Policy

An out of province operator first service is used to issue an Alberta driver’s licence when:

• The client has a licence from Canada or the United States.  
• The client has a licence from Countries that have a Reciprocal Licensing Agreement with Alberta.
  • Must be valid (i.e. not expired).
• The client has a consul or consular attribute and has a licence from a jurisdiction outside of Alberta; see 3.10.21 Consul Licensing.

When the Canadian or United States driver’s licence the client is surrendering has been expired for more than three years, full testing is required for the licence class requested (this includes knowledge test, road test and vision screening). A registry agent must process an out of province operator first service and insert the test permit in the support document field.

Previous Alberta Driver’s Licence

A client who is surrendering a Canadian, United States, or reciprocal country driver’s licence and who has previously held an Alberta driver’s licence, and the Alberta driver’s licence has:

• Been expired for more than six months, process an out of province operator first.
• Been expired six months or less, process an operator renewal; see 3.15.03 Operator Renewal.
• Not yet expired, process an operator exchange; see 3.15.06 Operator Exchange.

Licensing Requirements

A client must:

• Provide acceptable identification; see 2.05.02 Acceptable Identification/Enrolment.
• Be 18 years of age or older.
  • When the client is less than 18 years of age, consent for a minor or proof of self-sufficiency or marriage, as is applicable, is required; see 2.00.02 Minor - Consent/Self Sufficiency.
• Meet all licence class requirements for the class of driver’s licence being applied for; see 3.00.01 Driver Licence Classifications.
• Pass a vision screening and disclose all medical conditions/physical disabilities that may affect their ability to safely operate a motor vehicle; see 3.05.05 Medicals/Visions.
• Provide proof of date first licenced or length of time licenced to determine if they should be placed in the GDL Program and the Class 1 Learning Pathway; see 3.20.02 Graduated Driver Licence (GDL) Program, 3.05.04 Date First Licenced (DFL) and 3.20.06 Class 1 Learning Pathway.
• Surrender their out of province driver’s licence.
  • Clients are not required to surrender out of province identification cards.

For exchange details regarding:

• Canadian driver’s licence; see the appropriate sub-section in 3.10 Reciprocal Licensing.
• US driver’s licence; see 3.10.13 United States Driver’s Licence.
• Foreign country driver’s licence with a Reciprocal Licensing Agreement with Alberta; see 3.10.14 Reciprocal Agreement Countries.

Note: The DFL information must be entered from the driver's licence the client is surrendering or the driver information retrieved from the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators Interprovincial Record Exchange for the jurisdiction where the surrendered driver's licence is from.

Additional Requirements

In addition to the requirements mentioned, the client may have to provide a medical report and/or vision referral; see 3.05.05 Medicals/Visions.

A registry agent must:

• Complete a CCMTA Interprovincial Record Exchange (IRE) search; see 3.10.20 Interprovincial Record Exchange Searches & Close Outs for Driver’s Licences (CCMTA).
• Ask the client (provided they are 18 years of age, or older) “Will you register consent to the donation of your organs, tissue and/or body?” in the Alberta Organ and Tissue Donation Registry (AOTDR) and provide the adult with the AOTDR Brochure.
  • If the client participates, they must be advised that a heart symbol will display on the front of their Driver’s Licence.
• View the client's most recent image on MOVES for clients who previously held an Alberta driver's licence to verify the identity of the client.
  • If the client's images cannot be viewed, the operator service cannot be processed.
• Capture a photo of the client.
  • When the client has a previous acceptable image on MOVES, a new photo is not required, however it is best practice to capture a new image if the client agrees; 3.05.02 Driver Licence / Identification Card Photo and Signature Requirement.
• Capture the client’s signature.
• Issue an interim licence.
• Send a copy of all out of country reciprocal licences and support documents to Motor Vehicles immediately after completing the service.
  • Retain the surrendered licences for one week and then shred them in your office.

Amendments to a Client File

A registry agent must immediately send any support documents to Motor Vehicles when corrections are required to a client's:

• Demographic information.
• Condition codes (addition or deletion).
• Date first licenced.

Some examples of support documents include:

• Proof of birth date is required if the date of birth is different on the CCMTA search results and surrendered out of province driver's licence.
• Proof of airbrake endorsement when adding a Condition Code Q.
• Documentation from a jurisdiction’s licensing authority confirming the client has additional driving experience.
• CCMTA screen print/document from the jurisdiction showing DFL date when MOVES places client in the GDL program, but the client should not be in GDL.

CCMTA Close Out

When a client exchanges a driver’s licence from another Canadian jurisdiction, a close out notification must be sent to that jurisdiction in which the driver’s licence was previously issued; see 3.10.20 Close Out (CCMTA).

Imaging

The signed application form and all supporting documents must be sent for imaging; see the appropriate sub-section in 1.15 Imaging.

Date Originally Issued: Nov 14, 1989
Date Last Revised: Apr 01, 2025