How to Exchange Your First Two-Year Ukrainian Driving Licence After It Expires

When can you exchange your first two-year licence?

A Ukrainian driving licence issued for the first time grants the initial right to drive for two years. The Main Service Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs states that exchange of this first licence because its validity has ended is possible only after the expiry date, beginning the next day.

The two-year beginner period starts when the person first receives the right to drive. Opening another vehicle category later does not restart a fresh two-year beginner period.

When is the exchange completed without exams?

The first licence can be exchanged without repeating the theory and practical tests when, during the two years from its issue date, the driver:

• committed no more than two administrative offences in the field of road safety; and
• did not commit the criminal offence covered by Article 286 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The number of violations is assessed for the actual two-year period beginning on the date the first licence was issued.

Do offences committed after the licence expired count?

No, according to a June 2026 clarification from the Main Service Center. If the driver had fewer than three qualifying administrative offences during the original two-year period but exchanged the licence later, road-safety offences committed after that two-year period ended do not determine whether repeat examinations are required.

When do you have to take the exams again?

You must pass the theory and practical examinations at an MVS service center if you committed three or more qualifying administrative road-safety offences during the two years from the date the first driving licence was issued.

The exam-free rule also requires that the driver did not commit the criminal offence specified in Article 286 of the Criminal Code. The official administrative-service guidance lists this Article 286 circumstance among the grounds preventing the standard exam-free exchange.

What if you were deprived of the right to drive?

A different rule applies if a person who held a first two-year licence was deprived of the right to drive. The first licence is not simply returned. The Main Service Center states that restoration of the driving right requires training at an authorized educational institution followed by successful theory and practical examinations. The licence issued after that process is again issued for two years.

What documents do you need?

For an in-person exchange, the current MVS guidance requires the existing driving licence, tax identification information and an accepted identity document. Depending on the identity document and data available in the registers, residence information may also be required.

The accepted identity/status documents listed by MVS include a Ukrainian citizen passport and certain other documents establishing citizenship, residence or protected status. If the relevant identity document does not contain the necessary registered-address information, an appropriate residence extract or IDP evidence may be needed.

A medical certificate confirming fitness to drive is normally part of the exchange documentation, but the MVS currently states that the medical certificate is not mandatory during martial law.

If your issue is instead that the document disappeared, use the separate guide on replacing a lost or stolen Ukrainian driver's licence. If your licence needs replacement because your name or personal details changed, see the procedure for exchanging a licence after changing personal details.

Where can you apply?

You may exchange an expired first licence at any territorial MVS service center, regardless of your registered place of residence.

Online exchange is also available. The Main Service Center lists the Driver's Cabinet and the Diia application as electronic routes for driving-licence exchange. Diia specifically identifies expiry of the two-year first licence as one of the reasons for using its licence-replacement service.

When can an online application fail?

Electronic exchange depends on the necessary information being available in state registers. Official service guidance identifies problems such as the absence of a digitized facial image, missing required residence information, mismatched register data, a temporary restriction on the right to drive, or the applicant being deprived of driving rights as possible reasons an electronic exchange cannot proceed.

When an online licence exchange uses the existing register photograph, the photograph already stored in the registers is retained. With an in-person application, the driver is photographed again and the register image is updated.

How much does the exchange cost?

The Main Service Center's current exchange guidance states an approximate total of UAH 650 for the administrative service and physical licence card. The published breakdown is approximately UAH 230 for the service and UAH 420 for the card. A bank commission may also be charged.

Where Ukrposhta branch or courier delivery is selected, the MVS expired-licence guidance lists approximately UAH 294 in logistics costs in addition to the licence and service cost.

How long does the exchange take?

For an in-person expired-licence exchange, the current dedicated MVS guidance states that the service is provided during the working day.

For the online route, the dedicated expired-licence guidance currently states 10 working days to process the application, with up to 5 additional days for logistics when delivery is used. Actual receipt therefore depends on the selected collection or delivery method.

How long is the replacement licence valid in 2026?

Ukraine changed the general validity periods for driving categories in July 2026 while keeping the first licence at two years. After exchange of the first licence, the current rules provide:

• 15 years for categories A1, A, B1, B and BE;
• 5 years for categories C1, C, C1E, CE, D1, D, D1E, DE and T.

The new validity period therefore depends on the vehicle categories recorded in the licence.

Can you drive with an expired licence during martial law?

The Main Service Center states that where a driving licence expired before or during martial law, a person who still holds that licence is permitted to drive in Ukraine during the applicable wartime regime. The holder may nevertheless exchange it through an MVS service center that is providing the service rather than waiting until martial law is cancelled.

This temporary wartime rule should not be confused with the permanent exchange requirements. When you exchange a first two-year licence, your offence record during the original two-year period still determines whether examinations are required.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying before the two-year licence has actually expired. The standard expiry-based exchange starts only on the following day.
• Assuming any traffic offence means you must retake the exams. The ordinary threshold is three or more qualifying administrative road-safety offences during the original two-year period, subject also to the Article 286 criminal-offence rule.
• Counting administrative road-safety offences committed only after the original two-year period when deciding whether the exam threshold was reached.
• Using the standard exam-free online exchange route when your record means theory and practical examinations are required.
• Assuming that adding another driving category restarts the initial two-year period.
• Forgetting that delivery costs are separate when an online order is sent through Ukrposhta.

What happens after the licence is exchanged?

Once the exchange is approved and any required examinations have been completed, MVS issues the replacement driving licence. When a new licence is produced, the previous licence ceases to be valid and the replacement receives its own number and series. The validity of the categories recorded on the new document follows the category-specific periods applicable under the current rules.