May the 17th, 2023 - When it comes to getting your hands on a Croatian driving license (by swapping your foreign document) there are differences in the procedure an applicant must undertake with the Interior Ministry (MUP) depending on whether they hold an EEA passport or not. This edition of How to Croatia will explain further.

Citizens of the European Union and the European Economic Area

If you're the citizen of an EU (European Union) or EEA (European Economic Area) country, then getting your hands on a Croatian document is a bit easier. As with everything administrative like this, you'll need to pay a visit to the administrative police station responsible for issuing driving licenses. Unlike with residence applications, the clerk fills in the application form for a Croatian driving license and not you. You then confirm the accuracy of what the clerk has written by signing the form. Any mistakes can be highlighted and corrected before you put your signature on the application form.

In addition to signing the aforementioned form, you'll also need to provide MUP with several items:

Proof of your identity (this can be your EU/EEA passport or your Croatian biometric residence permit/ID card)

Your valid EEA/EU driving license

A photo of you that is a current representation of how you look now (35x45mm) 

Proof of you having paid to lodge your application for a Croatian driving license of 20.04 euros (a fixed exchange rate which would equal 151 kuna in old money) for the application to be processed as a regular procedure

OR

Proof of you having paid for your request to be processed as an accelerated procedure (26.54 euros)

Proof of you having paid for your request to be processed as an urgent procedure (59.73 euros)

The slip you'll need to make the payment will be given to you at the administrative police station. Alternatively, this fee can be paid via Internet banking. 

Caveats

You may not be required to provide the aforementioned 35x45mm photograph if you were issued with an e-ID card, a biometric passport or an e-driving license after the 4th of September, 2017, as long as your appearance hasn't dramatically altered. That said, you should still come prepared and have a photo ready anyway.

If your EEA driving license doesn't display the date of first issuance on it, you'll also need to get hold of and enclose a certificate or similar document issued by the EEA country in question which specifies the date of first issuance. If you hold a license to drive multiple forms of vehicle, you'll need to obtain and certificate/similar document for each category. 

Third-country nationals (individuals who do not hold the citizenship of an EU or EEA country)

Just like with residence procedures, things get a little bit more complicated if you don't have a passport issued by an EU or an EEA country. All individuals who come from outside of the EU or EEA and who are not British nationals who have post-Brexit rights under the Withdrawal Agreement are referred to as third-country nationals.

You'll need to provide MUP with more than EU/EEA nationals do. The following documents will be required of you:

Proof of your identity (your passport or your Croatian biometric residence permit/ID card, but be ready to provide both)

Your valid non-EEA driving license

A photo of you that is a current representation of how you look (35x45mm)

A valid medical certificate (not older than six months) which confirms that you're competent to drive a vehicle

An official translation of your non-EEA driving license if it isn't clear which categories of vehicle you're licensed to drive/which categories you can be issued a Croatian driving license for

Proof of you having paid to lodge your application for a Croatian driving license of 20.04 euros (a fixed exchange rate which would equal 151 kuna in old money) for the application to be processed as a regular procedure

OR

Proof of you having paid for your request to be processed as an accelerated procedure (26.54 euros)

Proof of you having paid for your request to be processed as an urgent procedure (59.73 euros)

Caveats

You may not be required to provide the aforementioned 35x45mm photograph if you were issued with an e-ID card, a biometric passport or an e-driving license after the 4th of September, 2017, as long as your appearance hasn't dramatically altered. That said, you should still come prepared and have a photo ready anyway.

For more on moving to Croatia, living in Croatia and conquering everything from snake bites to health insurance, make sure to check out our lifestyle section which has a dedicated How to Croatia article published every Wednesday.

December the 31st, 2021 - If you've lost your Croatian driving license, or any other document that it is necessary to have here, you'll know the headache involved in a country which just loves lines and paperwork. What about if you've lost your actual license plate from your car? Here's what you need to do in either situation, made clear.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, according to the official instructions issued by the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), the loss or disappearance (and discovery) of a Croatian driving license issued either here in Croatia or in another country in the European Economic Area needs to be reported, without delay, to the nearest administrative police station. A request for the issuance of a new Croatian driving license should then be submitted at the same place.

The request can be submitted at any time, as there is no deadline for obtaining a new document of this type. The application form will be printed out by the clerk at the counter, and the applicant must then confirm the accuracy of all of the printed data with their signature placed on the form, writes HAK.

The applicant for a new Croatian driving license must enclose the following:

If the original Croatian driving license was issued in another EEA member state, proof from the competent authority of the issuing country that the person was issued a driving license from their national authorities must be enclosed.

One photograph measuring 35 × 45 mm. It is not necessary to attach a photo if the applicant has been issued (within the last five years) a biometric passport, an electronic identity card, an identity card containing their OIB or if they had a Croatian driving license (or one from the EEA) issued since the 4th of September 2017, for the publication of which a photograph was already attached, and the appearance of the person hasn't significantly changed.

Proof of payment of the administrative fee in the amount of 151 kuna. Payment can be made via payment slip or via internet banking. Under the description of the payment, it is necessary to state ''state administrative fees/drzavne upravne pristojbe'' and the payment should be made to the IBAN of the state budget, which is as follows: HR1210010051863000160, model HR64, reference number 5002-713-OIB.

Please note that any administrative fees in the amount of up to 100 kuna can be paid in state notaries.

Proof of payment of 151 kuna (regular procedure), 200 kuna (accelerated procedure) or 450 kuna (urgent procedure) for a Croatian driving license issuance form via a payment slip issued at the administrative police station, general payment slip or via internet banking, to the IBAN of the state budget: HR1210010051863000160, model HR65, reference number 7005-477-OIB.

With regard to registration/license/number plates, the owner of the vehicle is also obliged to report their disappearance, without delay, to the police. The fine for failing to do so is 300 kuna. They will then be provided with a police certificate which will remain valid for a period of 30 days, and when applying, people need to bring the following:

Proof of the vehicle in question's ownership
A valid ID card

A new license plate can be requested the next day at the vehicle inspection station. The police have also warned that if one plate is missing from the car, it is usually a loss, but if both are missing, they've probably been stolen, which is a criminal offense.

For more, check out our lifestyle section.

March the 8th, 2021 - When one thinks of having to deal with the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), one shudders at the thought of taking numbers, standing in lines for hours in oxygen-deprived rooms and explaining what you need repeatedly to people who are supposed to be qualified. Is that becoming a thing of the past? As Croatian driving licenses can now be delivered to your home address - it´s a possibility.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as a more digital Croatia, slowly weaning itself off its masochistic love of paper emerges, Croatian driving licenses can now be delivered literally to your doorstep. Of course, it is still possible for you to simply do it the old way and go and pick up your Croatian driving license at the competent police administration, ie the police station where you submitted the application, but there is also an option for you to skip the waiting and the boredom by having the document delivered.

Precisely for the purpose of determining the exact amount of "delivery of the driver's license to the doorstep" at the end of January this year, the Decision on determining the price of forms, registration, trial, portable and export license plates came into force in Croatia.

It clearly states that the price of a Croatian driving license form (via a regular procedure) can be delivered to the home address at the request of the applicant and comes with a price tag of 181.00 kuna. The price of the Croatian driving license form that you have to go to the police station to pick up yourself via the regular procedure costs a little less - 151.00 kuna, so the difference here isn´t too large at all.

The cost of delivery should not be forgotten, and the writing on the wall when it comes to Croatian driving licenses is quite clear indeed here. The delivery of a Croatian driving license to the home address of the applicant is performed by a legal entity authorised for the technical preparation of driving licenses through a delivery service for a fee agreed with that particular delivery service.

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