1.8 Million Drivers Did Not Renew Their Licenses: Deadline Has Passed

The Renewal Process for Old Driving Licenses Has Been Completed

In Turkey, the period for exchanging old-style driving licenses (ehliyet) for new-style driving licenses has ended as of October 31, 2023. The new style driving licenses have been issued since January 1, 2016, and citizens were initially given a deadline of December 31, 2020. However, this period was extended a total of 4 times to prevent citizens from facing hardship.

Minister Yerlikaya's Call

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya warned citizens through social media throughout October to renew their driving licenses, emphasizing that "Don't wait until the last day." He pointed out that the process would not be extended again. Following these calls, 275,608 people applied to renew their licenses in October. By the end of the workday today, 40,771 people had applied for renewal.

Concerning Number of Those Who Did Not Renew

Since 2016, 35,794,515 people have received the new style driving license, while 1,799,172 people did not complete the license renewal process. The validity of old-style licenses has ended as of October 31, 2023. This situation increases the risk of being stranded and facing legal issues.

Changes in License Renewal Fees

License renewal fees have also become an important topic. The renewal fee for Class B driving licenses has been set at 7,438.60 lira instead of 15 lira. This high amount may be another factor accelerating citizens' decisions to renew their licenses.