car - All about driving in Cyprus

Vehicle Insurance

All motor vehicles being driven on the road in Cyprus must be insured for third party risks as a minimum. Motor vehicles towing trailers must have extra insurance.

Cars:

It is possible to obtain the added protection for fire and theft or fully comprehensive insurance. Breakdown cover is often included.

As in the UK there are differences in cost and cover between companies. I suggest you get at least a couple of quotes.

Because you have comprehensive insurance do not assume you are are able to drive another vehicle not owned by you. This often not the case in Cyprus.
Read the conditions of your policy.

Trailers.

If you intend to tow a trailer of any sort your insurance must specify on the certificate that you are insured to tow a trailer.
Trailers in Cyprus must be registered.

Motorcycles.

Insurance companies will normally only cover third party risks, although it is sometimes possible to obtain comprehensive insurance if you are a good risk, for example if you have advanced riding qualifications.

Car or Motorcycle Test.

If you intend to take a driving or riding test in a non driving school vehicle, special insurance is required. This is an extra insurance which specifically covers your use of the vehicle on the day of the test and for the purpose of taking the driving test.

Rejected Risks – Motor Insurers’ Fund (MIF)

Any driver, who applies for insurance and is rejected by three Insurance Companies, may apply to the Motor Insurers’ Fund by submitting certificates of rejection from those Companies.

The MIF will then forward the application to all insurance companies, which will decide whether they are willing to consider the issue of insurance cover. Insurance companies have an obligation to respond positively or negatively, within 48 hours of receipt of the request, by e-mail.

If the MIF receives one or more positive responses, it will refer the applicant to the companies that responded positively. Otherwise, the applicant will be referred to the “Cyprus Hire & Rejected Risks Pool”, certified by the MIF as a “Rejected Risk”.

Details can be found at the Motor Insurers’ Fund website.

The MIF will, under specific circumstances, also covers uninsured vehicles, unidentified vehicles and vehicles insured with insurance companies which are under liquidation.

Biennial Vehicle Inspection (M.O.T. Test – Roadworthiness Test)

If a vehicle is FOUR years old it is required to be tested, then tested every two years after that.

The vehicle inspection is similar to the MOT test in the UK and is carried out at authorized garages. The test is computerized and takes about 30 minutes.

The test covers:

exhaust emissions
brakes
suspension
steering
a visual check of lights, tyres, brake pipes etc.

You will not be able to renew your Road Tax without the vehicle passing the test.

The Procedure.
If your vehicle is properly registered and the Department of Transport has your current address, and you have failed to submit the vehicle for testing, you may receive a notification, in Greek, that the test was due.

The form includes information on the current fees and the date by which the test must be carried out. It may be a month or so after the anniversary of first registration.

You will be given a limited time in which to comply with the requirement.

It has been proposed that a text message may be sent to the owner prior to the test becoming due.

If you do not receive notification, you should go through the same procedure. Non receipt of the reminder will not let you off the hook should it come to a prosecution.

Take the vehicle registration document and the fee (currently €35.25) to a testing station authorized to carry out the test.

If a vehicle fails the test a temporary certificate is issued which allows 30 days to rectify the faullts.

The re-test fee is €10.

The result is entered on the DoRT database immediately and a certificate is issued. The certificate is valid for TWO years from the date of issue.

If your vehicle does not have a valid vehicle test certificate the road tax becomes invalid. You are likely to be prosecuted for both offences.
Insurance companies may refuse to cover damages to the vehicle if the driver of such a vehicle is involved in an accident.

Information regarding Cyprus tyre law is available on this site.

To download detailed information on the MOT Test with a rough English translation click here.

Currently motorcycles are not being tested.
However the law is in place (from the 6th July 2012) to test:

Motorcycles
Tricycles
Electric vehicles
Motor vehicles hired without drivers

Under the amendments to the legislation the above categories of motor vehicles will be invited to undergo inspection at a time to be decided by the Commissioner.

Car Hire and Motorcycle Rental

Driving licence

Most driving licences are valid for visitors to Cyprus. For information on driving licences check the driving licence section of this site.

