This document introduces a special procedure for dealing with expired, lost, or stolen Ukrainian driver's licenses. The goal is to reduce the bureaucratic burden on drivers.

So, from the end of July, in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Finland, France, Croatia, Sweden, and the Czech Republic, it became possible to:

  • drive with a Ukrainian driver's license without the mandatory exchange for the entire duration of temporary protection, not just the first six months;
  • use an old-style license that is written exclusively in Cyrillic and has no specified expiration date, without the need to obtain a notarized translation or an international permit;
  • drive a car even when the license expired in 2022 — this applies to documents issued for the first time for two years;
  • obtain a temporary (for the duration of protection) European-style license if the Ukrainian license is lost or stolen, without taking exams — it is enough for the EU country to verify the legitimacy of the license issued in Ukraine and confirm that the driver meets medical and psychological requirements.

For example, a person left for Poland during the war and received temporary protection. Their license, issued for the first time, has expired. Such licenses are valid for two years, after which they must be replaced. In Ukraine, during martial law, expired licenses are considered valid. Now they are also recognized as valid in the territory of the European Union. So there is no need to spend time obtaining Polish rights or traveling to Ukraine for an exchange.

Another case. A person arrived by train to Hungary, carrying an old-style Ukrainian license — only in Cyrillic and without an expiration date. They received temporary protection and want to drive a car in Hungary. According to the new Regulation, which came into force in July, such a license can be used in the EU. It is no longer necessary to carry a certified translation or an additional booklet — an international driver's permit. Only an identity document is sufficient.