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Your driving licence brings both freedom and responsibility. In this chapter, we explain what is required to obtain a driving licence, which vehicles a B class licence allows you to drive, and what can lead to your licence being revoked.
Before you can start practising driving, you must apply for and receive a learner's permit (körkortstillstånd). The learner's permit is issued by Transportstyrelsen and is valid for five years.
You must be 16 years old to practice driving with a private car. If you are going to practice driving a car with a coupled trailer or with a light truck, you must be at least 17 years and 6 months old.
You must have turned 16 and have a valid learner's permit to practice driving a private car
If you are going to practice driving privately, you must first complete an introductory course (introduktionsutbildning) and have an approved instructor. If your instructor, that is, the person you are going to practice with, has not already completed the introductory course in the last five years, he or she must also do so.
An instructor must be at least 24 years old and must have a driver's licence for the vehicle you are going to practice driving with. Consequently, a person who only has a B class licence cannot be an instructor for a person who is going to practice driving with, for example, a motorcycle or heavy truck.
The supervisor must meet Transportstyrelsen's requirements in order to be approved. Among other things, this requires sufficient driving experience and that the driving licence has not been revoked to any significant extent in recent years.
All private practice driving must be done with an approved instructor
To obtain a B class driver's licence, you must meet the following requirements:
You can read more about which steps you need to take in order to get your driver's licence in our handy guide Checklist for your licence, which you can find in the top menu.
When you first obtain a driver's licence you begin a two-year probationary period. This also applies if you have previously held an AM licence. If your licence is revoked during this period, you must always pass a new driving test, which means both the theory test and the practical test, before a new driving licence can be issued.
You are not punished more harshly or more leniently during the probationary period, but if you are found guilty of a traffic violation that leads to your licence being revoked during this period, you lose it altogether.
All new drivers in Sweden have a two-year probationary period
You must renew your B class driver's licence every ten years. Transportstyrelsen automatically sends an application form for renewal to the address where you are registered when it is time to renew your driving licence.
You should always have your licence with you when driving. If you are going to drive abroad, you must also bring Part 1 (the blue part) of both the car and any trailer's registration certificate.
* A private car is a vehicle with a maximum of nine seats (one seat for the driver and eight for passengers) and a total weight of no more than 3,500 kg.
** A light truck (sometimes called light goods vehicle or light lorry) is a truck with a total weight of no more than 3,500 kg, which is primarily intended for freight transport and cannot be considered a private car or bus.
*** To drive a three-wheeled motorcycle over 15 kW, you must be at least 21 years old.
If you have a licence limited to automatic transmissions you may not drive cars with a manual transmission. If you have a standard B class driver's licence, you may drive cars with either manual or automatic transmissions.
Some people choose to get a driver's licence limited to automatic transmissions. Remember that such a licence does not entitle you to drive cars with manual transmissions
If you drive too fast or commit another traffic violation you risk a fine, as well as a revoked driver's licence. Anyone whose licence is revoked due to drunk driving, aggravated reckless driving, untrustworthiness in sobriety or any serious criminal offence in general must always apply for a new learner's permit.
Anyone whose licence is revoked is not allowed to drive during the disqualification period, which is the period during which the licence is revoked.
A driver whose licence has been revoked for less than 12 months can apply for a new licence about one month before the disqualification period ends. On the other hand, those who have been disqualified for longer than 12 months must pass a new driving test (both theory and practical) before a new licence can be issued.
A driver whose licence is revoked during the probation period must also pass a new driving test.
If Transportstyrelsen revokes your driver's licence for longer than 12 months, or during your probation period, you lose your driver's licence
Traffic violations that can lead to a revoked driver's licence
* On roads where the speed limit is 30 km/h, there is a high risk that your driving licence will be revoked if you drive more than 20 km/h above the limit.
Alcohol-related unreliability and serious criminal offences, such as aggravated assault and drug-related offences, can also lead to your driver's licence being revoked.
Not all traffic violations lead to a revoked driver's licence. Many instead result in a fine. It is important to understand that less serious offences can also have consequences.
Examples of traffic offences that can lead to fines:
Even less serious violations can lead to a revoked driving licence, especially if they are repeated.
Speeding can lead to both heavy fines and a revoked driver's licence