If you hold a UK driving licence you may be required to obtain a code which gives the hire company access to your driving record. It can be obtained here. The code is valid for 21 days.

Drivers Ages

Most hire companies will hire cars to drivers between the ages of 25 to 75 years without any problem.

If you are younger than 25 you have to have held a full licence for 3 years.

If you are over 70 there is not usually a problem but some companies may not agree to hire you a car until they have met you personally in order to assess any possible incapability.

Exclusions

Some hire companies on the South of the Island will not allow you to take the vehicle over into the Northern (TRNC – Turkish) side. If you wish to cross the border make sure that the company specifically allows this.
Most companies exclude off road use.

Fuel

Hire cars usually operate the system of handing the vehicle over to you with an empty fuel tank, so you return it empty. This can lead to problems if you are not careful. This practice is slowly changing to the system of returning the vehicle with the tank full.

Red Plates

Hire cars display a red registration plate.
Be aware that the drivers of these vehicles will often not be conversant with local conditions.

Cyprus Provisional / Learner / Student Driving Licence

You should read this page in conjunction with the main Cyprus driving licence page.

Leaner licences issued in Cyprus are paper and only valid in the Republic of Cyprus.

Are you old enough to drive in Cyprus?

Check the drivers minimum ages page of the site.

Residents: How to apply for a Cyprus provisional driving licence:

To obtain a licence to enable you to learn to drive, application has to be made in person at the Department of Transport (DoRT) with the documents shown below.

You have to pass eyesight and theory tests before a provisional driving licence will be issued. You may be able to take this test immediately or make an appointment with the examiner to return at a more suitable time.

The test is verbal, in Greek or English, on traffic signs and the Highway Code.
The fee is €10.

Return to the front office with the pass document and the documents and fee listed below to be issued with the provisional licence.

Documents required to obtain a Cyprus learner / student Driving Licence:

A completed T.O.M. 7 application form only available in Greek.
The form is is available and an English translation of the main headings can be downloaded here.

Two passport style photographs 40×35
Residents Permit
Produce evidence that you have been resident in Cyprus for six months eg. utility bill. If you don’t have this, or similar proof, you will need to attend the office to find out what might be acceptable in your case.
Passport and copy of the page containing the holders information
The appropriate fee
The verbal theory test pass slip

The cost of a learner / student driving licence is € 20 and is valid for one year.

The earliest a driving licence can be renewed is one month before the expiry of the old one.

Category A1 – Learner riders do not have to be accompanied by a full licence holder.
Learner licence holders aged 17.5.

Category B (car) and B + E (car + trailer) – Learner licence holders aged 17.5 must be accompanied by an experienced driver aged 30 and upwards who has held a full driving licence for the class of vehicle for no less than five years.
OR
An Authorized Driving Instructor.

A rider in the above classes cannot take the driving or riding test until they are 18 years of age and have held a licence for 21 days or more.

Learner licence holders aged 18 or over must be accompanied by a person aged at least 25 with a minimum five years driving experience.
OR
An Authorized Driving Instructor.

Learner licence holders must display E Plates on the front and rear of the vehicle.
This replaces the old plate although these can still be found.

Provisional / learner / student licence holders are not permitted to drive on the highway unless they are accompanied by a Cyprus Authorized Driving Instructor or taking part in a driving test.

Valid EU provisional / learner / student licences

EU provisional / learner / student licences are valid, as are those licences listed below, and can be used to drive and book a test providing you are old enough to drive in Cyprus and you are accompanied as outlined on this page.

Valid provisional / learner / student licences from outside the EU

Article 20 of the Driving License Laws of 2001 and 2004, recognizes driver’s licences or learner’s licences issued by a competent authority of the country included in the table below:

You must exchange your National driving licence for a Cyprus licence if you are a resident and have lived in Cyprus for six months.

Australia
Canada
Georgia
Iceland
Japan
Liechtenstein
New Zealand
Norway
Russia

Serbia
South Africa
South Korea
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
USA
Zimbabwe

Driving Licence Categories and Minimum Ages

Shown below are the MINIMUM ages that have to be attained to drive different types of vehicles in Cyprus and the driving licence vehicle categories that apply.
They are NOT the same as the UK.

