{
  "site": "https://drivingschools.nl",
  "page": "https://drivingschools.nl/exchange/canada-alberta",
  "checker": "https://drivingschools.nl/check#c=CA-AB",
  "rules_version": "1.2.2",
  "verified": "2026-09-02",
  "code": "CA-AB",
  "name": "Canada (Alberta)",
  "group": "DESIGNATED",
  "rule_class": "agreement",
  "verdict": "Exchange for category B only. Other categories are lost; the licence must still be valid.",
  "exchangeable_categories": [
    "B"
  ],
  "licence_script": "latin",
  "licence_document_notes": "Alberta Class 5 (passenger car).",
  "answers": {
    "can_i_exchange_it": "Yes, with limits. The Netherlands has an agreement with Canada (Alberta): category B only can be exchanged, provided the licence is valid and you lived there at least 185 days in the year it was issued. Other categories are lost on exchange.",
    "how_long_can_i_drive_on_it": "185 days from the date you register at a Dutch address (BRP registration). After that, you need a Dutch licence to drive here.",
    "translation": "Latin script: no translation needed."
  },
  "international_driving_permit": {
    "question": "Which International Driving Permit can Canada (Alberta) issue, and do I need one?",
    "answer": "The RDW never requires an International Driving Permit for your 185 days; it advises one when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E, so that they can be read. The permit is a translation of your licence, obtained in the issuing country, and it never extends the 185 days. Canada (Alberta) is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (since 23 December 1965). It is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Its permit follows the 1949 model and is valid for one year from the date of issue. The Netherlands is a party to both conventions, so the 1949 permit is recognised here.",
    "status": "geneva_only",
    "vienna_1968": null,
    "geneva_1949": {
      "date": "1965-12-23",
      "type": "accession"
    },
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence",
        "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetailsV.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XI-B-1&chapter=11&Temp=mtdsg5&clang=_en",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      },
      {
        "label": "1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit)",
        "url": "https://treaties.un.org/doc/Treaties/1952/03/19520326%2003-36%20PM/Ch_XI_B_1_2_3.pdf",
        "verified": "2026-09-07"
      }
    ]
  },
  "licence_categories": {
    "note": "The Dutch column is the closest Dutch category, not an official equivalence: the RDW decides on exchange what a category becomes, and via the 30% ruling only the categories on the licence come across. During your 185 days, your own licence and its own categories are what count.",
    "reading_note": "There is no national Canadian licence: each province issues its own, and the same class name means different things. Ontario uses letters (G is the car licence, A the tractor-trailer licence); Alberta and Québec use numbers (Class 5 is the car licence in both, and those two are the ones the RDW lists, see the facts above). Québec's own pages could not be read; see the open points. That is the case in which the RDW advises an International Driving Permit, so the classes can be read.",
    "rows": [
      {
        "code": "Class G (Ontario)",
        "means": "Any car, van, small truck, or combination of vehicle and towed vehicle up to 11,000 kg, provided the towed vehicle is not over 4,600 kg; G1 and G2 are the graduated stages.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "B"
        ],
        "note": "Dutch B stops at 3,500 kg and a 750 kg trailer; an Ontario G reaches into Dutch C1 and BE."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class M (Ontario)",
        "means": "Any motorcycle, including motor tricycles, limited-speed motorcycles (scooters) and mopeds; with the L condition, limited-speed motorcycles and mopeds only.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "A"
        ],
        "note": "M with the L condition: AM."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class D (Ontario)",
        "means": "A motor vehicle over 11,000 kg gross weight, or any truck or combination where the towed vehicle is not over 4,600 kg.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "C"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "Class A (Ontario)",
        "means": "Any tractor-trailer combination; also class D and G vehicles.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "CE"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "Class B, C, E, F (Ontario)",
        "means": "Buses: B any school-purposes bus, C any regular bus, E a school bus up to 24 passengers, F a regular bus up to 24 passengers and ambulances.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "D"
        ],
        "note": "Dutch D1 stops at 16 passengers, so all four sit under D."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 5 (Alberta)",
        "means": "A 2-axle single motor vehicle, towing a trailer without air brakes; a motorhome without air brakes. Class 5-GDL is the probationary stage, held for at least 2 years.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "B"
        ],
        "note": "Set by axles, not mass: a 2-axle truck over 3,500 kg is still Class 5 in Alberta and Dutch C1 here."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 6 (Alberta)",
        "means": "A motorcycle or moped; Class 5 vehicles as a learner only. A road test on a three-wheeler limits the licence to three-wheelers.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "A"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 4 (Alberta)",
        "means": "A taxi, ambulance or bus seating fewer than 25 people including the driver; everything in Class 5.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "D1"
        ],
        "note": "Dutch D1 stops at 16 passengers; a 24-seat bus is Dutch D."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 3 (Alberta)",
        "means": "A single motor vehicle with 3 or more axles, towing a trailer without air brakes; everything in Class 5.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "C"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 2 (Alberta)",
        "means": "A bus; everything in Class 3, 4 and 5.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "D"
        ]
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 1 (Alberta)",
        "means": "Any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle.",
        "closest_dutch": [
          "CE",
          "DE"
        ],
        "note": "Every combination; CE for goods, DE for a bus."
