AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA ON THE RECOGNITION AND EXCHANGE OF DRIVING LICENSES

The Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Moldova, hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties", in order to improve the safety of road transport, as well as the facilitation of road traffic on the territory of the states of the Contracting Parties, have agreed as follows:

For the purpose of this Agreement:

a) "driving license" means a license issued by the competent authority of a Contracting Party that permits its holder to drive motor vehicles according to the category defined in the license in the territory of the Republic of Latvia or the Republic of Moldova, as the case may be, and is subject to the validity terms and conditions specific to that type of a driving license and to the laws and legal framework of the Contracting Party, as the case may be;

b) "valid driving license" means a driving license that, at the time of the application for exchange, is valid and has not been cancelled or suspended by the competent authority of the Contracting Party. Driving license with expired administrative validity is considered as valid for exchange;

c) "driver's medical certificate" means a certificate issued by the competent authority (health care institution) of a Contracting Party, where the driving license is exchanged, confirming individual's physical and mental fitness to drive a certain category of motor vehicle.

Article 1

The Contracting Parties shall mutually recognize, for the purposes of exchange, non-temporary and valid driving licenses issued by the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party for their nationals, in accordance with the legal framework of the Contracting Party, for holder of driving license residing on permanent basis in their territory.

Article 2

The driving licenses issued by the Competent Authorities of Contracting Parties lose their validity for circulation in the territory of the other Contracting Party after one year from the date of obtaining residence by the holder in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

Article 3

In the interpretation of the Articles of this Agreement, the term "residence" shall be defined by the legal framework of the Contracting Party.

Article 4

1. If the holder of a driving license issued by the Authority of a Contracting Party establishes his residence in the territory of the other Contracting Party, he has the right to exchange his driving license without taking any qualification exams.

2. This article does not exclude rights of Contracting parties in their national legislation to determine period of time after which holder of driving license with expired administrative validity has to pass qualification exam(s) or the obligation to present, at the request of the competent authority, a specialized medical certificate, confirming the physical and mental abilities required to drive vehicles in the categories/subcategories for which the exchange is requested.

3. In order to apply the first paragraph of this Article, the holder of the driver's license must satisfy the legal age as provided by the legal framework of the Contracting Party, necessary for obtaining the category/sub-category, for which the exchange is requested.

Article 5

The holder of the driving license, which is to be exchanged, shall pay the national fees assessed for the exchange of driving license using the methods established by the Competent Authority of the Contracting Party that makes the exchange.

Article 6

The provisions of Article 4 of this Agreement do not apply to driving licenses issued by a state other than the States of the Contracting Parties, and such driving licenses are not exchangeable under the terms of this Agreement in the territory of the Contracting Party.

Article 7

1. At the time of exchange of driving licenses issued by the Contracting Parties, the equivalence of their categories/subcategories shall be made out based on the technical equivalence tables stipulated in the Annex to this Agreement. The mentioned tables, together with the list of driving license models, issued by the Contracting Parties, constitute the technical annexes of this Agreement and are an integral part thereof.

2. The Contracting Parties shall exchange the specimens of their valid driving licenses referred to in Annex to this Agreement through diplomatic channels before the entry into force of this Agreement.

3. The Contracting Parties shall notify each other through diplomatic channels of any changes related to the driving licenses and shall transmit the specimens of these documents with technical equivalence tables and will recognize their conversion within one month of being put into circulation.

Article 8

1. The Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties for the exchange of driving licenses are:

- for the Republic of Latvia - Road Traffic Safety Directorate.

- for the Republic of Moldova - Public Institution "Public Services Agency".

2. The Competent Institutions of the Contracting Parties responsible for the implementation of this Agreement are:

- for the Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Transport.

- for the Republic of Moldova - Ministry of Internal Affairs.

3. The Contracting Parties, within 30 days from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, will inform each other of the addresses of the Competent Authorities for the implementation of the Agreement and of their diplomatic representations, accredited in the territory of the other Contracting Parties.

Article 9

Any applicant may have only one valid driving license issued by the Competent Authority of the Contracting Party. The driving license that has been exchanged shall be returned to the Competent Authority of the other Contracting Party via the Embassy of that Contracting Party accompanied by necessary documentation. The competent authority of the Republic of Latvia shall submit the exchanged driving license to the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova in the Republic of Latvia, meanwhile the competent authority of the Republic of Moldova shall submit the exchanged driving license to the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in the Republic of Moldova.

Article 10

1. The Competent Authorities effecting the exchange shall check validity and authenticity of driving license to be exchanged.

2. The Competent Authorities shall assist one another and provide information on authenticity and validity about driving license to be exchanged in English language.

