3.10.17 Armed Forces Driver's Licence / Licence Exchange

Policy

This policy also provides details on:

Privately Owned Vehicles

Members of the armed forces are not required to obtain an Alberta driver’s licence when they have a valid driver's licence issued by their home, province, state or country and are driving their privately owned vehicles. This policy applies to:

  • Members of His Majesty’s forces.
    and
  • Members of armed forces of a country other than Canada who are in Canada under the Status of Forces Agreement (NATO).

When their driver’s licence issued from their home state or country has expired, in order to legally drive a privately owned vehicle(s) in Alberta, the member of the armed forces must:

  • Renew their home state or country driver’s licence.
    or
  • Apply for an Alberta driver's licence.

Military Vehicles

Members of His Majesty’s Forces and members of armed forces of a country other than Canada, who are in Canada under the Status of Forces Agreement (NATO) are not required to hold a subsisting driver’s licence when driving military vehicles when:

  • They are authorized to operate the vehicles under the command of His Majesty’s Forces or under the command of the forces from another country.
    and
  • The military vehicles are being operated in accordance with the authority of that command.

Armed Forces Driver’s Licence/Permit

Members of the armed forces of a country other than Canada:

  • Cannot exchange their Armed Forces Driver's Licence/Permit for an Alberta driver’s licence of an equivalent class. 
    • They must exchange a valid driver’s licence from their home state or country.
  • Are not required to surrender their Armed Forces Driver’s Licence/Permit when applying for an Alberta driver’s licence.

Driver Licence Exchange

Members of the armed forces may apply for an Alberta driver’s licence and exchange a valid:

Non-Reciprocal Out of Country Driver’s Licence
Members of the armed forces are not required to complete a knowledge and/or road test when they can present a valid non-reciprocal operator’s licence along with one of the following:

  • A valid Department of National Defence driver’s licence (DND 404).
  • NATO travel orders with the military licence.

Members of the armed forces must surrender their valid non-reciprocal out of country driver’s licence in accordance with Section 13(1) of the Operator Licensing & Vehicle Control Regulation.

When exchanging a valid non-reciprocal out of country driver’s licence a registry agent must:

  • Issue a class 7 learner’s licence when the driver’s licence allows the holder to operate a motor vehicle as a learner only.
  • Issue a class 5 driver’s licence when the driver’s licence allows the client to operate any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle.
  • Issue a class 6 driver’s licence when the driver’s licence allows the client to operate a motorcycle.
  • Courier the non-reciprocal out of country driver’s licence to your district Special Investigations Unit on a daily basis.

Note:
This policy does not apply to armed forces family members.

DND-404 Licence Exchange Equivalency Upgrade

A DND member or veteran may request that Alberta Transportation honour their equivalent DND class of licence. To apply, the member or veteran must contact the Road Safety Representative at their current or former base.  The Road Safety Representative will review the member’s licence and forward the application to Alberta Transportation for processing.

Alberta Transportation will update the driver licence record and require the member to attend a registry agent office to receive a duplicate licence or complete an Operator Renewal service, if applicable.  Alberta Transportation will place an alert on the client’s file to provide the registry agent with directions. The client will be required to pay both the government and registry agent service fees at the time of service.

In some cases, the DND member or veteran will not hold an Alberta Licence or a licence from a reciprocal jurisdiction; therefore, Alberta Transportation will place an alert authorizing the issuance of a Class 7 licence. In these cases, the registry agent will complete an Out of Province First service, capture the driver’s photo, collect the licensing fee and record “DND” in OOP Licence field along with the licence number, class and condition code as listed on the DND licence. The client would then be required to return to a registry agent for an Operator Duplicate service once Alberta Transportation has processed an Operator Reclass service on MOVES. The client would be required to pay the fees associated with both the Out of Province First service and the Operator Duplicate service.


Date Originally Issued: Nov 14, 1989
Date Last Revised: Sep 22, 2022