What is YKB?

Your driving licence shows that you can drive a heavy vehicle. But to drive goods or passengers professionally you need more than that. You must also have a Certificate of Professional Competence (yrkeskompetensbevis), usually called YKB. It shows that you have knowledge of, among other things, safe and economical driving, transport rules, health and customer service. The rules are based on EU directives and are found in Sweden in the Professional Driver Competence Act (lagen (2007:1157) om yrkesförarkompetens).

Who needs YKB?

A driver who carries out goods or passenger transport with vehicles requiring category C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D or DE must have a Certificate of Professional Competence (lag om yrkesförarkompetens 3 kap. 1 §).

There are exemptions (2 kap. 4 §). For example, the Act does not apply to:

• vehicles with a maximum speed of 45 km/h or lower,
• vehicles used by the Swedish Armed Forces (Försvarsmakten), the police, customs (tullen), the Swedish Coast Guard (Kustbevakningen) and the rescue services (räddningstjänsten),
• vehicles being road-tested, repaired or moved,
• practice driving and driving tests, if the vehicle is not at the same time being used for commercial transport,
• vehicles not used for commercial transport,
• carriage of your own tools and equipment, when driving is not the driver's main activity.

If you are unsure whether an exemption applies to you, assume that you need YKB.

Two routes to initial qualification

To get your first YKB you must complete initial training (grundutbildning) that ends with a test. There are two versions (4 kap. 1–2 §§):

• Full initial training: 280 hours.
• Accelerated initial training: 140 hours.

The training you choose affects the age from which you may drive professionally.

Age limits for professional driving

Goods transport (C and CE) (3 kap. 3–4 §§):

• with 280 hours of training: from 18 years,
• with 140 hours of training: from 21 years.

Passenger transport (D and DE) (3 kap. 5–6 §§):

• with 280 hours of training: from 21 years,
• with upper secondary school (gymnasieskola) training: from 20 years, or as early as 18 years if the bus is driven without passengers or on regular services (linjetrafik) where the route is no more than 50 km,
• with 140 hours of training: from 23 years, or from 21 years on regular services where the route is no more than 50 km.

The Driving Licence Act (körkortslagen) has corresponding lower age limits for the licence, so that training and licence fit together.

Periodic training every five years

A Certificate of Professional Competence is valid for five years from the date it was issued (6 kap. 1 §). To keep it, you must complete periodic training (fortbildning) every five years, before the certificate expires (5 kap.).

Periodic training comprises 35 hours. You may split it into modules (delkurser) of at least 7 hours each, and a module may be spread over two consecutive days. At least one module must deal with road safety (Professional Driver Competence Ordinance (förordning 2007:1470 om yrkesförarkompetens) 3 kap. 1–2 §§). The periodic training must relate to the type of transport you drive, goods or passengers.

From 1 September 2026 periodic training may include no more than 12 hours of distance learning (distansundervisning) (e-learning). The distance part may be done for no more than four hours at a stretch and may cover no more than four hours per module (förordning 2007:1470 om yrkesförarkompetens 3 kap. 3 §). The rest must be teacher-led instruction.

If you hold valid YKB for both goods and passengers, one periodic training course in one of the areas is enough to renew both. This does not apply if one of the certificates has already expired.

Finish your periodic training in good time before your certificate expires, so that the new certificate can be issued and there is no gap.

Code 95

When you hold professional driver competence, this is shown by the harmonised EU code 95. The code appears next to the relevant categories on your driving licence or on a separate driver qualification card (förarkvalifikationskort) (direktiv (EU) 2022/2561 artikel 10). The code means that your competence can be checked throughout the EU.

Carry the certificate with you

During a transport you must carry a valid Certificate of Professional Competence, or another approved proof of professional competence together with an identity document. You must show it at the request of a vehicle inspector (bilinspektör) or police officer (6 kap. 3 §).

What does the training contain?

YKB training is divided into three main areas (direktiv 2022/2561 bilaga I):

1. Rational driving (rationell körning) – how the drivetrain and safety systems work, economical driving, risk awareness, and loading or passenger comfort depending on whether you drive goods or passengers.
2. Application of regulations (tillämpning av bestämmelser) – driving and rest times, working time, tachographs and rules for goods or passenger transport.
3. Health, road safety, environment, service and logistics – risks in traffic and in the workplace, preventing crime and people smuggling, physical and mental health, action in emergencies, dealing with customers and the economics of the transport industry.

The following chapters go through these areas.

Remember

• YKB is required for professional goods and passenger transport with C and D vehicles.
• The initial training is 280 or 140 hours and ends with a test.
• Goods transport: from 18 with 280 hours, from 21 with 140 hours.
• Passenger transport: from 21 with 280 hours and from 23 with 140 hours, with some lower ages subject to conditions.
• The certificate is valid for five years and is renewed with 35 hours of periodic training in modules of at least 7 hours.
• No more than 12 hours of the periodic training may be distance learning.
• One periodic training course is enough to renew both goods and passengers, if both certificates are still valid.
• Code 95 shows professional driver competence on the driving licence.