The Road Transport Department (JPJ) will stop taking applications for converting foreign driving licence to Malaysian licence from today onwards (19 May 2025). This was confirmed by the JPJ Director-General Datuk Aedy Fadly Ramli through a press statement.
Moving forward, foreigners are required to go through the same process as Malaysians to acquire a driving licence. This initiative, according to Aedy Fadly, is taken to improve road safety involving foreign nationals, as well as strengthen governance, and raise the quality of public service delivery.
Before this, any expat living in Malaysia could have their driving licence converted to a Malaysian one. They just had to submit a few documents including a valid foreign driving licence, a valid passport, visa or pass issued by Immigration, a complete JPL1 application form, and a completed Exemption Application Method 5 Appendix B-2.
All that said, exceptions apply to members of the Diplomatic Corps and participants of the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) programme. Additionally, foreigners who plan to stay in Malaysia for less than 12 months are permitted to use an International Driving Permit (IDP), provided their country is a signatory to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic 1949 or the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968.
Furthermore, nationals of ASEAN countries are permitted to drive in Malaysia using their respective nation’s driving licences. Malaysians who obtained a foreign driving licence prior to acquiring their Malaysian licence are also unaffected by this ruling.
(Source: JPJ Facebook, Carro)
