Now that I’m through, and actually had a very positive encounter during my final (for now) visit to the Misrad Harishui (Licensing Office) – here’s a complete guide on converting your American/foreign driver’s license to an Israeli one, with some help from the Nefesh B’Nefesh guide.
1.) Visit an optician to get your “tofes yarok” (green form), which is literally a green form. The optician must be affiliated with Marmanet or Tel Dor, because like everything in this country, somebody has a monopoly on the driver’s license eyesight market. I chose Roim Shesh-Shesh, which is on the corner of King George and Ben Yehuda in downtown Jerusalem. Tell the salespeople that you need your tofes yarok, and they will quickly give you an eye examination, take your photograph and charge you NIS 40. The owners of Shesh-Shesh also gave me a sizable coupon to their store to use in the future, which is actually convenient since I need a new pair of glasses regardless. Make sure, as always, to have your teudat zehut with you, and also bring your glasses or contact lenses.
2.) Both you and your physician must fill out and sign the health section of the tofes yarok. As you may have read if you have visited this blog before, this can lead to you getting royally screwed, as you may then be delayed weeks or months if “Rachel” in the back of the Misrad Harishui sends your form to the ministry doctor for additional screenings.
3.) After visiting your physician, take your tofes yarok to Misrad Harishui, where they will either give you a stamp of approval and yet another form for your driving instructor, or they’ll send you to the back with Rachel. In Jerusalem, Misrad Harishui hours are Sunday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., and the office is located at HaTnufa 17. REMEMBER TO NOT ONLY BRING YOUR TEUDAT ZEHEUT, BUT ALSO YOUR TEUDAT OLEH AND FOREIGN DRIVER’S LICENSE. I, naturally, forgot my teudat oleh the first time and had to go back once again.
4.) Schedule a driving lesson. If you’re a relatively decent driver, you will likely only need one 40-minute lesson, after which your instructor will schedule your road test for you. I really liked the driving instructor I chose, whom I heard about through friends of friends on Facebook. Eyal Ben Harush speaks both Hebrew and English clearly and is experienced teaching both native Israelis and immigrants converting their licenses. He charges NIS 150 for the lesson, plus NIS 500 to use his car for the road test (which you MUST do – you CANNOT use a private vehicle), which although is slightly pricey, I found to be quite worth it. You can pay him the NIS 650 total at test day.
5.) Upon completion of your lesson, your driving instructor will take your tofes yarok from you and give you a new, small form, which you must take to the postal bank and pay NIS 65. Make sure you receive a receipt.
6.) Test day. You will either be picked up by your instructor or told to meet him at the Talpiyot facility as I did. Naturally, me being me, I got tremendously lost finding the place, so leave yourself plenty of time getting there. Now that I know this, the testing location is at (approximately) HaUman 3, but you’ll see it from there. As I arrived at the test center, sweating from sprinting and with about two minutes to spare, I noticed that two other students of my instructor were there at the same time as me. Apparently, you take your test with other students in the car. Interesting. We chose an order – I was going to be second – and the first driver pulled out of the testing center with us in the backseat and the test up front. Each of us drove for about five minutes total, turning right, crossing traffic to turn left and some simply circles around southeastern Jerusalem, until one person was told to pull over and the next person took the driver’s seat. You are NOT taking the regular Israeli driving test that Israeli 17 year olds must take; rather, you have the heartily slimmed down “mivchan shlita” (control test – literally, to test that you can control an automobile). The only advice I can give you for these five minutes: make sure you pull down the parking break at the beginning and pull it back up at the end of your turn, watch out for one-way street signs, and just drive as you normally would.
7.) About two hours after you take the test, call your instructor and find out if you passed.
8.) Congratulations, you passed! Now wait a few days and head down to Misrad Harishui again to pick up your temporary license – your permanent one will be mailed to you several months later apparently. DO NOT go wait on the long line inside. If you want to wait on a line, go to the small information booth line right where you enter the facility. But as I found out from the really nice teller who left the information booth and personally assisted me with acquiring my license, if you have an IsraCart – basically a debit or credit card from any Israeli bank – you can print your temporary license by machine. You will see the machine as soon as you walk through the metal detector in the Misrad Harishui – all you have to do is stand on the platform (don’t get off, or some motion sensor system cancels your order), type in your teudat zeheut number, and swipe your IsraeCart to pay NIS 385.
Many days, hours and NIS 1,140 later… you’re DONE.
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