Driving in the Netherlands on a licence from Canada (other provinces and territories) (buitenlands rijbewijs)
The Dutch CBR exams. Unless you hold a 30% ruling (expat scheme) decision, which allows an exchange from any country.
From the RDW rules, verified 2 September 2026. The details, sources and costs are below.
The facts for a licence from Canada (other provinces and territories)
- How long you may 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.
- Exchange: Not directly. Canada (other provinces and territories) is not on the RDW agreement list, so the standard route is the Dutch exams: CBR theory (available in English) and a practical exam. Exception: holders of a 30%-ruling (expat scheme) decision can exchange a licence from any country.
- The 30% ruling (expat scheme): a valid decision lets you exchange a licence from any country, with all its categories, if the licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit.
- Translation: Latin script: no translation needed.
- International Driving Permit: recommended by the RDW when the categories on your licence are not labelled A, B, C, D, E; never required for the 185 days.
- Health declaration: needed before an exchange or the practical exam (Gezondheidsverklaring, €47 via Mijn CBR).
Sources: RDW exchange checklist, RDW, driving with a foreign licence, RDW, exchanging a foreign licence; verified 2 September 2026.
Which International Driving Permit can Canada (other provinces and territories) issue, and do I need one?
- 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 (other provinces and territories) 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.
Sources: RDW, driving with a foreign driving licence (read 7 September 2026), UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: status (read 7 September 2026), 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, Annex 10 (validity of the permit) (read 7 September 2026).
What the categories on a Canada (other provinces and territories) licence mean here
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.
| On your licence | What it covers at home | Closest Dutch category |
|---|---|---|
| Class G (Ontario) | 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. | BDutch B stops at 3,500 kg and a 750 kg trailer; an Ontario G reaches into Dutch C1 and BE. |
| Class M (Ontario) | Any motorcycle, including motor tricycles, limited-speed motorcycles (scooters) and mopeds; with the L condition, limited-speed motorcycles and mopeds only. | AM with the L condition: AM. |
| Class D (Ontario) | A motor vehicle over 11,000 kg gross weight, or any truck or combination where the towed vehicle is not over 4,600 kg. | C |
| Class A (Ontario) | Any tractor-trailer combination; also class D and G vehicles. | CE |
| Class B, C, E, F (Ontario) | 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. | DDutch D1 stops at 16 passengers, so all four sit under D. |
| Class 5 (Alberta) | 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. | BSet by axles, not mass: a 2-axle truck over 3,500 kg is still Class 5 in Alberta and Dutch C1 here. |
| Class 6 (Alberta) | A motorcycle or moped; Class 5 vehicles as a learner only. A road test on a three-wheeler limits the licence to three-wheelers. | A |
| Class 4 (Alberta) | A taxi, ambulance or bus seating fewer than 25 people including the driver; everything in Class 5. | D1Dutch D1 stops at 16 passengers; a 24-seat bus is Dutch D. |
| Class 3 (Alberta) | A single motor vehicle with 3 or more axles, towing a trailer without air brakes; everything in Class 5. | C |
| Class 2 (Alberta) | A bus; everything in Class 3, 4 and 5. | D |
| Class 1 (Alberta) | Any motor vehicle other than a motorcycle. | CE or DEEvery combination; CE for goods, DE for a bus. |
| Class 7 (Alberta) | The learner's licence: Class 5 vehicles and motorcycles with a supervisor, held for at least a year before the probationary Class 5. | noneA learner's licence is not a full licence. |
- Dutch 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.
- Your licence document: An Ontario licence is valid for 5 years and renewed every 5 years.
- Your licence document: An Alberta licence is valid for one to 5 years, depending on the class, medical status and age.
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.
What is our judgement here, and what may be out of date
- 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.
Sources: Ontario.ca (Ministry of Transportation), bus handbook: licence classes and combinations (A to G, M) (read 13 September 2026); Alberta.ca, get a Class 5 driver's licence: what Class 5 and Class 5-GDL allow (read 13 September 2026); Alberta.ca, get a Class 6 motorcycle licence (read 13 September 2026); Alberta.ca, obtaining a commercial licence: Class 1, 2, 3 and 4 (read 13 September 2026); Ontario.ca, renew your driver's licence: valid for 5 years (read 13 September 2026); Alberta.ca, renew or replace a driver's licence: valid one to 5 years (read 13 September 2026); RDW, rijbewijscategorieën (read 8 September 2026); CBR, wat betekent code 78 (read 8 September 2026).
Specific to licences from Canada (other provinces and territories)
- Only Alberta and Québec are on the agreement list; every other Canadian province or territory takes the exams route, or exchange via the 30% ruling. Canadian licences show a class number rather than the European letters, so the RDW advises an International Driving Permit. source
A worked example
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.
Computed by the same rules engine as the checker; your own dates give your own deadline. Get yours →
What it costs: the CBR exams route
about €1,408(€947–€1,917)
| Item | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Health declaration (Gezondheidsverklaring) | €47 | |
| Theory course (English, online or one-day class)estimate | €50 | €30–€129 |
| Theory exam B (English), budgeted for 1.6 attempts on average | €91 | €57–€114 |
| Driving lessons (10–20 × €67.00)estimate | €1,005 | €670–€1,340 |
| Practical exam B, budgeted for 1.5 attempts on average | €215 | €144–€287 |
CBR fees: CBR tariff table 2026; estimates are labelled. Adjust lessons, city and attempts in the checker. Compare the routes →
Timeline
About 8–16 weeks (estimate), in 6 steps:
- Mijn CBR account + health declaration(~4 weeks (CBR processing))
- Book and pass the theory exam
- Prepare with a theory course
- Choose a driving school
- Lessons, then the practical exam(lessons over several weeks; theory certificate stays valid 18 months, estimate)
- Experienced? Plan fewer lessons
Common mistakes with non-EU licences
- Thinking the 185 days start when you arrive. They run from the day you register at a Dutch address (BRP), and after them a Dutch licence is required. source
- Expecting an International Driving Permit to extend the 185 days. It does not; the RDW advises one only so that the categories on your licence can be read. source
- Waiting for the 30% ruling before doing anything. The ruling lets you exchange from any country, but only while the foreign licence is still valid and you hold a residence permit, and the 185 days keep running meanwhile. source
- Letting the licence expire at home. An expired non-EU licence cannot be exchanged on any route; you would take the exams from scratch. source
Why this is confusing
A Canada (other provinces and territories) licence is not "invalid" here. It is valid for exactly 185 days from your registration and then not at all, unless a 30%-ruling decision opens the exchange door. Many people only find out after day 185.
Exams in your language
The CBR car theory exam exists in English; every other language uses an interpreter, booked 14 days ahead. The practical exam allows a sworn interpreter or your own instructor to translate.
Which exams do I need? · Theory exam in English · Theory exam with an interpreter · Interpreter at the practical exam · Do you need Dutch?
Rules version 1.2.2, verified 2 September 2026. Source: RDW. This is guidance, not legal advice. Confirm with the official RDW checklist. Municipal licence fee: at most €54 in 2026. This page as data: JSON; all rules: rules index.