      },
      {
        "code": "Class 7 (Alberta)",
        "means": "The learner's licence: Class 5 vehicles and motorcycles with a supervisor, held for at least a year before the probationary Class 5.",
        "closest_dutch": [],
        "note": "A learner's licence is not a full licence."
      }
    ],
    "code_78": "If you take the Dutch practical exam in an automatic, the Dutch licence gets code 78: automatic only. Removing it means a new practical exam in a manual car.",
    "document": [
      "An Ontario licence is valid for 5 years and renewed every 5 years.",
      "An Alberta licence is valid for one to 5 years, depending on the class, medical status and age."
    ],
    "open_points": [
      "Québec: the SAAQ site answers requests from outside Canada with a block page, and the Québec statute portal (LégisQuébec, the regulation on the classes of driver's licences) returned 403 on 13 September 2026. The Québec classes are not in the table; the RDW's own line (Classe 5, véhicule de promenade) is in the facts above. Re-read the SAAQ page on the classes of driver's licence when reachable.",
      "The Dutch column is our judgement: Ontario G (11,000 kg) and Alberta Class 5 (any 2-axle vehicle) to B; Ontario D and Alberta Class 3 to C; Ontario A and Alberta Class 1 to CE; the bus classes to D or D1 by seats; Alberta Class 7 (learner) to none.",
      "No automatic-only condition appears on the Ontario and Alberta pages read; none rather than assumed. The other provinces and territories were not read.",
      "Alberta's Class 1 to 4 definitions are read from the commercial-licence page, which summarises the Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation; the regulation itself was not read."
    ],
    "followup": "https://github.com/reede-web/drivingschools/issues/133",
    "sources": [
      {
        "label": "Ontario.ca (Ministry of Transportation), bus handbook: licence classes and combinations (A to G, M)",
        "url": "https://www.ontario.ca/document/official-ministry-transportation-mto-bus-handbook/licence-classes-and-combinations",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Alberta.ca, get a Class 5 driver's licence: what Class 5 and Class 5-GDL allow",
        "url": "https://www.alberta.ca/class-5-drivers-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Alberta.ca, get a Class 6 motorcycle licence",
        "url": "https://www.alberta.ca/class-6-motorcycle-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Alberta.ca, obtaining a commercial licence: Class 1, 2, 3 and 4",
        "url": "https://www.alberta.ca/upgrade-commercial-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Ontario.ca, renew your driver's licence: valid for 5 years",
        "url": "https://www.ontario.ca/page/renew-drivers-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "Alberta.ca, renew or replace a driver's licence: valid one to 5 years",
        "url": "https://www.alberta.ca/renew-replace-drivers-licence",
        "verified": "2026-09-13",
        "side": "foreign"
      },
      {
        "label": "RDW, rijbewijscategorieën",
        "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/over-het-rijbewijs/rijbewijscategorieen",
        "verified": "2026-09-08",
        "side": "dutch"
      },
      {
        "label": "CBR, wat betekent code 78",
        "url": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/veelgestelde-vragen/wat-betekent-code-78",
        "verified": "2026-09-08",
        "side": "dutch"
      }
    ]
  },
  "worked_example": {
    "note": "Computed by the rules engine for a sample input; your own dates give your own deadline.",
    "input": {
      "issue_date": "2020-06-15",
      "expiry_date": "2030-06-15",
      "brp_registration": "2026-09-01",
      "as_of": "2026-09-02"
    },
    "may_drive_until": "2027-03-04",
    "sentence": "Registered at a Dutch address on 1 September 2026: you may drive here until 4 March 2027 (185 days). After that you need a Dutch licence.",
    "rules_applied": [
      {
        "rule_id": "V-NONEU-185D",
        "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/rijden-met-een-buitenlands-rijbewijs",
        "verified": "2026-09-04"
      }
    ]
  },
  "cost": {
    "route": "exchange",
    "currency": "EUR",
    "note": "Official 2026 fees carry their source; estimates and derived amounts are labelled.",
