Drivers licence exchange between Canadian provinces

[bastiaandg]

Hello all,

I've searched the forum, but couldn't find a post matching my situation.

This summer I'll do my landing in BC, but a year later I may move to Alberta.
I'm not quite clear on how this should work regarding licence exchanges and the government contact for this couldn't provide me with the answer. I'm hoping you guys can help me out.

I've held a foreign licence (cars and bike) for about 5 years and my country has a reciprocal agreement with both BC and Alberta. So when I land in BC, I can exchange my licence for a full BC one.
My question is: what happens when I then move to Alberta after a year?

The Alberta site indicates that you can swap a BC licence for a full Alberta licence if you have held your licence for at least 2 years. However, at that point my BC licence will have been issued just a year earlier and I will no longer have my foreign licence (since I'll have to hand it in for the BC licence).
WIll they still consider my foreign driving experience and issue me a full Alberta licence, or will only the BC experience count and will I then receive a GDL or something and have to take an additional road test later?

 

[bastiaandg]

No one?

 

[alimzlm]

No one?

I am wondering from where you get this information . could you please copy /paste the text that you are referring to?
I visited https://www.alberta.ca/exchange-non-alberta-licences.aspx#toc-1 where it is mentioned that you can exchange BC Class 5 with AB class 5

Quote
You’ll be given an Alberta’s driver’s licence equal to the class of licence you are exchanging. If you have not held the Class 5 (standard driver's licence) or Class 6 (motorcycle) licence for a minimum of two years, you may be placed into the graduated drivers licence (GDL) program.
Unquote

 

[bastiaandg]

Hi, I got my information from the same spot, pretty much exactly the bit you quote. It's the 2nd sentence of that quote that has me confused/unsure.
The rule I think is meant to state that if you are a beginner and therefore have not had your licence for more than 2 years, you will not be able to exchange your BC licence for a full Alberta licence, you'll get a GDL one instead. They seem to judge driving experience by the number of years you have held your licence, which for most people will be fine.
However, I do have the required driving experience, just in a different country. So I'm wondering how to make this work.

Surely it can't be the case that a Canadian who holds an Ontario licence (for instance) for 15 years, moves to BC for a year followed by a move to Alberta would ultimately end up with a GDL in Alberta, just because his BC licence is only a year old?

 

[Rigly68]

Hi, I got my information from the same spot, pretty much exactly the bit you quote. It's the 2nd sentence of that quote that has me confused/unsure.
The rule I think is meant to state that if you are a beginner and therefore have not had your licence for more than 2 years, you will not be able to exchange your BC licence for a full Alberta licence, you'll get a GDL one instead. They seem to judge driving experience by the number of years you have held your licence, which for most people will be fine.
However, I do have the required driving experience, just in a different country. So I'm wondering how to make this work.

Surely it can't be the case that a Canadian who holds an Ontario licence (for instance) for 15 years, moves to BC for a year followed by a move to Alberta would ultimately end up with a GDL in Alberta, just because his BC licence is only a year old?

You will be fine just to exchange the BC one for the Alberta one...the two years is not based on how long you lived in a province but how long you had a "full" driver licence.

 

[NetMecca]

Changing licenses when moving between provinces is not generally that complicated, I moved from BC to NS after living in BC for 1.5 years. They just swapped out my BC license for an NS one without issues (or proof of previous driving experience). My BC was a full license (which I had to write a test for because of no reciprocal) though I proved my driving experience in BC when I got my BC license and once I moved to NS that did not prove an issue at all. They should swap a full license for a full license no issues.

In your situation I would suggest you make a notarized / certified copy (after you arrive in Canada) of your old driving license to present as proof of driving experience in the new province. That should solve your issue if there even is one.

If you want to be absolutely certain however the best advice I can give you is to call someone at the AB license authority, explain and ask. Always my best advice.

Good luck

 

[bastiaandg]

Thanks for the info. Making a certified copy would be a good idea. Also good to hear it should probably not be an issue.
So far the AB license authority has not been much help at all

 

[cc31]

Thanks for the info. Making a certified copy would be a good idea. Also good to hear it should probably not be an issue.
So far the AB license authority has not been much help at all

Hi, how was your experience with AB DL? Asking because my brother just got his Class 5 license in BC but also moving to AB in a week. He is worried if he will get a Class 5 license in AB. Does not matter if it is a GDL or non-GDL at this point. Thanks.

 

[bastiaandg]

I haven't actually dealt with AB yet. Been in Canada 3 weeks now and I only did the BC exchange.

I will say though that when you have your copr but not yet the physical card (that'll be mailed 2 months later), ICBC will give you an interim DL valid for 2 months and when you have your pr card you have to come back to get the real DL. They also kept my foreign DL. I don't know if this would be the same in AB.

I am also curious what your brother will get, but I think they should exchange it. For a full license if you can prove 2 years of driving experience (before he got the BC license I suppose) and otherwise he should get at least a GDL

 

[cc31]

I haven't actually dealt with AB yet. Been in Canada 3 weeks now and I only did the BC exchange.

I will say though that when you have your copr but not yet the physical card (that'll be mailed 2 months later), ICBC will give you an interim DL valid for 2 months and when you have your pr card you have to come back to get the real DL. They also kept my foreign DL. I don't know if this would be the same in AB.

I am also curious what your brother will get, but I think they should exchange it. For a full license if you can prove 2 years of driving experience (before he got the BC license I suppose) and otherwise he should get at least a GDL

Thanks for your reply. He already has his PR card and has proved 2 years of driving experience from a country with non-reciprocity. As long as he gets a class 5, things are good. The language in AB's website is confusing, so he is unsure if he will get a class 5 in AB after he moves there.

 

[bastiaandg]

Ah, I would just try with the 2 years experience first and see if he can get a full license. If not, he should get a GDL. If for some reason they are giving him a hard time because the experience is from a non-reciprocity country and are unwilling to even issue him a GDL, he could always come back later with only his BC license (without showing any foreign experience) and then they should exchange that according to the rules. In that case the following section would apply:

"
You’ll be given an Alberta’s driver’s licence equal to the class of licence you are exchanging. If you have not held the Class 5 (standard driver's licence) or Class 6 (motorcycle) licence for a minimum of two years, you may be placed into the graduated drivers licence (GDL) program.

You don’t need to do a knowledge test. You don't need to do a road test unless you are placed in the GDL program and want to exit the program after you have gained 2 years of experience. At that time, you will need to pass an advanced road test."