Article 16 — Effects of the cancellation, withdrawal, suspension or restriction of the right to drive of a driver of a power-driven vehicle, of his or her driving licence or of the recognition of the validity of his or her driving licence

1. Member States shall refuse to issue driving licences to applicants whose driving licence has been cancelled, withdrawn, suspended or restricted in another Member State. 2. A Member State shall refuse to recognise the validity of any driving licence issued by another Member State to a person whose right to drive, driving licence, or the recognition of the validity of whose driving licence is cancelled, withdrawn, suspended or restricted in the former Member State’s territory. 3. The right to drive, a driving licence or the recognition of its validity shall be considered as cancelled, withdrawn, suspended or restricted for the purposes of this Article, until the person concerned complies with any conditions imposed by a Member State, in order to recover the right to drive or his or her driving licence, or to regain the recognition of the validity of his or her driving licence, or to be able to apply for a new driving licence. Member States shall ensure that any conditions they impose in order for a person to be allowed to recover the right to drive, or his or her driving licence or to regain the recognition of the validity of his or her driving licence, or to be allowed to apply for a new driving licence, are proportionate, non-discriminatory to holders of driving licences issued by any other Member State, and that they do not, by themselves, lead to a refusal of indefinite duration to issue a driving licence or to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State. 4. Where it is justified on the basis of a person’s conduct or physical or mental fitness, Member States may disqualify that person from driving in their territory indefinitely without providing that person the possibility to recover the right to drive or his or her driving licence, or to regain the recognition of the validity of his or her driving licence, or to apply for a new driving licence. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, a Member State which has not disqualified that person from driving may, after consulting with the Member State as referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph, issue a driving licence to that person. However, the Member State which disqualified that person from driving may refuse, in its territory and indefinitely, to recognise a driving licence issued by another Member State.