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License Exchange- USA & Alberta

life2010

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Feb 19, 2012
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Hi
I am plaanning to exchange my usa drivers license with Alberta. Quick question- Do i need any letter from texas DMW? Or do i need drivers record (available online) as proof?

What other docs do i need and whats the exact process?
 

J.M.

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Jan 15, 2014
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life2010 said:
Hi
I am plaanning to exchange my usa drivers license with Alberta. Quick question- Do i need any letter from texas DMW? Or do i need drivers record (available online) as proof?

What other docs do i need and whats the exact process?
I am planning to do the same myself, but I haven't quite nailed down the process. Alberta DOES exchange license for license with the U.S. though you completely surrender your U.S. license. I would definitely obtain your driving record if possible as I would imagine it would help even if it isn't required. I should be doing the exchange late April, early May from Florida. I will look it up the website again and see if there are any specific documents required. Just a side note: while you are at it, you might as well see if you can get a background check done on yourself in your local area with a "good conduct" letter from the department/agency for employment reasons and such.

**UPDATE:

This is a third-party website that states what you need: http://www.ama.ab.ca/registries/exchange-existing-licence-for-alberta-driver-licence

This is the Alberta Government website: http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/1671.cfm

On this website it states you will need to bring proof of at least 2 years of driving experience to avoid the Graduated Driver's Licence program: http://www.albertacanada.com/immigration/living/transport-driver-licence.aspx So your Texas driving record should suffice as proof.
 

life2010

Star Member
Feb 19, 2012
129
1
Category........
Visa Office......
Originally buffalo but now Ottawa
NOC Code......
Civil engineer
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
April 2010
Nomination.....
April 2012
AOR Received.
July 2012
Med's Request
July 2012
Med's Done....
July 2012
Passport Req..
Waiting
One confusion is...If i exchange my usa license, I need a canadian license to drive in usa. If they give me on the spot, it works. But if they give me by mail...i am left without DL
 

J.M.

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Jan 15, 2014
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life2010 said:
One confusion is...If i exchange my usa license, I need a canadian license to drive in usa. If they give me on the spot, it works. But if they give me by mail...i am left without DL
You will receive it by mail, however, in the meantime you will be given a piece of paper that serves as a temporary license. Once the actual arrives, you rip up the paper one.
 

Bargeld

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Sep 17, 2011
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J.M. said:
You will receive it by mail, however, in the meantime you will be given a piece of paper that serves as a temporary license. Once the actual arrives, you rip up the paper one.
Exactly.

And make sure that, instead of getting a simple driving record, that you get a record of origin.. while they may have some level of interest in your driving record, the part that interests them most is the origin date you were first ever issued your license to verify your driving experience.
 

J.M.

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Bargeld said:
Exactly.

And make sure that, instead of getting a simple driving record, that you get a record of origin.. while they may have some level of interest in your driving record, the part that interests them most is the origin date you were first ever issued your license to verify your driving experience.
Ah yes, that is good to know as you can request your driving record back to a certain date or the full record, so you recommend requesting the full record?
 

Bargeld

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Sep 17, 2011
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Buffalo
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J.M. said:
Ah yes, that is good to know as you can request your driving record back to a certain date or the full record, so you recommend requesting the full record?
I dunno if a "full record" would show enough -- a driving record is really just a record of incidents/accidents and standing. Make sure when contacting the state department for driving records (in Cali, for me, it was the Cali DMV) they know the purpose of request, that a date of origin needs to be shown to verify driving experience for a license exchange for the province of Alberta. I believe, on their own, Alberta has access to your actual driving record, the states and provinces have an agreement in place to share that data. In some cases they might even be able to see the original date of first issuance (which they find relevant to understanding your driving experience), but even so, be prepared for them to formally request you get the record of origin.

When I was in Ontario (before moving to Alberta) and I went through this, I went through this process, and even though DriveTest could see the origin date, they formally requested me to get them the paperwork anyways from the state of California (the novice employee at DriveTest called it an abstract, which it wasn't). I initially contacted a California DMV employee who had just put through a records request. Thankfully after contacting them about the delay in processing, I got a hold of someone who actually knew the process of foreign exchange (this is the key part -- finding someone who knows what you need) and modified the request to include a record of origin and a driving record, in the case the latter was needed too.

Because of that, I had my license exchanged promptly (before moving to Alberta and exchanging Ontario G for Alberta Class 5), I'm sure it's the same for Alberta.

Be very adamant in getting what you need, depending on how lazy the state employee you talk to is, they might just try and push a simple driving record forward instead of what you actually need.
 

J.M.

Star Member
Jan 15, 2014
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Bargeld said:
I dunno if a "full record" would show enough -- a driving record is really just a record of incidents/accidents and standing. Make sure when contacting the state department for driving records (in Cali, for me, it was the Cali DMV) they know the purpose of request, that a date of origin needs to be shown to verify driving experience for a license exchange for the province of Alberta. I believe, on their own, Alberta has access to your actual driving record, the states and provinces have an agreement in place to share that data. In some cases they might even be able to see the original date of first issuance (which they find relevant to understanding your driving experience), but even so, be prepared for them to formally request you get the record of origin.

When I was in Ontario (before moving to Alberta) and I went through this, I went through this process, and even though DriveTest could see the origin date, they formally requested me to get them the paperwork anyways from the state of California (the novice employee at DriveTest called it an abstract, which it wasn't). I initially contacted a California DMV employee who had just put through a records request. Thankfully after contacting them about the delay in processing, I got a hold of someone who actually knew the process of foreign exchange (this is the key part -- finding someone who knows what you need) and modified the request to include a record of origin and a driving record, in the case the latter was needed too.

Because of that, I had my license exchanged promptly (before moving to Alberta and exchanging Ontario G for Alberta Class 5), I'm sure it's the same for Alberta.

Be very adamant in getting what you need, depending on how lazy the state employee you talk to is, they might just try and push a simple driving record forward instead of what you actually need.
I understand. I will check with the FL DMV as I have in the past gotten my driving record back to when my license was first issued, but I want to make sure it is either the same or different from a record of origin. Thank you for the additional information as the Alberta government site doesn't specify.