Article 11

The Competent Authority of the Contracting Party, which receives the exchanged driving license, shall inform the other Contracting Party in writing if the document presents irregularities relating to its validity, authenticity or other data. Such information will be permanently transmitted through diplomatic channels.

Article 12

Personal data regarding the implementation of this Agreement, which will be exchanged or made available to each other by the Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties, will be protected in accordance with the legal framework of the Contracting Party, and shall provide for protection levels of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, comparable to the those of the European Union.

Article 13

1. The Competent Authorities of the Contracting Parties shall mutually agree on the implementation procedure by concluding Implementing Agreement.

2. The Implementing Agreement shall contain an annex on guarantees for protection levels of natural persons with regard to the processing and international transfer of personal data.

3. The Competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall designate Competent institutions for the purpose of implementation of this Agreement.

Article 14

1. Personal data processed in order to for the purpose of fulfilling the provisions of this Agreement, and specified in the Implementing Agreement, shall be processed exclusively for the purposes of implementation of this Agreement, unless otherwise required by laws and regulations. The Competent institution of a Contracting Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, provide to the Competent institution of the other Contracting Party personal information collected under the legislation of that Contracting Party insofar as that information is necessary for the implementation of this Agreement.

2. Competent institutions shall provide for protection levels of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, comparable to the those of the European Union.

Article 15

This Agreement may be amended by mutual consent of the Contracting Parties, expressed in writing, via diplomatic channels. Such amendments shall be made in the form of separate protocols constituting an integral part of this Agreement and shall enter into force in accordance with the provisions of Article 17, paragraph 1, of this Agreement.

Article 16

Any disputes arising from the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall be resolved through consultations or negotiations between the Contracting Parties, through diplomatic channels.

Article 17

1. This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period of time and shall enter into force 30 days after the date of receipt of the last written notification, via diplomatic channels, through which the Contracting Parties will officially inform to each other about the fulfilment of the internal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this Agreement.

2. Either of the Contracting Parties may terminate this Agreement by sending the other Contracting Party, through diplomatic channels, a written notice of termination. In this case, the denunciation takes effect six months after the receipt of the written notification by the other Contracting Party.

Done at Riga on 19 May 2025 in 2 (two) original copies, each in the Latvian, Romanian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of disputes in the interpretation of the provisions of this Agreement, the English text shall be of reference.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA	FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Atis Švinka Minister for Transport	Mihai Popşoi Minister of Foreign Affairs

 

Annex

I. EQUIVALENCE TABLES

for the exchange of driving licenses issued in Republic of Moldova to the driving licenses issued in the Republic of Latvia

(It is drawn up with reference to each model of driving license of the Republic of Moldova currently in circulation, in part)

I.1. Driving license issued in the Republic of Moldova model 1995, in the period 01.11.1995 - 31.12.2010

Republic of Moldova (driving categories)	Republic of Latvia (driving categories)
A	A
B	B
C	C
D	D
B și E	BE
C și E	CE
D și E	DE
F	-
H	-

I. 2. Driving license issued in the Republic of Moldova model 2015, in the period 01.09.2015 - 31.12.2019

Republic of Moldova (driving categories/subcategories)	Republic of Latvia (driving categories)
A1	A1
A2	A2
A	A
B1	B1
B	B
C1	C1
C	C
D1	D1
D	D
BE	BE
C1E	C1E
CE	CE
D1E	D1E
DE	DE
F	-
H	-
I	-

I. 3. Driving license issued in the Republic of Moldova model 2019, since 01.01.2020

Republic of Moldova (driving categories/subcategories)	Republic of Latvia (driving categories)
AM	AM
A1	A1
A2	A2
A	A
B1	B1
B	B
C1	C1
C	C
D1	D1
D	D
BE	BE
C1E	C1E
CE	CE
D1E	D1E
DE	DE
F	-
H	-
I	-

II. EQUIVALENCE TABLES

for the exchange of driving licenses issued in Republic of Latvia to the driving licenses issued in the Republic of Moldova

(It is drawn up with reference to each model of driving license of the Republic of Latvia currently in circulation, in part)

II.1. Driving license issued in Latvia model 2014, in the period 02.01.2014 - 30.12.2022  and model 2022, issued from 02.01.2023

Republic of Latvia (driving categories/ subcategories)	Republic of Moldova (driving categories/ subcategories)
AM	AM
A1	A1
A2	A2
A	A
B1	B1
B	B
BE	BE
C1	C1
C1E	C1E
C	C
CE	CE
D1	D1
D1E	D1E
D	D
DE	DE
TRAM	-
TROL	-