Driving licence and car

Steps

1. Drive with your current licence. An EU or EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) or United Kingdom licence is recognised; no compulsory exchange (CSDD).
2. Exchange it if you wish or if you have to. An EU, EFTA or United Kingdom licence remains valid until its expiry date: you can exchange it without giving a reason, provided you live in Latvia permanently (the CSDD checks this in the registers, over the last six months). Exchange becomes necessary if your licence is lost, stolen or damaged, or after a road traffic offence in Latvia (Your Europe). It is done in person at a CSDD centre, with your identity document, your licence and a valid medical certificate (family doctor or medical commission); the CSDD checks the licence in the registers of the State that issued it (for a British licence, you provide the code obtained on gov.uk/view-driving-licence), and the Latvian licence takes over the same categories. Fees: €22.41 for an EU, EFTA or British licence (€16.99 for the card, VAT included, plus €5.42 processing), €29.09 for a licence from another country (€16.99 plus €12.10); rates set by Cabinet of Ministers Regulation No. 1000 of 24/09/2013 and a CSDD decision. A licence from another country (outside the EU, EFTA and the United Kingdom) is in principle exchanged only after passing the Category B driving test (and that of each other category to be kept): the CSDD first has the licence verified with the issuing authority, which may ask for a legalised or apostilled confirmation that you provide yourself, and requires a Latvian personal identity number and a medical certificate (CSDD). Exceptions: a Ukrainian licence can be exchanged without a test under certain conditions (bilateral agreement), and for people under temporary protection it remains valid without exchange for the duration of the protection (CSDD).
3. Insure your car. Compulsory third-party liability insurance (OCTA) is a condition for driving (Road Traffic Law, Sections 9 and 18); the register checks that it is in force before each roadworthiness test (Regulation No. 295, point 19).
4. Pay the annual operation tax (transportlīdzekļa ekspluatācijas nodoklis): it must be paid before registration and before the roadworthiness test; in the year of registration, pro rata for the remaining months (Section 5). The CSDD also mentions a natural resources tax (dabas resursu nodoklis) due on the first registration of a car in Latvia: €110 for a car (M1) on first registration since 01/01/2024 (CSDD, Section 26 of the Natural Resources Tax Law).
5. Have the car registered at one of the CSDD's 26 centres, in the name of the owner shown in the title of ownership. An imported car can be resold only after its registration in Latvia. The CSDD then notifies the former country of registration within 2 months.
6. Take the roadworthiness test (tehniskā apskate). For a car coming from another EU country, if its test certificate is still valid and verifiable on the European platform, a simple visual examination may be enough (Regulation No. 295, point 6); otherwise, or if the car comes from a country outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, a full test is required.

Documents

• Your driving licence and an identity document.
• For a car: title of ownership (purchase contract or invoice), foreign registration certificate, OCTA insurance certificate, proof of payment of taxes (CSDD, page "Required documents": certificate of comparison of chassis and engine numbers; foreign registration document; proof of ownership except for a purchase from a Latvian dealer, a notarised sale or an owner already entered on the foreign document; your identity document; certificate of conformity, except for cars from before 2001 or registered in many EU and EFTA countries and the United Kingdom; proof of customs clearance if the last registration is outside the EU).
• If your licence is not in the Latin alphabet (non-EU licence without the categories of the 1968 Convention): notarised translation into Latvian.

Costs and timelines

• Registration deadlines (CSDD): 5 days after purchase or import for a Latvian resident or a Latvian company; more than 3 months in Latvia for a foreign owner. If you are neither a Latvian citizen nor the holder of a Latvian residence permit, the car is registered with a certificate valid for 6 months. Temporary registration is possible for the duration of your stay, 3 years at most.
• Penalty: €55 to €140 fine for driving a vehicle not registered according to the rules (Road Traffic Law, Section 72, cited by the CSDD).
• Annual operation tax (law, Section 4): for a car first registered after 31/12/2020, according to WLTP CO2 (€0 up to 50 g/km, €39 from 96 to 115 g/km, €834 from 401 g/km); from 2009 to 2020, according to NEDC CO2 (from €0 to €831); from 2005 to 2008, according to mass, engine size and power; before 2005, a flat rate according to mass (€42 up to 1,500 kg). Surcharge of €330 above 3,500 cm³ (depending on the case). Electric cars exempt. Payment for the year before 31 January of the following year, and in any case before the roadworthiness test.
• Car registered abroad and driven by a Latvian resident: the operation tax is due pro rata for the months of use planned in Latvia, paid by the driver through the CSDD's electronic system (Sections 3 and 9.1).
• Roadworthiness test for a car (CSDD rate of 01/03/2025): €36.95 (€34.10 + €2.85 for the permit to drive), retest €21.39.
• Frequency of the roadworthiness test (Road Traffic Law, Section 16): new car: first test at the latest 36 months after first registration, then 24 months, 24 months, 24 months, then every year. Car already registered abroad: test within 5 days after registration in Latvia, then every year (CSDD, "Tehniskās apskates periodiskums" for vehicles already registered abroad).
• Registration, plate and licence exchange fees: licence exchange €22.41 (EU, EFTA or British licence) or €29.09 (licence from another country); registering a car with two plates €41.88; comparison of numbers €19.25; €1.20 per tax paid at the counter (CSDD registration schedule updated on 01/03/2025; the licence exchange rates page is not dated). Prices of personalised plates are separate.

Common pitfalls

• Driving for months with your foreign plates once you are resident. The deadline is 5 days for a resident; the operation tax is due even if you keep your foreign plates.
• Forgetting the tax before the roadworthiness test. The test is refused if taxes have not been paid or if insurance is not in force (Regulation No. 295, points 17, 19 and 21).
• A lifetime or old-model licence. It remains valid, but an old-model European licence will have to be exchanged by 2033 at the latest (Your Europe).
• Two European licences. You can have only one: the exchange replaces your old licence.
• A licence from a country outside the EU, outside EFTA and outside the United Kingdom. After 1 year of residence in Latvia, exchange becomes compulsory (CSDD); it goes in principle through the Category B driving test (CSDD), except for a bilateral agreement such as the one concerning Ukrainian licences.
• Changing your name. After a change of name, the Latvian licence must be exchanged within 30 days (CSDD).
• Winter: from 1 December to 1 March, a car under 3.5 t must drive with winter tyres marked with the "mountain and snowflake" symbol (M+S-only tyres no longer count), with at least 4 mm of tread; they must not be mixed with studded tyres (CSDD, 26/11/2024).

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens and Swiss citizens: licence recognised without compulsory exchange; roadworthiness test certificate from another EU country taken into account if it is verifiable on the European platform.
• British citizens (Scots included): the CSDD also exempts British licences from compulsory exchange. A car coming from the United Kingdom is from outside the EU: full roadworthiness test, and customs formalities and import VAT are the importer's responsibility; the CSDD asks for proof of customs clearance when the last registration is outside the EU.
• Everyone: EURES reminds that VAT on a car bought in another EU country is in principle paid in the country of purchase, with exceptions (new car, for example): check before buying.