Converting your overseas driving licence in Western Australia
Published 11 August 2026 · 7 min
The rules are different depending on your visa status, and a lot of people assume they need to convert their licence when they actually do not, at least not yet.
Do you even need to convert it
- Temporary visa holders, including international students: you can keep driving on your current, valid overseas licence for as long as your visa lasts. You do not need to transfer it to a WA licence at all.
- Permanent residents and citizens: you can drive on your overseas licence for up to 3 months after arriving, then you must apply to transfer it.
- If a temporary visa holder later becomes a permanent resident, the 3 month clock starts from that point, not from their original arrival date.
Recognised country or not, and why it matters
Since 1 November 2025, WA sorts overseas licences into recognised country and non recognised country. A recognised country is one with a driver training and licensing system judged broadly equivalent to Australia's, examples given by Transport WA include Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, the UK and Malta. If your licence is from a recognised country you skip the theory test and the practical driving test entirely, you only need an eyesight test and a medical declaration. If it is from a non recognised country, you need to pass both a computerised theory test and a Practical Driving Assessment. The exact, current list of recognised countries changes, so check it directly on transport.wa.gov.au rather than trusting an old list, since 16 countries lost their previous recognised status in this November 2025 change if they had not already transferred.
Documents you will need
- A completed Driver's Licence Application form (DLA1), available on transport.wa.gov.au.
- Your original overseas licence, not a photocopy, and generally not expired for more than 12 months.
- An English translation if your licence is not in English, done by a NAATI certified translator, a tertiary qualified translator, or the Department of Home Affairs' free translating service. You only need to submit a photo or scan of your licence for translation, not the original document.
- Proof of identity: 5 original documents in total, including your visa with your overseas passport, proof of your address such as a utility bill or an official letter less than 6 months old, and at least one document with your signature.
- A letter of verification if your licence was issued by Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia or Iraq.
Fees and where to go
For a recognised country transfer, the application fee is currently $63.50. For a non recognised country transfer, which includes the driving test, it is currently $150.80. Both are done in person at a Driver and Vehicle Services centre or regional agent, and the practical driving assessment is booked online through DoTDirect. If you need to cancel or reschedule, do it more than 48 hours ahead or you will be charged again, and arriving more than 15 minutes late forfeits your booking. Confirm the exact current fees on transport.wa.gov.au before you go, since government fees change periodically.
If you are on a student visa and not converting your licence, you still need to know WA's road rules well, since your overseas licence does not come with local knowledge. Use KangaLearner's Learn section to study those rules regardless of which licence you are driving on.
Official source: Transport WA, Moving from overseas