UNMIK/PR/665
PRESS RELEASE- 12 NOV. 2001

SRSG Signs Regulation on Driving Licenses

PRISTINA - SRSG Hans Haekkerup has signed Regulation 2001/29 on Documents Permitting the Operation of Vehicles in Kosovo and other Related Matters, in other words, on driving licenses.
 
The regulation states that a person can operate a vehicle if he/she has a valid Kosovo driving license, issued by the competent government authority in Kosovo, or a license issued by the competent authorities of the FRY, or a license issued by competent authorities of a foreign state.

Until the Kosovo program gets underway, sometime in the next few months, a driving license issued by the FRY that expired after 1 January 1999 shall be deemed valid until 30 June 2002. After that date, those expired licenses, which have not been renewed by FRY authorities must be replaced by a valid Kosovo license.
 
In case a FRY license has been destroyed, stolen or lost, the holder may apply to the competent government authority in Kosovo for a certified backup document of the driving license. This document shall be recognized as the official replacement of the original license with the same validity.

UNMIK is currently working on the modalities for issuing the Kosovo driving licenses. The programme to train driving license examiners is going well, as is the driving school inspectors' course. By the time UNMIK starts issuing licenses, there will be around 50 driving license examiners and 20 driving school inspectors. Each region will have offices to issue driving licenses. The driving licenses would be produced according to highest international standards on special security paper.

Currently, Kosovo has about 200 unlicensed driving schools. As driving school inspectors get trained, the Department of Public Services will start the process of inspecting and licensing the driving schools which meet the requisite standards.