When does an American need an Estonian Driver's License?

An American citizen may drive in Estonia for up to one year using their U.S. driver's license along with an International Driving Permit. After that period of time, he/she must apply for an Estonian license. Traffic regulations do not allow persons to have two valid driver's licenses simultaneously, so the U.S. license must be surrendered to the Estonian Motor Vehicle Registration Center when an Estonian license is obtained. The license will never be returned to the resident American, even upon departure from Estonia for return to the U.S.

The Vehicles Registration Center will issue an official translation of an Estonian driver's license for use by any American who must travel to the U.S. and use the Estonian license to drive there.

How to obtain Estonian driver's license

The Estonian Car Registry Center (Eesti Autoregistrikeskus) provided the following information on how to apply for and obtain an Estonian Driver's License:

1. The place to apply is the Tallinn Bureau of the Car Registry Center (Autoregistrikeskuse Tallinna Büroo) located at Mäepealse 19 in Tallinn, tel: 620-1200, 620-1240. They are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

2. In order to apply for an Estonian Driver's License, an American citizen needs to have the following documents:

U.S. passport with a valid Estonian residency permit;

Valid U.S. Driver's License and an International Driver's License if any;

Medical exam certificate from a local doctor stating that you are medically capable of driving a car (Mootorsõiduki juhi tervisetõend);

Two color photographs, 35 x 45 mm

3. To obtain an Estonian Driver's License, an American citizen needs to pass both a theoretical and an actual driving test. The test may be conducted in English. According to the Car Registry Center, there is a driving school in Tallinn that provides the English language consultations. It is the Niguliste Autokool and is located at Niguliste 2-26, tel: (0) 631-3203.

The fee for the theoretical part of the test is 100 Estonian kroons.
The fee for the driving test is 150 Estonian kroons.
The fee for the actual Driver's License is 1140 Estonian kroons.
An Estonian Driver's License is valid for 10 years from date of issuance.

For information on how to obtain an International Driving Permit, please visit: http://www.aaamidatlantic.com/travel/travel_tools.asp.

The permit can be applied for in person or by mail. The application form for the International Driving Permit can be found at: http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpapplc.html?association=AAA&clb_id=212&secure=N