Learning to drive in Alberta - does any time with a UK provisional licence count?

[afmla92]

Hi all,

I've received my COPR here in the UK and need to be in Canada by October 2023.

I'm currently learning to drive here and I'm trying to decide whether to complete the process here and delay my move in the hope that I pass my UK test on the 28th July (with little second chance because there's a huge backlog to book tests), or whether to move earlier and finish it in Canada.

I'm planning to move to Calgary; from what I can see in Alberta, the usual process is Class 7 licence --> 12 months later and pass a test --> Class 5-GDL licence --> 24 months later --> full Class 5 licence.

My question then is does time holding a UK provisional licence (which I've had for years) count towards my twelve months of Class 7, so I could just arrived, do the hours of learning I need and attempt a test?

If so, it'd be more worth my while doing it in Alberta as it wouldn't be a delay, but if I did have to wait the full 12 months, it'd definitely be worth doing it in the UK and then trying to change to a Class 5 probationer's (as I wouldn't have two years of driving on a full licence in the UK).

 

[nwo4lyf]

I recently moved to Calgary from California, and went through the entire license exchange/car registration transfer process. However, I was exchanging a full California license so was able to get the class 5 Alberta license without any extra steps.

In your case, if it's the learner's license (not sure what a provisional license means in the UK), you **probably** won't get any credits for time driven on it. Did you read this link - https://www.alberta.ca/exchange-non-alberta-licences.aspx#jumplinks-1 ? It says that a UK class 5 license can be exchanged for a class 5 Alberta license.

US class 7 (provisional/learner's) licenses get special consideration, but I'm not sure what you'd get in exchange for that. Also, even if you take the written test, you might be able to get credit for your UK driving experience and skip the one year of waiting before attempting the GDL test if you qualify for a GDL exemption. Information about the GDL exemption program is in the same link.

The rules and requirements around this can be extremely confusing. If you have a way to call Canada from the UK (even through Skype credits), I'd highly recommend calling Service Alberta and connecting with the licensing division, and get details about this from an actual human. They're usually very helpful and detailed in their responses over the phone, I called them several times from California.

 

[franalmeida900]

I second the previous comment, the rules differ by each province so it’s super confusing. Definitely read up on their website, I think you should be able to exchange but maybe there’s a way to get in contact online or over the phone (maybe calling through Skype phone to get Canada?). Good luck!