Before you start

Residence permit and OIB
Foreign licence with a court-certified Croatian translation
A Croatian medical certificate for drivers
Proof of address in Zagreb

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your licence exchanges without a test
EU and EEA licences exchange cleanly. Beyond that it depends on Croatia's reciprocal arrangement with the issuing country — some exchange after a theory or practical test, some not at all. Establish this before planning around driving.
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2
Get the court translation and the medical certificate
The licence must be translated by a court-certified translator and a Croatian driver medical certificate obtained from an authorised practitioner. Both are inexpensive and both are prerequisites.
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3
File the exchange at the police administration
Applications go to the police administration covering your address. The original foreign licence is surrendered on exchange.
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4
Understand that motorways are tolled by journey
Croatia uses toll booths and an electronic tag rather than a vignette. The Zagreb to Split run is the most heavily used and the most expensive, and the electronic ENC tag both saves money and, more importantly, saves an hour in the summer queue.
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5
Fit winter equipment for the mandatory period
Croatia requires winter equipment on defined roads during a defined winter period, and the requirement is enforced. Zagreb gets genuine snow and the Medvednica road above the city gets considerably more.
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6
Check the parking zone before assuming a car is workable
Central Zagreb operates coloured paid parking zones with resident permits issued against a registered address. The innermost zones have short maximum stays and are enforced. The tram network covers the city well enough that most central residents do without a car entirely.
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Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence and court-certified translation
Residence permit and OIB
Croatian driver medical certificate
Passport
Proof of address

Things most newcomers don’t know

Croatia tolls by journey, and the coastal motorway in August is its own category of problem.

Unlike Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania or Slovenia, Croatia charges motorway tolls at booths per journey rather than through a vignette. The Zagreb to Split route carries the entire country's summer tourism and the toll plazas back up for hours at peak weekends. An electronic ENC tag is worth having for the discount but is worth far more for the dedicated lane. Anyone planning regular coast trips should get one before their first August.

Source: Hrvatske autoceste

Zagreb's tram network is the reason a car is optional here.

ZET operates one of the more extensive tram networks in this part of Europe, running through the Lower Town grid and out to the residential districts, with buses filling the gaps and the Sljeme cable car reaching the mountain. There is no metro and there does not need to be. Central residents overwhelmingly do without a car, which is worth knowing before budgeting for one and for a resident parking permit that may not be easily available.

Source: ZET

The coloured parking zones are tighter than they look and enforcement is quick.

Zagreb's central zones have short maximum stays — the innermost is measured in an hour or two — and are enforced by patrol. Resident permits are issued against a registered address in the zone, so a car parked outside your own zone is on the meter. Newcomers who bring a car and assume they will find a way tend to accumulate penalties in the first month.

Source: City of Zagreb parking regulations

Winter equipment is a legal requirement on defined roads for a defined period.

Croatia mandates winter equipment on specified roads during the winter period, and the police enforce it. Zagreb sits at the foot of a 1,000-metre mountain and the road up Medvednica is a different world from the city grid, but the requirement also applies to the inland motorway routes that ice readily. Coming from a milder climate and treating this as advisory is a common and expensive misjudgement.

Source: Ministry of the Interior

Common mistakes to avoid

Driving the coastal motorway on an August weekend without an ENC tag.
Assuming a non-EU licence exchanges without checking Croatia's reciprocal position.
Bringing a car into a central zone without a resident permit for that zone.
Ignoring the winter equipment requirement on defined roads.
Budgeting for a car in a city where the tram network makes one largely unnecessary.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.