The driving license issued by a foreign authority shall be considered as valid if:

• the holder of the driving license declares that on the issue date of the foreign driving license he/she had a normal residence or address of domicile in the territory of the issuing country, and
• If the holder of the foreign driving license meets the Hungarian age requirements at the time of the procedure.

The driving license shall be issued only to those applicants who have their normal residence in the territory of Hungary and in case of foreign citizens to those, who has stayed six months in Hungary before the issuance of the driving license.

If the driving license submitted for exchange was issued in a country, which joined the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968, the holder of the driving license can drive a vehicle for a period of one year from the start date of his/her continuous residence, after that period the driving license can be exchanged for a Hungarian one without any test.

If the driving license was issued in a third country which did not join the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic and if the attested Hungarian translation of the foreign driving license contains the categories corresponding to any international categories set out in the Annex of the relevant Decree, the foreign driving license can be exchanged for a Hungarian one after passing a course free theoretical test of traffic fundamentals. If the category content of a driving license submitted for exchange does not comply with any international categories set out in the Annex of the relevant Decree, the exchange of the driving license can take place only after passing a course free practical and theoretical test of traffic fundamentals.

From 1st of January 2013 tasks related to the exchange (naturalization) of foreign driving licenses fall within the exclusive scope of KEKKH.

From 1st of January 2013 procedure for a driving license exchange (naturalization) issued by the authorities of a third country can be applied for or may be conducted solely in the Central Document Office of KEKKH at the following address:

1133 Budapest XIII., Visegrádi utca 110-112.

Procedure for the exchange of a driving license issued by another EEA-state authority continues to be applied for or conducted at any traffic administration authorities.

Further administration of naturalization procedures initiated in another document office, but not completed before 1st of January 2013 can be arranged solely in the Central Document Office of KEKKH as well.

The following documents must be presented at the administration:

• appropriate valid personal identity document (ID card, passport, card format driving license) in case of foreign citizen document certifying his/her normal country of residence
•  test confirmation certifying the successful course free test (it is necessary only if the driver’s entitlement content cannot be clearly stated even after the attested Hungarian translation).

Documents need to be attached at the administration:

• driving license issued by the foreign authority
• medical certification in case if the foreign driving license doesn’t contain the term of the medical eligibility or its term differs from the term determined by the relevant Hungarian legislation
• document containing a statement justifying the issuance of the driving license
• receipt of payment of the driving license administration fee
• aptitude certificate if the exchange of the driving license is required by a professional driver
• attested Hungarian translation of the foreign driving license (if the driving license was issued in a country which did not join the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic)

If the driving license was issued by a non-EEA state the fee is 6 200 HUF.

In case of a course free test 4 500 HUF administration service fee must be paid per test.

The procedure time is 30 days.

There is an opportunity to request a text message or e-mail notification about the mailing or arrival time of the ready document to the Document Office.

During the exchange process the foreign driving license shall be withdrawn and on the reciprocity it shall be sent back to the issuing authority. In other cases it will be preserved till the foreign citizen’s return trip.

If the foreign driving license was issued in a country which did not join the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic the attested Hungarian translation of the foreign driving license must be attached for the driving purposes in Hungary.

The foreign driving license accompanied by the attested Hungarian translation entitles to drive in Hungary for a period of one year from the starting date of residing in Hungary. As regards the attested translations only the translations made by the National Office for Translation and Attestation can be accepted.

The holder of the international driving license issued abroad is entitled to drive a vehicle within the validity period of the international driving license even without its attested translation.

If the foreign driving license does not meet the above mentioned requirements, the holder of it is entitled to drive from the border to the accommodation or from the accommodation to the border crossing exit point unless otherwise stipulated by an international agreement.

There is no way to apply electronically for the exchange of a driving license issued by a foreign authority.

There is no available form to this procedure.