    "totals": {
      "low": 110.55,
      "typical": 115.55,
      "high": 120.55
    },
    "items": [
      {
        "id": "gemeente_fee_max",
        "label": "Municipal exchange fee (national maximum)",
        "low": 53.65,
        "typical": 53.65,
        "high": 53.65,
        "source": "https://vng.nl/nieuws/rijbewijstarief-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "health_declaration",
        "label": "Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring)",
        "low": 46.9,
        "typical": 46.9,
        "high": 46.9,
        "source": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/service/nl/nl/tarieven-2026",
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      },
      {
        "id": "passport_photo",
        "label": "Passport photo (fotomatrix standard)",
        "low": 10,
        "typical": 15,
        "high": 20,
        "market_estimate": true,
        "source": null,
        "verified": "2026-09-02"
      }
    ],
    "assumptions": [
      "No city chosen: the €53.65 national maximum is used; your gemeente may charge less (Amsterdam charges €64.65 for exchanges).",
      "Timeline: RDW decides within 15 working days of a complete application; cities quote 2–4 weeks overall, plus health-declaration processing (~4 weeks) where required."
    ]
  },
  "timeline": {
    "weeks": {
      "low": 3,
      "high": 6,
      "estimate": false
    },
    "steps": [
      {
        "id": "ex-1",
        "title": "Health declaration via Mijn CBR",
        "time": "~4 weeks (CBR processing)",
        "time_is_estimate": false,
        "link": "https://www.cbr.nl/nl/rijden-en-uw-gezondheid/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen"
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-3",
        "title": "Passport photo",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-4",
        "title": "Gemeente appointment",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-5",
        "title": "Hand in your foreign licence",
        "link": null
      },
      {
        "id": "ex-6",
        "title": "Collect your Dutch licence",
        "time": "RDW decides within 15 working days; collect ~5 working days later",
        "time_is_estimate": false,
        "link": null
      }
    ]
  },
  "country_notes": [
    {
      "text": "An Alberta Class 5 licence exchanges for category B. Alberta licences show a class number rather than the European letters; the RDW advises an International Driving Permit while you still drive on it.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-06"
    }
  ],
  "common_mistakes": [
    {
      "text": "Counting on all categories coming back. Only the categories on the agreement list are exchanged; the others are waived on a waiver form (afstandsverklaring).",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Letting the licence expire first. The RDW cannot exchange an expired non-EU licence.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Forgetting the residency test. You must have lived in the issuing country for at least 185 days in the year the licence was issued.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    },
    {
      "text": "Driving past day 185 while the exchange is pending. The 185 days run from your registration; the pending application does not extend them.",
      "source": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence",
      "verified": "2026-09-02"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchange checklist (Dutch)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/het-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs/buitenlands-rijbewijs-omwisselen"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, exchanging a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/exchanging-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    },
    {
      "label": "RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (English)",
      "url": "https://www.rdw.nl/en/driving-licence/foreign-driving-licence/driving-with-a-foreign-driving-licence"
    }
  ],
  "terms": "Guidance, not legal advice. Every entry carries the official page it was read from and the date it was read. The RDW checklist is the authority; where the rules encode a conservative reading, the entry says so. When you use this data, cite the page URL and the rules version. Corrections: hello@drivingschools.nl."
}