Driving Licence – General Information

Card-shaped driving licences have been issued since 1 July 2013; licences issued by that date are valid until their expiry, not later than January 2033

The application for a driving licence may be submitted by a Croatian national who is resident in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and has a registered residence, a Croatian national who is temporarily resident in the Republic of Croatia and has a registered residence for a period of at least 185 days, a national of a Member State of the European Economic area (hereinafter EEA) who has his habitual residence in the territory of the Republic of Croatia or who is educated in the territory of the Republic of Croatia and a foreign national who resides in the territory of the Republic of Croatia for at least 185 days in the calendar year and has been granted temporary or permanent residence.

A request for issuing, renewing, replacing or exchanging a driving licence shall be submitted to any police department or police station that issues driving licences, regardless of your permanent address, habitual or usual residence in Croatia, or the place you attend school or have temporary or permanent residence in Croatia. You can request your driving licence to be issued in a regular, expedited or urgent procedure. A clerk at the counter fills out the request form, and you need to sign it to confirm the accuracy of the printed data. 

The request for the first Croatian driving licence based on the driving test certificate and for replacing the Croatian driving licence due to damage, an extension of its validity, registering or deleting categories, correction of data, etc., can be submitted digitally through the e-Citizens platform, and the driving licence is issued ONLY in a regular procedure.
 
If within the past five years you have been issued a biometric passport, digital identity card, identity card that has your PIN or a driving licence issued after 4 September 2017, for which you submitted a photo, and your appearance has not significantly changed, you do not have to submit a photo with a request for a driving licence.
 
Driving licences for AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, F, and G categories are issued with a ten-year validity period, as are the driving instructor driving licence and driving licences for drivers who operate a B category vehicle for professional purposes. Driving licences for C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE, and H categories are issued with a five-year validity period.  

A person whose health did not impede the issuing of a driving licence at the time of the medical examination, but who has to be supervised within a shorter period of time, shall have their driving licence issued with a validity period as suggested in the medical certificate. This period cannot be shorter than one year. 
 
A driving licence issued in a regular procedure can be picked up within 30 days after submitting the request at the police department or police station where the request was submitted. When submitting the request in a regular procedure, you can request your driving licence to be delivered to your permanent address or temporary or habitual residence. A driving licence issued in an expedited procedure can be picked up within 3 working days after submitting the request at the police department or police station where the request was submitted.  A driving licence issued in an urgent procedure can be picked up within 24 hours after submitting the request, at the Zagreb Police Department in Heinzelova 98.
 
If you fail to pick up your driving licence within 90 days of the prescribed dates for issuing a driving licence, the competent authority shall void your driving licence.
 
You can find more information on the procedures for issuing a driving licence at the Ministry of the Interior website - Driving licence.