQ competency tests (knowledge and road). Depending on the case, the knowledge test is taken on the spot on the day of your appointment or at another appointment (SAAQ).
From your first failed road test, you lose the exemption: you may no longer drive on your foreign licence, and the SAAQ issues you a learner’s licence. You still don’t have to take the driving course (Regulation respecting licences, s. 32.2). You can retake the test after a minimum of 28 days (SAAQ).
Once you pass the road test, the SAAQ issues a driver’s licence, or a probationary licence if you have held a valid licence from elsewhere for less than 2 years (s. 32.2).

To prepare, see our pages on the knowledge test and the road test.

Probationary licence and former Quebec licences

Whether your licence is from Canada, the US, or a country with or without an agreement, if you have less than 24 months of car driving experience you get a probationary licence (with its rules, including zero alcohol).
If you once held a Quebec licence for the same vehicle categories, a foreign licence that is valid or expired less than 3 years exempts you from the competency tests (Code, s. 91.4).

Which countries have an agreement?

These agreements are made under section 629 of the Code. The SAAQ’s exchange page does not publish the list of countries covered: check your case with the SAAQ when you request your appointment.

How to apply and what to bring

Start by filling in the form “Rendez-vous pour faire reconnaître l’expérience de conduite acquise à l’extérieur du Québec” (appointment to have driving experience from outside Quebec recognized); the SAAQ contacts you within 20 business days of receiving it. At the appointment, bring the originals of:

your Canadian or foreign driver’s licence;
proof of Canadian citizenship or right of stay;
proof of residence in Quebec;
proof that you lived where the licence was issued, if you got it less than 3 years ago;
your driving record (recommended: it can reduce the steps you have to take);
an official translation of any document that is in neither French nor English, by a member of OTTIAQ, ATIJ or a CTTIC member organization. An international driving permit is not an official translation.

Source: SAAQ, “Permis de conduire canadien ou étranger”. For fees, see the SAAQ’s fee pages.

Key points for the test

New resident: up to 6 months on your valid original licence, then a Quebec licence.
Another province, the US or an agreement country: exchanged without a test for a car.
Country without an agreement, at least 1 year of experience: knowledge and road tests, no course.
First failed road test: learner’s licence, and no more driving on the foreign licence.

Test yourself on this topic
Original questions with an explanation and a source, “Highway Safety Code” section.
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Official sources

SAAQ, “Permis de conduire canadien ou étranger” (French; last modified April 30, 2026; consulted 2026-10-29)
SAAQ, “Rendez-vous pour faire reconnaître l’expérience de conduite acquise à l’extérieur du Québec” (French)
Code de la sécurité routière (Highway Safety Code, CQLR c. C-24.2), ss. 85, 86, 89, 90, 91, 91.1, 91.3, 91.4 and 629
Règlement sur les permis (Regulation respecting licences, CQLR c. C-24.2, r. 34), ss. 32.1 and 32.2

General information page, current as of 2026-10-29. If in doubt, the official text prevails. Rules can change: check saaq.gouv.qc.ca and legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca. Heavy-vehicle, bus, taxi and motorcycle licences follow other rules, not covered here.