Getting a driving licence

A category B driving licence (B-körkort) gives you the right to drive a car and a light lorry. The road there consists of a few clear steps, and several of them have rules about age and period of validity that you need to know. This chapter goes through the whole chain, from application to your first years as a new driver.

The steps in brief

1. Apply for a learner's permit (körkortstillstånd) from Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency).
2. Practise driving (övningskörning), privately with an approved supervisor and/or at a driving school.
3. Complete both parts of the risk education (riskutbildning).
4. Take the theory test (kunskapsprovet, also called teoriprovet) at Trafikverket (the Swedish Transport Administration).
5. Take the practical driving test (körprovet).
6. Drive with a probationary period (prövotid) for the first two years.

The theory test and the practical driving test together are called the driving test (förarprov) (Driving Licence Act (körkortslagen) 3 kap. 4 §).

Learner's permit

Before you may practise driving or take any test, you must have a valid learner's permit (körkortstillstånd). It is Transportstyrelsen's decision that you meet the personal and medical requirements for holding a driving licence.

• It costs nothing to apply.
• You submit a health declaration (hälsodeklaration) and an eyesight certificate (synintyg). The eyesight certificate must not be issued earlier than two months before the application.
• Transportstyrelsen also assesses whether you are suitable with regard to your personal circumstances and can obtain information from other authorities, for example the police.
• The permit is valid for five years (Driving Licence Ordinance (körkortsförordningen) 3 kap. 3 §) and cannot be extended. If you do not finish within that time, you must apply again.

There is no age limit for applying, but there are age limits for practice driving and for getting the licence.

Practice driving

You may practise driving a car without a trailer from the age of 16 (körkortslagen 4 kap. 2 §). You can practise at a driving school, privately with a supervisor (handledare), or combine both.

Requirements for the supervisor

For private practice driving, the supervisor must:

• be at least 24 years old,
• hold a licence for the vehicle and have held it for a total of at least five of the last ten years (körkortslagen 4 kap. 7 §),
• be approved by Transportstyrelsen as the supervisor for you specifically. The approval is valid for five years (körkortslagen 4 kap. 8 §).

On 1 August 2026 the requirement for an introductory course (introduktionsutbildning) was removed. Neither the supervisor nor the learner needs to take that course any longer. What remains are the requirements above: the learner must have a learner's permit and the supervisor must be approved.

Sign and responsibility

A vehicle used for practice driving must have a sign showing this (körkortsförordningen 4 kap. 4 §). Transportstyrelsen points out that it is the supervisor who counts as the driver during practice driving. The supervisor can therefore be held responsible if something goes wrong and must be just as sober, alert and attentive as if they were driving themselves.

A good approach is to start in quiet places and increase the difficulty step by step. Wait with slippery roads, darkness and heavy traffic until the basics are in place.

Risk education

The risk education (riskutbildningen) must be completed before you take the theory test and the practical driving test. It has two parts:

• Part 1 covers alcohol and drugs, fatigue in traffic and other risky behaviour.
• Part 2 covers speed, safety and driving in different road and weather conditions. It includes driving on a skid pan (halkbana).

A completed risk education, or part of it, is valid for five years (körkortsförordningen 4 kap. 14 §). It is valid until the day you get your licence, but for at most five years.

The theory test

The theory test (kunskapsprovet) is taken on a computer at Trafikverket. To book it you need a learner's permit, and both parts of the risk education must be valid when you arrive for the test.

• The test has 70 questions. Five of them are trial questions that do not count, so you can get at most 65 points.
• You need at least 52 points to pass.
• The test time is 50 minutes.
• The questions come from five areas: traffic rules, road safety, the environment, vehicle knowledge and manoeuvring, and personal prerequisites.

How long is a passed theory test valid?

From 19 August 2026, a passed theory test for category B is valid for twelve months. Previously it was valid for four months. If you passed the theory test before 19 August 2026, four months still applies to you. If you do not pass the practical driving test within the period of validity, you must retake the theory test.

The practical driving test

In the practical driving test (körprovet) you drive together with a driving examiner (trafikinspektör). The examiner makes an overall assessment of how you drive, and the assessment also includes whether you drive in a fuel-efficient way.

You can get a category B licence once you have turned 18 (körkortslagen 3 kap. 1 §).

The probationary period

When you have passed the driving test and received your licence, you have a probationary period (prövotid) of two years from the day of the test (körkortslagen 3 kap. 18 §). The probationary period is not an extra rule for how you drive, but the consequences are greater if you break the rules.

If your licence is revoked during the probationary period, it is not enough to wait out a disqualification period (spärrtid). You must then have a new learner's permit and pass a new driving test, both the theory test and the practical test, before you can get a licence again (körkortslagen 5 kap. 14 och 15 §§). You must also redo the risk education before you may take the driving test (körkortslagen 3 kap. 4 b §). The risk education you did the first time was only valid until you got your licence. In other words, you more or less start again from the beginning.

After the probationary period

A category B licence must be renewed within ten years of when it was issued or last renewed (körkortslagen 3 kap. 14 §). The entitlement itself remains, but the card itself needs to be replaced.

If you want to tow heavier trailers than B allows, you can later take extended B (utökad B, B96) or BE. We cover that in the chapter about the car.

Remember

• The learner's permit is valid for five years and is needed before you may practise driving or take tests.
• You may practise driving a car from age 16. The supervisor must be at least 24, have held a licence for five of the last ten years and be approved by Transportstyrelsen.
• The introductory course has been removed since 1 August 2026.
• Both parts of the risk education must be done before the tests and are valid for at most five years.
• The theory test: 70 questions, 52 of 65 points to pass, and a passed test is valid for twelve months (from 19 August 2026).
• The probationary period is two years. If the licence is revoked during the probationary period, a new learner's permit, new risk education and a new driving test are required.