Norway Driving Theory Test Study Guide 2026

How to get a car licence in Norway

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) runs the theory and driving tests and issues licences. You can get a class B licence at 18. You can start practice driving at 16.

The basic traffic course (trafikalt grunnkurs)

• The course has 17 hours of teaching, practical work and class discussion.
• You can take it at a driving school from age 15, or as an elective subject (valgfag) in year 10 at school.
• Topics include the role of the driver, people in traffic, duties after a traffic accident, first aid and dark driving.
• When you finish, you get a practice driving certificate (øvelseskjøringsbevis). It gives you the right to practise driving.

Dark driving (mørkekjøring) is needed before you practise between 1 November and 15 March. From 16 March to 31 October it is not dark enough, so if you take the driving test in that period you can do dark driving after the test.

If you are 25 or older, you do not need the basic course or the practice certificate. You must still take dark driving and the part on duties at accidents and first aid.

Practice driving (øvelseskjøring)

You may practise driving a car from age 16. The person who sits beside you is the accompanying person (ledsager).

• The accompanying person must be at least 25 and must have held a licence for the same class without a break for the last 5 years.
• The accompanying person is responsible for marking the car, having the right equipment, choosing suitable places and keeping the practice safe.
• The car must have a clearly visible red L on a white background at the rear.
• The car must have an extra mirror for the accompanying person.
• The learner must carry proof of the basic traffic course and valid photo ID.
• You may practise with a trailer once you drive well enough for it to make sense.

Compulsory training and gears

Training is in stages. You can learn at a driving school, privately with an accompanying person, or both. At the end of a stage there is a stage assessment (trinnvurdering): you judge whether you have reached the goals, and your teacher tells you if you are ready to move on.

On top of the compulsory courses, Statens vegvesen recommends several thousand kilometres of practice before the driving test.

You choose a car with automatic or manual gears. If you take the driving test in an automatic car, you get code 78 on your licence, and you may drive only automatic cars. To drive manual cars later, you must take a new driving test and pay again.

The theory test (teoriprøve)

The class B theory test has 45 multiple-choice questions, each with one correct answer. You need 38 correct to pass, so you can get up to 7 wrong. You have 90 minutes. You answer on a computer in a room with other candidates while staff watch.

Before the test

• You must be at least 16. You can take the test at the earliest 6 months before you reach the age limit, so from 17 and a half for class B.
• Apply for a licence on Din side first. You can book only when the application is registered and approved.
• The police must approve your conduct record (vandel).
• If you answer “yes” to the eyesight questions on the health declaration, you need a certificate from an approved optician or eye doctor. A “yes” to the other health questions means you need a health certificate from a doctor.
• To get a licence, you must be registered as living in Norway (folkeregistrert).
• On the day, show valid ID, have your licence photo taken in a photo booth, and pay for the photo and the test.

During the test

• Besides Bokmål and Nynorsk, the class B test is offered in Northern Sami, English, Arabic, Sorani and Turkish. You can switch language at any time.
• You can have the questions read aloud in Norwegian through headphones.
• The only aid allowed is a dictionary. Phones, watches, bags, outer clothes and papers go in a locker.
• You can go back and change answers until the time runs out. If you need more time, ask the test leader before the time ends.
• If you need an interpreter or other help, apply for an adapted test (tilrettelagt teoriprøve).

After the test

• Your result appears on screen straight away. You are also sent the result, with a summary by topic.
• If you fail, you must wait two weeks before trying again, pay again and show ID again.
• If you pass, you must pass the driving test within three years.
• If you cheat or try to cheat, the test is stopped and you can be banned for up to 12 months. Serious cases may be reported to the police.

The driving test and what class B covers

You or your driving school can book the driving test (oppkjøring). It lasts 55–60 minutes on different kinds of roads. Before you drive, you do a safety check of the car, such as lights, brakes and warning lamps, and explain possible causes and effects of faults. You get the result straight after the test, with written reasons.

Give-way rules (vikeplikt)

Where no sign or signal says otherwise, the right-hand rule (høyreregelen) applies: give way to vehicles coming from your right. This also applies in car parks. When you drive onto a road from a car park, petrol station or private property, give way to all other traffic.

On a priority road (forkjørsvei), traffic from side roads must give way to you. At a stop sign, stop completely before you enter the crossing road or a level crossing, then give way.

• Pedestrians: give way to people on a pedestrian crossing (gangfelt) or about to step onto it, unless lights or police control it.
• Cyclists count as drivers. They must get off and walk to have pedestrian priority on a crossing.
• Changing lanes: give way to traffic in the lane you move into.
• Buses: on roads with a limit of 60 km/h or lower, give way to a bus that signals to leave a stop.
• Trams: as a main rule, give way to trams, even when they come from the left. Do not pass a tram in front of a pedestrian crossing or where your view is blocked.
• Roundabouts: give way to traffic already in the roundabout. For the first exit, signal right in good time before you enter.
• Bus lanes (kollektivfelt): buses may always use them. Taxis may use them only if the sign shows “Taxi”. Electric cars usually may, unless a plate says they may not.

Speed, alcohol, phones and penalty points

Where no sign shows another limit, or where a special limit ends, the general limits apply: 50 km/h in towns and built-up areas and 80 km/h outside them.

• Alcohol: the general limit (promillegrense) is 0.2 per mille. The safest choice is not to drink at all if you will drive.
• Phones: you may not hold a phone while driving. With hands-free or a phone in a holder, you may make, answer and end calls. Breaking the phone rules gives 3 penalty points.
• Seat belts: wearing a seat belt is compulsory. The driver is responsible for securing passengers under 15.

Penalty points (prikker)

Winter tyres, accidents and foreign licences

• In the winter period, tyres need at least 3 mm of tread. In summer the minimum is 1.6 mm.
• Studded tyres (piggdekk) are allowed from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday. In Nordland, Troms and Finnmark the period is 16 October to 30 April.
• If you use studded tyres, fit them on all wheels.
• When conditions need it, the car must have winter tyres, with or without studs, or chains.

At an accident

• If you are involved, stop at once, whoever is to blame.
• Put on a reflective vest, set out the warning triangle and move vehicles if it is safe.
• Call 113 if someone is injured or the accident is serious, and help injured people as far as you can.
• Do not leave before the police come, unless you really must.
• You must keep at least one approved reflective vest within the driver's reach, for example in the door or glovebox.

Hitting an animal such as a moose (elg) is not a crime, but not reporting it is. Call the police on 02800, mark the place if the police let you drive on, and never follow an injured animal.

Driving on a foreign licence

• Most licences from outside the EU/EEA can be used for three months from the date you are registered as living in Norway.
• UK and Swiss licences give the same rights as EEA licences. Japan and Ukraine have their own rules.
• Only licences from some countries outside the EU/EEA can be exchanged, for example Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Korea and the USA.