If, for example, you are 17 years old and hold a full UK licence for a car, you CANNOT drive in Cyprus until you are 18. The age is currently under review and MAY be reduced to 17 years. If and when this is finalized this website will be updated.

Residents of Cyprus can apply for a learner licence to drive cars and small motorcycles at 17.5 years of age. However, a driver cannot take the driving test until attaining the age of 18.

Law 79(I)/2012 refers.

Category AM – Moped – Minimum Age 17 – 2-wheel vehicles or 3-wheel vehicles with a maximum design speed of over 25km/h and not more than 45km/h.
Light quadricycle With an unladen mass of not more than 350kg, not including the mass of the batteries in the case of electric vehicles, whose maximum design speed is over 25km/h and not more than 45km/h.

Category A1 – Small Motorcycles – Minimum Age 18 – (17.5 learner licence) – A motorcycle with a cylinder capacity not exceeding 125, of a power not exceeding 11kW and with a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.1kW per kg.

Category A1 – Minimum Age 18 – A motor tricycle with a power not exceeding 15kW. and maximum cylinder of 125cc / power 11Kw

Category A2 – Minimum Age 20 – A Medium motorcycle of a power not exceeding 35kW, with a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.2kW per kg and not derived from a vehicle of more than double its power.

Minimum Age 20(1) Providing held a full A1 licence for 2 years

Category A – Minimum Age 24 or 22(2) – A motorcycle of a power exceeding 35kW or with a power to weight ratio exceeding 0.2kW per kg, or A motorcycle of a power not exceeding 35kW with a power to weight ratio not exceeding 0.2kW per kg and derived from a vehicle of more than double its power.

Minimum Age 24 or 22(2) Providing held a full A2 licence for 2 years

Category A – Minimum Age 24 – A motor tricycle with a power exceeding 15kW.

Category B and B+E – Minimum Age 18 – (17.5 learner licence) – Motor vehicles with a MAM not exceeding 3500kg having not more than 8 passenger seats with a trailer up to 750kg. Combinations of towing vehicles in category B and a trailer, where the MAM of the combination does not exceed 3500kg and the MAM of the trailer does not exceed the unladen mass of the towing vehicle.
Includes automatic.

Category B 1 – Minimum Age 18 – (17.5 learner licence) – Quadracycles with an unladen mass not exceeding 400 kg or, in case of vehicles for transporting goods, 500 Kg, not including the mass of batteries in the electric motor vehicles with a maximum net power 15 kW

Category Γ1/C1 and Γ1/C1+E – Minimum Age 18 – Light trucks other than in categories D1 or D, with a maximum authorized mass exceeding 3.500 Kg, but not 7.500 Kg, transport more than eight passengers in addition to the driver
Total vehicle towing vehicle of category C1, ie chassis and trailer or semi-trailer with a maximum authorized mass of over 750 Kg / vehicle combinations with a tractor vehicle in category B and a trailer or semi-trailer with a maximum authorized mass exceeding of 3.500 Kg, but not exceeding 12.000Kg

Category Γ/C and Γ/C+E – Minimum Age 21 – Large goods vehicles
Vehicles exceeding 3,500kg towing a trailer that does not exceed 750kg

Catagory Δ1/D1 and Δ1/D1+E – Minibuses – Vehicles with no more than 16 passenger seats in addition to the driver and with a maximum length not exceeding 8 metres with a trailer up to 750kg.

Δ/D and Δ/D+E – Minimum Age 21 – Vehicles for the transport of more than 8 passengers, except the driver, i.e. buses, which can be combined with a trailer having a maximum authorized mass not exceeding 750 Kg),
Minimum Age 24 – Combination of vehicles with a towing vehicle of category D and a trailer with a maximum authorized mass of more than 750 Kg),
Directive 2006/126/EEC in effect since 19 January 2013. Download here in English. in Ελληνικά.

Only Cyprus residents who can prove they have lived in the country for six months are eligible to apply for a Cyprus Driving Licence or take any Cyprus Driving Test. This is to comply with EU directives.