Driver licensing
Proving your driving experience
When applying for your B.C. licence, you'll need to provide proof of your previous driving experience.
Depending on your experience, you may be able to:
Get an exemption from our Graduated Licensing Program (GLP) if you have held a driver's licence (not a learner's) for at least two years. Otherwise, you may start off with a Novice (N) licence that has some restrictions.
Reduce your ICBC insurance premiums if you have up to 15 years of driving experience, excluding experience with a learner's licence — experience beyond 15 years will not affect your premium. Please note that new B.C. residents only need to provide their driver's licence history for insurance purposes. Proof of previous insurance is not required.
Accepted documents for Graduated Licensing Program exemption
To prove your previous driving experience for a new B.C. licence that's exempt from the GLP, you need to book an appointment to visit an ICBC Driver Licensing office and bring proof of how long you’ve had a full driver’s licence. This can be one of the following:
A current driver's licence showing at least two years of driving or the issue date of your first licence.
An original driver licence record or letter of experience document that shows at least two years of driving. You can combine documents from multiple jurisdictions to reach the two-year requirement.
If you choose to provide a driver licence record or letter of experience, it must:
Be original (photocopies and email printouts are not accepted), or a copy of the original that has been approved and stamped by the licensing authority.
Be signed by or on the letterhead of a verifiable licensing authority.
Include the name, address and phone number of the licensing authority.
Include your name, birth date, driver's licence number (or other unique identifier) and class of licence(s) held.
Indicate the date your licence was originally issued.
If your document is not in English, you'll need to get it translated from an ICBC-approved translator 
. All documents must be translated from original documents or from a copy of the original that has been approved and stamped by a driver licensing office. The original or stamped and approved copy of the original must also be presented when submitting a translated document to a driver licensing office.
Fees and services vary for each translator; please contact them for more information.
Experience for Canadian driver licence holders
In most cases, ICBC can access the date you were first licensed in your Canadian province or territory and you will not need to provide proof of experience. However, if your driving experience is from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Yukon or Nunavut, you will need to provide the following based on your province or territory:
If you hold a full G licence or higher, we calculate your experience as the time since the issue date on your current licence plus 12 additional months.
If this combined time is less than two years and your first licence in Ontario was issued after June 1, 1994, you can provide us with a driver history letter to prove further experience that may exempt you from our Graduated Licensing Program. Please note that this is a specific letter that Ontario issues and is not their standard driving record.
If you hold a 5F licence or higher, we calculate your experience as the time since the issue date on your current licence plus 15 additional months.
If this combined time is less than two years and your first licence in Manitoba was issued after April 1, 2002, you can provide us with a driving record to prove further experience that may exempt you from our Graduated Licensing Program.
If you hold a full Class 5 licence or higher, we calculate your experience as the time since the issue date on your current licence plus 18 additional months.
If this combined time is less than two years and your first licence in Saskatchewan was issued after October 1, 2006, you can provide us with a driving record to prove further experience that may exempt you from our Graduated Licensing Program.
If you hold a full Class 5 licence or higher, we calculate your experience as the time since the issue date on your current licence plus 18 additional months.
If this combined time is less than two years, you will be placed into our Graduated Licensing Program.
We calculate your experience as the time since the issue date on your current licence. If you have less than two years of experience, you will be placed into our Graduated Licensing Program.
Driving experience credit for reducing insurance premium
ICBC will credit you with up to 15 years of driving experience upon receipt of proof showing the original date that you received your licence. Find out more about Insurance for new and returning B.C. residents.
After being issued your B.C. driver's licence, you may need to submit additional documentation to prove more driving experience. Additional documentation can be submitted by email or fax if it is from one of the following countries:
Canada, USA, Austria, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, New Zealand, Netherlands, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom
The email or fax must be sent directly from the licensing authority in one of the listed countries and not through you.
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 250-414-7608
It may take up to 30 days for experience to be entered in our system if sent via email or fax.
Graduated Licencing Program exemptions
Please note that you may not use emailed records towards being exempt from the GLP. If you have already exchanged your licence without providing two years of driving experience, you must return to the office with original documents from your jurisdiction.
If your letter or abstract is from a country not listed on this page, you must present it in person to any driver licensing office.
