Renewing your driving licence

This can be done at Ajovarma (External link), or in certain cases you can use Traficom’s e-Services (External link).

If you renew your driving licence (your right to drive) no more than 6 months before the expiry of your current licence, your new licence will be immediately valid from the expiry date of your old one. Depending on your age and the category of your driving licence, it will be valid for 2, 5 or 15 years from the expiry date of your right to drive.

To have your driving licence renewed, you must have a permanent address in Finland registered in the Population Information System. You also need to apply for a driving licence permit .

If you move to another EU country and your driving licence expires, you will have to renew it there if that is where you have your permanent.

Renewal of a driving licence is not generally linked to driving school teaching or a driving examination.

• NB! However, you will have to take a driving examination again if it is over two years since the expiry of your group 1 (private car, scooter, moped, motorcycle, tractor) driving licence, or if it is more than one year since the expiry of your group 2 (lorry or bus) licence at the time you come to renew it.

Get a medical report if necessary

A medical report or comprehensive medical report (no more than six months old) must be supplied when renewing a driving license by everyone who will be

• over 70 years old when they renew their current group 1 license
• 45 years old or older when their group 2 license expires
• renewing their driving licence after the expiry date of their current driving licence.

A comprehensive medical report for an older person takes into account the effects of ageing, illnesses and possible medication on a person's fitness to drive. A person's observation skills can be examined with different tests such as the clock-drawing test.

Different health requirements apply to people renewing group 1 and group 2 driving licences.

Group 1 (AM/120, AM/121, T, A1, A2, A, B, BE)

You do not need a medical report if your driving licence is valid and you renew it no later than on your 70th birthday.

In order to renew your driving licence, you will need a comprehensive medical report (no more than six months old) regarding your driving ability if you renew your driving licence after your 70th birthday.

Group 2 (C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE)

To renew your licence you need

• a medical report on your driving ability if you are 45 years old or older when your current driving licence expires

or

•  or a comprehensive medical report on your driving ability if
  • you have turned 68 before visiting a doctor for the purpose of renewing your driving licence
  • you are 68 years old or older, or you have your 68th birthday before your current driving license expires (the last day of validity of the licence to be renewed is your 68th birthday or a later date)

NB! If you have a group 2 driving licence (lorry and/or bus) which expires before your 45th birthday, you do not need a medical report when you renew your licence.

If you do not need to drive a bus or lorry, you can give up your Group 2 driving licence categories . This also means you do not need to provide a medical report.