How do you get a driving license in Iceland?

To drive on Icelandic roads and streets, you will first need a driving licence and if you want to acquire one you need to go through a formal process to learn how to drive.

You can start learning to drive at 16 years old, but to be granted a driving licence you must have reached the age of 17.

In short the driving school is split into

15+ practical driving lessons with a driving instructor
3 courses (2 academic and 1 practical)
Learner driving (Æfingaakstur)
2 tests (1 written and 1 practical)

In total the cost of driving school ranges from 270.000 kr up to 400.000 kr

To start your driving education it is best to contact a driving instructor who can guide you through the process.

The long road to a driving licence

Að læra á bíl getur verið ruglandi. Margir aðilar koma að því og það er erfitt að átta sig á hvar maður er í ferlinu. Learning how to drive a car can be confusing. Many different parties are involved in the process and it can be difficult to know what you need to do next.

The process can be broken down into 11 steps::

Find a driving instructor
Acquire a study permit (námsheimild) from the district commissioners office (sýslumaður)
Driving School 1 (Ökuskóli 1)
Learners driving (Æfingaakstur)
Driving School 2 (Ökuskóli 2)
Finish 12 practical lessons with an instructor
Driving School 3 (Ökuskóli 3)
Finish 5 more practical lessons.
Written exam
Practical exam
You get a driving licence!

Finding a driving instructor

The first step is to find a driving instructor who suits you. Generally is it easiest to ask your friends or family which driving instructor they have used and contact them.

It is a good idea to think through the choice of instructors as they will guide you through the process. You need to consider if their teaching style suits you, that their schedule fits with yours and how much they charge per lesson.

Applying for a study permit

Before you start you need to apply for a study permit at the district commissioners office. You apply on island.is and then head to the district commissioners office with a pass photo. You should have the study permit before you start your studies.

You can apply for a study permit here: https://island.is/fyrsta-okuskirteini-namsheimild

Driving School (Ökuskóli 1)

Driving School 1 (Ökuskóli 1) is the first of two written courses that you need to complete. It is common that students take driving school 1 online (with us or at other online driving schools), but you can choose to attend classes in person. You can read more about how we arrange Driving School 1 here.

Learner driving (Æfingaakstur)

Learner driving is when a student practices driving a regular car with someone else in the car who usually is a parent or guardian.

You can apply for a learner driver's permission when you've finished Driving School 1 and at least 10 practical lessons. Ökukennarinn metur hvort og hvenær nemandi er tilbúinn að hefja æfingaakstur og staðfestir það með sérstöku vottorði.

When your insurance company has confirmed that your insurance covers a learner driver you can apply for a permit with the district commissioner's office.

Learner driving is not obligatory to finish driving school, however, it is a fantastic way to prepare yourself for driving in the future.

Note that your learner driver instructor must:

Be a minimum of 24 years old
Have a valid driving licence and at least 5 years of driving experience
Not had their licence revoked or been penalized for reckless driving in the past year

Driving School 2 (Ökuskóli 2)

Driving school 2 is a continuation of Driving school 1 and is structured in the same way. The student needs to complete both courses before taking the written exam.

Driving School 3 (Ökuskóli 3)

Student needs to have finished 12 practical lessons before starting Driving school 3.

Driving school 3 is a practical course that takes place inside an open-air driving area. The purpose of the exercise area is to simulate situations where the student will experience losing control of the vehicle. This is done with skid-tracks, skid-car, gravel tracks and roll-over simulator.

The student needs to finish Driving school 3 to be able to take the practical exam.

Written exam

The written exam is a 30 question multiple-choice examination that is split into parts A and B.

Part A has 15 questions about traffic signs, surface markings on roads and priority rules in traffic. Part B has 15 general questions about traffic, the car, the driver and first-aid.

For each question there are three multiple-choice answers and either one, two or all three options may be correct. It counts as an error if the wrong options are chosen but also if the right options are not chosen.

The student can have a maximum of 7 errors on the exam and only 2 errors in part A. The student will receive their exam results immediately after the exam.

If the student does not pass the exam, at least one week must pass before another attempt is made.

It is common that students fail the written exam so it is recommended to practice well for the exam. Each attempt costs 6,550 kr, so it can get expensive if you fail often.

Practical exam

To be able to take the practical exam you need to have finished 15 practical driving lessons and have finished Driving school 1, 2 and 3.

The practical driving exam is split into two parts; an oral exam and a practical exam. The oral exam is taken in the vehicle where the examiner asks questions concerning the vehicle, e.g. lighting systems, control systems, safety mechanisms and vehicle maintenance. If the oral exam goes well the practical exam will begin. A predetermined route chosen by the examiner is driven. While the student is driving the examiner registers points and deductions during the exam. The practical exam costs 17.370 kr.

The examiner tells the student the exam results immediately.

Temporary- and Full driving licence

An Icelandic driving licence.

When the exams have been passed and the studies concluded the student receives their first driving licence which is a temporary driving licence.

The temporary licence is valid for three years, during which fewer points are needed to have the licence revoked. If the driver has not received a point for traffic violation or had their licence revoked within a year the driver can take a driving assessment with their driving instructor.

After this assessment the driver receives a full driving licence that is valid for 15 years.

At this point the driver's formal education is finished.