Your driving licence on Saba: converting costs $ 140, the medical is valid two months, and the RDW route stays open
Unlike Bonaire, the Public Entity Saba does not treat a Dutch driving licence as equivalent to its own: whoever wants to convert a foreign licence goes through the procedure for a first licence, with a medical certificate no more than two months old, and pays $ 140 for the conversion plus $ 12 for the card. Whoever wants to keep the Dutch document renews it at the RDW from abroad for € 36.40, with a Dutch correspondence address.
On Bonaire the answer is simple: a Dutch driving licence is treated as equivalent there and need not be exchanged. On Saba the answer is different. The Census Office of the Public Entity makes no exception on its page for licences from the Kingdom: whoever wants to convert a foreign driving licence to a Saban one goes through the procedure for a first licence. What it costs: $ 140 for the conversion and $ 12 for the card, plus a medical certificate that is valid for only two months. The trap is the order of those two months: whoever has the medical done and only then looks for an appointment starts again.
What does the Census Office ask for?
For a first licence the office at Power Street 1 wants to see three things: proof that you passed the driving exam, a completed medical form that is no older than two months when submitted, and your valid ID card. The exam costs $ 140, the licence $ 12. For converting a foreign licence the same page refers to that procedure; the fee list of the Receiver's Office names the conversion separately, at $ 140, next to the exam of $ 140 and the card of $ 12. A renewal costs $ 12 and again requires a medical form and your old licence; if that is lost or stolen, a police report first. An extract of your licence is free.
What the rules are exactly is in the island ordinance. The Road Traffic Ordinance of the Windward Islands, in force until June 2022, let the Local Chief of Police grant an exemption from the driving exam to whoever settles permanently on the island with a valid licence in the model of the Geneva Convention, only for the categories that licence covers, and with the express addition that the exemption does not cover the exam fee. That explains the $ 140 on the fee list. Whether you may drive on your Dutch licence in the meantime, and for how long, is on no page of the Public Entity; ask at the Census Office when you register, and not only when an insurer asks.
| Route | Cost | Deadline or condition |
|---|---|---|
| Converting a foreign licence | $ 140 conversion plus $ 12 card | medical form at most 2 months old, valid ID card |
| First licence with exam | $ 140 exam plus $ 12 card | proof of passing, medical form, ID card |
| Renewing a Saban licence | $ 12 | medical form, old licence; police report if lost |
| Licence extract | free | |
| Renewing a Dutch licence at the RDW | € 36.40 | form within 10 working days, assessment 10 working days, dispatch 5 working days |
| RDW passport photo | own cost | at most 6 months old |
Can you simply keep your Dutch licence?
Yes, through the RDW. It renews a Dutch driving licence from abroad if you live outside the European Union or the European Free Trade Association, are not registered at a Dutch address, hold an EU or EFTA nationality and can give a Dutch correspondence address; the RDW sends no post abroad. The Caribbean Netherlands has the status of overseas country and territory towards the EU, so you meet that first condition. You request the form, which goes to your correspondence address within ten working days, return it with a passport photo no more than six months old and a copy of your passport, pay € 36.40, and the RDW assesses within ten working days and sends the new licence within five working days to that Dutch address. For category C or D a medical by a CBR doctor is added, which is awkward from abroad.
Only have the medical done once the appointment is set. The medical form is valid for two months and must be at the Census Office before that date. Whoever goes to the doctor first and then waits for an appointment pays for the medical twice.
Which route suits you?
Whoever keeps family in the Netherlands and still drives there usually chooses the RDW route: the document stays Dutch, nobody on Saba withholds it, and all you need is someone who receives your post in the Netherlands. Whoever stays on Saba for good converts: one medical, one appointment, and a card every local authority knows. How the car itself gets to the island, with the twelve-month requirement and the Windward ABB rate, is in your car to Saba; where the licence falls in the order of your arrival you see in the step-by-step plan on /saba.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey, step 5.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Saba or go straight to step 5.1 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- Public Entity Saba — driver's licence: first issue, renewal, the two-month medical form and converting a foreign licence — sabagov.nl
- Public Entity Saba — the fees: exam $ 140, conversion $ 140, licence card $ 12 — sabagov.nl
- Road Traffic Ordinance of the Windward Islands (in force until June 2022) — article 89: exemption from the exam for settlers with a valid licence, the exam fee remains — lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl
- RDW — renewing a Dutch driving licence from abroad: the conditions, € 36.40 and the deadlines — rdw.nl
- Answer to parliamentary questions — the Caribbean Netherlands has the status of overseas country and territory and lies outside the EU — zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl
Read on
- SabaArrival5 min
Buying a house on Saba: 5% at purchase, 0.7% without surcharges, and a red roof is mandatory
Buying on Saba works as in all of the Caribbean Netherlands: through the notary, with 5% transfer tax and a registration at the Cadastre BES. After that the island is milder than Bonaire: Saba levies no surcharges on the property tax, so a second home pays 0.7% and the home you live in yourself nothing. Whoever builds deals with the Public Entity: a building permit of $ 500 or $ 1,000, sixteen weeks, and white walls with a red roof.
Updated 5 October 2026
- SabaArrival5 min
Children and school on Saba: English-language education, one primary school, one secondary school and $ 238 child benefit
The schools on Saba belong to the Dutch education system, but lessons are in English and the diploma comes from the Caribbean Examinations Council. There is one primary school, Sacred Heart in St. John's, and one secondary school, the Saba Comprehensive School, with CSEC and CAPE. Compulsory education runs from 4 to 16, child benefit on Saba is $ 238 a month and comes only on application, and childcare costs at most $ 75 a month in 2026. Further study means leaving.
Updated 5 October 2026
- SabaArrival5 min
Healthcare on Saba: one clinic, specialists who fly in, and Sint Maarten as the first stop
On Saba you are insured as a resident by operation of law through ZJCN, without a premium bill and without an excess. The care itself is that of an island of two thousand people: Saba Cares in The Bottom with a GP, an emergency department and specialists who come over monthly. Everything beyond that goes as a medical referral abroad, and the route is fixed: first Sint Maarten, then Bonaire, Curaçao or Aruba, Colombia and only then the Netherlands, with flight and accommodation reimbursed.
Updated 5 October 2026