Austria Driving Theory Test Study Guide 2026

How to get a car licence in Austria

Austrian driving licence law is set out in the Driving Licence Act (Führerscheingesetz, FSG). The road rules are in the Road Traffic Regulations (Straßenverkehrsordnung, StVO). The normal minimum age for a category B car licence is 18. You may usually start driving school training up to six months before you reach the minimum age for a class.

L17: an early licence at 17

The early category B licence (vorgezogene Lenkberechtigung für die Klasse B) is usually called L17. It lets you learn longer with an accompanying driver (Begleiter) and get your licence a year early.

• You can start the training at 15 and a half (six months after your 15th birthday).
• You must drive at least 3,000 km of practice drives (Ausbildungsfahrten) with an accompanying driver.
• After each 1,000 km there is a training session at the driving school, which includes a drive. After 3,000 km there is a final perfection session.
• A log of the practice drives must be kept, and the accompanying driver must make sure the car is marked as a training vehicle.
• If you are under 18 and none of your accompanying drivers is a parent, the driving school needs written consent from a parent or guardian.
• You can take the practical test from your 17th birthday, once the driving school confirms the training is complete.
• If you get the licence before you turn 18, your probation lasts at least until your 21st birthday.

The theory test (theoretische Fahrprüfung)

The theory test is taken on a computer. The details are in the driving test regulation (Fahrprüfungsverordnung). For your first car licence you take two modules: basic knowledge (Grundwissen, GW) and the category B module.

• Each module has at least 20 main questions (Hauptfragen). A main question can have one or more follow-up questions (Zusatzfragen).
• You have 30 minutes for each module.
• Answers are scored in points. You pass a module with at least 80% of the possible points.
• A question can have more than one correct answer. You must mark all the correct answers. If you miss one, or mark a wrong one, the question counts as wrong.
• Each module is marked on its own. If you fail one, you repeat only that module.
• For each candidate, the computer picks questions at random from the catalogue issued by the federal transport ministry.

The test is held at authorised test centres, and most of them are driving schools. A supervisor appointed by the provincial governor (Landeshauptmann) checks your identity and runs the test. By law the test covers traffic rules, economical and environmentally friendly driving, safe driving and spotting hazards, vehicle faults, things that affect a driver (such as alcohol, tiredness and eyesight) and being considerate to others.

After the theory test

• You may take the practical test only after you have passed the theory test.
• You must pass the practical test within 18 months of passing the theory test. If not, you take the theory test again.
• If you fail a part of the test, you must wait at least 12 days before you repeat it.
• If you use forbidden aids or get help from outside the room and the test is stopped, you must wait 18 months before taking it again.
• If you have serious reading difficulties, you can apply for an oral test with a psychologist's report. An examiner is provided, you get more time, and you pay the extra examiner costs.
• On the category B practical test, the drive on public roads lasts at least 25 minutes.

Probation and the second training stage

New drivers get a probationary licence (Probeführerschein). The probation period (Probezeit) lasts three years. It applies to new drivers of all licence classes except AM (mopeds) and F (tractors). It also applies if you move to Austria within three years of getting a licence abroad; then the three years run from the date your foreign licence was issued.

Rules during probation

• Your blood alcohol must not be more than 0.1 g/l (0.1 per mille), or 0.05 mg/l in the breath.
• You must not drink any alcohol during a trip, and this includes breaks.

If you commit a serious offence during probation, the authority orders a follow-up course (Nachschulung). Offences on the list include:

• speeding measured by a device by more than 20 km/h in a built-up area, or more than 40 km/h outside built-up areas
• driving through a red light or ignoring a police officer's stop signal
• failing to give way (right-of-way offences)
• dangerous overtaking or ignoring a ban on overtaking
• driving the wrong way, for example on a motorway carriageway
• leaving the scene of an accident

Each Nachschulung extends your probation by one year, and you get a new licence that shows the extension. You pay for the course yourself, and only approved institutions may run it. If you do not attend within four months, the authority takes further steps, which can mean losing your licence. If you commit another offence during the third extension, the authority orders a medical check and a traffic psychology test, and your licence may be taken away.

The second training stage (Mehrphasenausbildung)

After a first category B licence, you must also complete a second training stage. It has two parts:

• Refresher drives (Perfektionsfahrten): a drive on public roads with a trainer, followed by a talk with the trainer about how you drove.
• Driving safety training (Fahrsicherheitstraining): practice on a training ground, plus a traffic psychology group discussion (verkehrspsychologisches Gruppengespräch) led by a specially trained psychologist.

If you got your licence in another country and then moved to Austria, you do not have to do the second training stage.

Alcohol and drugs

Austria has different alcohol limits for different drivers. The blood value (g/l, the same as per mille) and the breath value (mg/l) are two ways of measuring the same thing.

• You must never drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs (Suchtgift).
• Authorised traffic officers can ask you to take a breath test at any time. If you refuse, you are punished in the same way as a driver with 1.6 g/l or more, the most serious alcohol offence.

Speed limits

The general speed limits are in the StVO. Signs can set other limits, so always follow the signs.

A limit is the most you may drive, not a target. The StVO says your speed must suit the road, the traffic, how far you can see, and your car and its load. In fog, rain or heavy traffic, slow down. You must also:

• not drive so slowly, without a good reason, that you hold up other traffic
• not drive so fast that you splash or soil other road users or roadside property, if you can avoid it

The authority can also set a lower limit for a whole built-up area, so look out for signs as you enter a town.

Priority (Vorrang)

Priority rules are in § 19 of the StVO. Where there are no signs, signals or police, the rule of the right applies: give way to vehicles coming from your right. Trams and other rail vehicles have priority even when they come from your left.

• Emergency vehicles on an emergency run always have priority.
• On a priority road (Vorrangstraße) you have priority over vehicles from crossing or joining roads, even from the right.
• At a give-way or Halt sign, give way to traffic from both the right and the left. At a Halt sign you must also stop.
• When you turn left, give way to oncoming vehicles that go straight on or turn right, unless signs say otherwise.
• When you come out of a petrol station, car park, garage, driveway or similar place, give way to the traffic already on the road.
• Cyclists who ride off a cycle path where there is no cyclist crossing must give way to traffic on the road (there is an exception for some cycle paths that run alongside the road in built-up areas).

Giving way properly

If you must give way, do not force drivers with priority to brake suddenly or swerve when you cross, turn or join a road. A driver may give up their priority, but they must show it clearly. Never assume that another driver will let you go first, unless they have made it clear beyond doubt.

Carrying your licence

• Carry the licence for the vehicle you drive on every trip, and hand it to the police or other officers for checks when they ask.
• Until your licence card arrives, the temporary licence (vorläufiger Führerschein) together with an official photo ID is enough.
• If you lose your licence, report it at once. The confirmation lets you drive until the new licence is issued, but for no more than eight weeks after the loss.
• A licence with a missing photo or entries you cannot read is no longer valid. Hand it in without delay and apply for a new one.