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salikgilani

Hero Member
Apr 27, 2017
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When exchanging a US license with a Canadian one, do they keep the US license and provide Canadian in its stead? Or do I just show my US license and get a Canadian license.

Any help would be appreciated as I have to travel back to the US ( drive in ) so this information is critical.
 
When exchanging a US license with a Canadian one, do they keep the US license and provide Canadian in its stead? Or do I just show my US license and get a Canadian license.

Any help would be appreciated as I have to travel back to the US ( drive in ) so this information is critical.

SAAQ ( DMV equivalent in Quebec) kept my USA license while giving me Canadian one.
 
Yes they will keep your US license (regardless of what provinces you are in). Your US license is not lost forever tho, you can simply exchange back your Canadian license for a US one later on.

It is strongly advised to get a driving history letter from your insurance/state. This will be necessary to prove driving experience as well as to claim insurance discounts.
 
Yes they will keep your US license (regardless of what provinces you are in). Your US license is not lost forever tho, you can simply exchange back your Canadian license for a US one later on.

It is strongly advised to get a driving history letter from your insurance/state. This will be necessary to prove driving experience as well as to claim insurance discounts.

Funny story. I moved to Canada for 13 months on work permit and returned back to CT ( same city, different address). CT DMV simply re-issued me same USA DL that I had exchanged in Canada as in their system it was still valid. No CA to US DL exchange required. I sent Canadian DL back to SAAQ and got some refund on DL fees.
 
Yes. Problem is the state of Iowa does not provide driving license history beyond the last renewal. Since I got mine renewed in June this year, I need to attach my original DLA along with. So for anyone reading this, kindly ensure you have atleast your original application when you come in for an exchange.

Thank you all for your responses. I will hold on to the exchange till i have moved here to Canada permanently.
 
Folks,

My current US (Ohio) driving license has only 1 year, however I had 3 years of driving history in Florida and I got that history in a pdf. Between staying in Florida and Ohio, I stayed in India for more than 6 months and my license expired, so I had to get a new one in Ohio. Now can I exchange my Ohio license (1 year) and show my Florida driving record (3 years) to get a full license in Toronto?

My total driving history in US is more than 4 years, but there is a break of 2 years when I was out of country. Will that be a problem?
 
I exchanged my NYS license for an Ontario one. It was very easy to do. I just filled out a form, provided my long abstract which I got from the NYS, and passed an eye test. They took my NYS license and issue me a temporary Ontario license on the spot. My permanent one came in the mail a few weeks later.

But yes, they took my NYS license and I didn't get it back. It really is an "exchange"
 
I lost my wallet and it had my CA DL. I was planning to exchange it with Ontario license. I have the CA drivers' extract however don't physically have the DL. Given I don't have a legal resident status in the US anymore can I still show the DL extract (and I do have the image of my CA DL on my phone) to get G license here?
 
I lost my wallet and it had my CA DL. I was planning to exchange it with Ontario license. I have the CA drivers' extract however don't physically have the DL. Given I don't have a legal resident status in the US anymore can I still show the DL extract (and I do have the image of my CA DL on my phone) to get G license here?

hmm... when I did the exchange, they definitely wanted my physical license to keep. You should check with service Ontario.
 
For Quebec, do US (California, in my case) DL holders need to pass a knowledge test/road test? Or is it a simple exchange?
 
How to get Drivers license extract / Driving record from Missouri, I am currently out of USA and living in india Is there any online procedure?
 
Can someone suggest if one should get Ontario Driving license during soft landing from USA?

I've a USA driving license (Massachussets) and I did my soft landing on Sept 1, 2018. As I've been reading in the forums that I'll have to surrender my US driving license if I opt for Ontario driving license. Is that true?

Should I research for a way to get Ontario driving license to build my driving history (lower insurance in future)?
 
When you get a Canadian temporary license; can you drive across the border for work/leisure using that? How did you go about car insurance?