SWEDISH DRIVER’S LICENSE

Description

THE STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO A SWEDISH DRIVING LICENSE

There are many reasons to go through the trouble of getting a Swedish driver’s license. Whatever your reasons, a Swedish driving license is a good investment if you plan to stay in Sweden for a while.

STEPS TO GET A SWEDISH DRIVER’S LICENSE
apply for a learning permit
start your driving practice
study the theory of driving
take the risk training – riskutbildning
book a time for a driving test.
1. LEARNERS PERMIT – KÖRKORTSTILLSTÅND
The process of getting a Swedish driver’s license starts by applying for a learners permit – (körkortstillstånd). The process is as follows:

fill out the application form to apply for a learners permit and the health & eye sight declaration, called “Ansökan körkortstillstånd + hälso & synintyg“ and submit it to the Swedish Transport Agency – Transportstyrelsen. (The information is in Swedish).
get an eyesight certificate (synintyg) and submit it to your application. You can perform the eye test and get the certificate at your local optician or at most driving schools.
sign the health declaration which comes in the application form, which confirm that you have no illnesses that might influence your driving ability.
There is no cost for the application, however, there is a cost for the vision test and this depends on the chosen optician but that is usually around 150 SEK. The vision test should be done around the same time as you apply for your körkortstillstånd as the vision test certificate can not be older than two months when you apply.
Your körkortstillstånd is valid for five years.

Note: the processing time can be two months or in some cases more.

2. DRIVING PRACTICE – ÖVNINGSKÖRA
Once you have your körkortstillstånd – you are ready to start practicing! You can pay for lessons at a driving school or practice for free with a friend, parent or partner – a so called handledare. Both approaches have pros and cons. A handledare is cheaper but there is a risk that you will learn the bad habits of your handledare. It is therefore recommended to combine the two in order to get a lot of practice AND properly learn the latest rules.

A handledare is not – as it might sound – a private teacher. Most people who have a Swedish driver’s license can become a handledare and many beginners practice with their parents, partner or friends as handledare. The requirements for being a handledare are:

to be at least 24 years old
to have had a driving license for at least five years
You become a handledare by applying for a tutors permission, a so called handledarbevis. It costs 170 SEK and you find the application form “Ansökan handledarskap privat övningskörning“ here.

You and your handledare will also have to partake in an introduction course – introduktionsutbildning. Most driving schools offer this course and it generally costs about 300 – 400 SEK/person. You will not need a special car (with dual commands) to practice with your handledare.

Note: When driving with a handledare, it is the handledare who considered the driver of the vehicle and is therefore responsible in case of an accident.

3. THE THEORY OF DRIVING
Please note: the rules changed on the 1st of March 2020. It will be required to pass the written test before taking the driving test. The written test will be valid for four months instead of two.

It is recommended to learn the theory parallel to your driving practice. The most common theoretical reading material is the Swedish Driver’s License book combined with theory questions online. You can, if you choose, rely on only one of these, but it is recommended that you use a combination of both.

The book gives you a good overview of all driving theory and the online questions tests your knowledge in real time.

The online mock tests are set up just as the real test (same grading, time limit etc) which gives you a good idea of what to expect at the real theory test.

However, you should aim to learn the facts behind the questions and not only memorize the answers. Why? Because the questions on the real test will not be phrased the same as the test questions.

You find the latest text book Körkortsboken på engelska 2020: Driving license book and online theory questions at Körkortskolan.se.

With each question you get the correlating book page number. This way you can easily find more information about the online question in your book.

Note: If you get an English textbook, for example from a local driving school, the page numbers and the online questions won’t match up. The text book sold at traffic schools are also not updated as often so if you buy one of these, just make sure that it is the latest edition.

There are also many other learning websites out there and some are translated to English. Just do a Google search for “driving theory online Sweden”. But remember – When using online tools make sure it’s a recent edition as regulations often change.