Finland Driving Theory Test Study Guide 2026

How to get a car licence in Finland

The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) is responsible for driving licences. Its service provider Ajovarma runs the theory and driving tests at its service points. You can normally get a category B licence at 18. The licence also lets you drive a category B van.

To get a permit, your permanent residence must be in Finland, or you must be studying in Finland and your studies must have lasted more than six months. You must meet the health requirements and must not be banned from driving. Only a driving school or other approved trainer may give the EAS and risk recognition training.

Practising with a driving instruction permit (opetuslupa)

• The person teaching you must be at least 25, have held a car licence for at least 5 years and not be banned from driving.
• Close relatives can teach without limit. Anyone else may teach at most 3 learners within three years. Each permit covers one learner.
• The learner must finish the EAS training before the driving lessons start.
• The car needs a brake pedal for the instructor when the seats are side by side, an extra outside mirror and a learner driver triangle at the rear (sides 16 to 25 cm).
• A category B instruction permit lasts 3 years, or until the learner passes.

Driving at 17

A licence at 17 is possible only with an age exception permit or through vocational driver training for a lorry or bus licence. In vocational training, you may drive only on journeys linked to your studies until you turn 18. A guardian applies for the age exception permit, and the young person must be at least 16 years and 8 months old. No permit is given to anyone who has had a driving ban.

• Since 29 May 2026, all 17-year-olds are banned from driving category B vehicles between 00:00 and 05:00. Driving then counts as driving without the right to drive, which usually means a fine and a driving ban.
• From 1 October 2026, 17-year-olds driving passenger cars must show a sign for an underage driver.

The theory test and the driving test

The theory test is taken on a tablet at an Ajovarma service point and lasts 30 minutes. It has three parts, and you must reach the minimum score in each part. A good result in one part cannot make up for a weak one.

• Bring valid photo ID and your EAS certificate for a first licence. You also need a valid driving licence permit.
• Leave your phone, earphones and outdoor clothes outside the test room.
• A pass is valid for one year. You must pass the driving test in that time.
• If you fail, revise and book a new theory test.
• Cheating, such as copying or recording the test, means a six-month ban from the theory test. Later tests must then be taken orally.

Oral tests and interpreters

An oral test lasts 60 minutes. The examiner reads the questions aloud in Finnish, Swedish or English. You can take one if, for example, your mother tongue is not Finnish, Swedish or English and you do not know those languages well, or if you cannot read. You may use a qualified interpreter, but you pay for the interpreter yourself.

The driving test (ajokoe)

The driving test takes 60 minutes: a short talk with the examiner, driving in different speed zones and traffic, and a final talk where you hear the result. If you pass, you get a certificate. Together with photo ID, it lets you drive a car in mainland Finland for up to 6 months while your card comes by post, usually in about two weeks. A new licence is valid for 15 years. If you disagree with the examiner's decision, you can ask Traficom to review it.

Speed, lights and winter driving

When there is no speed sign, the general limit is 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside built-up areas. Lower limits are often signed in city centres and residential areas. A limit is a maximum, not a target: choose a speed that suits the weather and the road.

Drive with your lights on. In daytime rain or fog, switch on your headlights: daytime running lights are not enough, and on some cars the rear lights stay off with them.

Tyres and snow

Clear snow and ice from your car before you drive. Driving a car that has not been cleared of snow is against the law.

Priority, pedestrians and buses

At an equal junction (tasa-arvoinen risteys) with no signs, signals or priority road, give way to vehicles coming from your right. Signs can change this.

• Pedestrian crossings (suojatie): give way to pedestrians who are on the crossing or about to step onto it.
• Turning: give way to pedestrians, cyclists and moped riders crossing the road you turn onto. The same applies when you enter or leave a roundabout.
• Leaving a car park, courtyard or residential zone: give way to all other traffic on the road.
• Buses: where the limit is 60 km/h or less, drivers in the same lane or the next lane must give way to a bus that signals it is leaving a stop.
• Merging lanes: where two lanes become one, take turns, one car from each lane (the zipper method).

In the dark, a pedestrian without a reflector is seen from only about 50 metres with dipped headlights. With a reflector they can be seen from about 350 metres. Pedestrians should generally wear a reflector in the dark, and drivers should expect people who do not.

Stopping and parking

Where a sign requires a parking disc (pysäköintikiekko), set it to the next full or half hour after you arrive. If you park at 10:40, set 11:00. If you park at 11:05, set 11:30. Put the disc inside the windscreen so it can be read from outside.

Alcohol, drugs, phones and children

• Drugs: Finland has zero tolerance. It is an offence to drive with a drug or its breakdown product in your blood, unless it is medicine you are entitled to use.
• Handing your car to someone who is drunk is also punishable.
• Phones: you must not use a hand-held phone or other communication device while driving. No device may be used in a way that makes driving harder or dangerous.
• Children: children shorter than 135 cm must use a child restraint that suits their height and weight. Children may never travel on someone's lap.

Moose, deer and reindeer

Animal collisions are a real danger in Finland. Most happen at dusk or in the dark, often about an hour after sunset. Moose move most during the rut in October and November, and again in May and June. Slow down where you see a warning sign and watch the roadside.

• After hitting a moose, deer, wild boar or a large predator (bear, wolf, lynx, wolverine), always call the emergency number 112.
• After hitting a reindeer, call 112 even if you only grazed it. Do not take the animal with you.
• Reindeer live in the reindeer husbandry area: Lapland and northern parts of North Ostrobothnia and Kainuu. They often move in groups.
• Stop safely, switch on your hazard lights, check that nobody is hurt and warn other traffic with your warning triangle.

Traffic offences and foreign licences

Repeated minor offences can lead to a driving ban ordered by the police. Traficom sends a letter when your next offence could lead to a ban. One serious offence can also be enough.

Driving on a foreign licence

• A valid EU or EEA licence can be used in Finland for as long as it is valid.
• A licence from a country that signed the road traffic conventions can be used for 2 years after you move to Finland permanently. Apply to exchange it in good time.
• A licence from another country that Finland recognises can be used for one year after you are added to the population register. To exchange it, you apply to Traficom and then take a driving test.

A note on signs

The sign pictures in these notes and in the practice tests use a generic European design. Real Finnish signs follow Finnish rules for colour and detail, so they can look different. Learn the official Finnish versions with your driving school.