How I got my driving license in Finland (took me 4 tries)
To many people, having a car driving license might be a minor thing that everyone is supposed to get as soon as they turn 18. To me, it was a lot of struggles until I got a Finnish driving license. I grew up in in a small town in the highland of Vietnam. Getting around by scooters is the most popular way of transportation there. I got my scooter driving license as soon as I turned 18 years old, so it's similar to getting car licenses here in Finland, I guess :D Up until last summer, I had never driven a car in my life. In this post I'll tell you about my story of getting a driving license in Finland, and all the lessons I've learned throughout the process. If I could do it all over again, I would definitely do things differently to save time, money, and efforts.
Overview of getting a driving license in Finland
The general guideline for getting a driving license can be found in Traficom website. The process goes:
(1) applying for a driving licence permit,
(2) completing mandatory instruction including 4 theory lessons (EAS training), at least 10 driving lessons, and 8 risk training lessons (4 theory + 4 driving),
(3) passing the theory test,
(4) passing the practical driving test.
After passing both theory and practical tests, you'll receive a temporary examination certificate valid for 6 months that serves as your license, and your official driving licence should arrive by post within ~2 weeks.
To finish the whole process, I would suggest reserving about 2-3 months continuously for getting a category B driving license. Don't do it like me...(you'll find out why soon).
My story
What I talk about next is MY timeline of getting a license. In July 2024, I paid for a course from a popular driving school that includes 10 hours of driving practice, 5-6 hours of simulator driving (I don't remember the exact number), all the mandatory theory training lessons (online) with a learning environment where you could do mock theory exam. My issue was that after paying for the course, I procrastinated and never really started the learning process.
Fast forward to May 2025, the customer service from the school contacted me and told me that if I wouldn't take the lessons before the course expired in July 2025, I might have to pay more for the same lessons because of their yearly price increase. That was the push I needed to start!
There was an issue: I had a clear deadline because I had to leave Finland by the end of August 2025 for my exchange study in Singapore. That means I had about 3.5 months to get a driving license, otherwise I would have to try again in 2026 after I came back from Singapore (spoiler: I did have to try again in 2026).
After studying the theory and doing a lot of mock exams for about a month, I passed the theory exam on the first try at the beginning of June 2025. Then I had my lessons booked throughout June and my 1st driving exam booked for July 4th, 2025. I failed miserably the first time. At this point, I had less than 2 months for a second try before leaving Finland for Singapore.
There was another layer of complication: summer is the peak time for driving schools, and my driving teacher had her whole July off for summer vacation. I also had vacation booked throughout July (I know, I know, but my excuse is that I booked the trips since March 2025 before I knew that I had to go through the driving lessons). The timing was really stressful. I had my second driving exam booked on August 22nd, 2025, 3 days before I had to leave Finland for Singapore. I did a lot better the 2nd time, but I made one (unforgivable) mistake at the end of the exam. The second try was, sadly, also a failure. Because of the time pressure, it was not possible to book a third try immediately in the short 3 days I had left in Finland. At that point, I accepted that I would have to do this all over again in 2026 after I came back from Singapore.
In January 2026, I was back in Finland from Singapore (and Vietnam)! I took some rest and started contacting the driving school again at the end of February for the lessons. There's another deadline this time as well: I need to get a driving license before June 5th, 2026, which is when the theory test that I passed expires.
After having 10 driving lessons, I had my 3rd exam booked on March 12th, 2026. By this time, I was actually quite confident in my driving. But there was a plot twist: early in the morning of the exam date, I got a text from Ajovarma saying that the examiner was sick, my test was cancelled, and the exam was rescheduled to be 2 weeks from then. I was so disappointed :( I was ready for the test, but things out of my control happened. I thought to myself that 2 weeks was too long a break, so I decided to ask my driving school to rebook a new test for me immediately the week after on March 16th, 2026. I got my wish, but with a twist: I needed to take the third test from a different driving test center and not the one I was familiar with. Looking back, I think this was the reason why I was so stressed and anxious for my third exam.
I did okay in the 3rd exam, the examiner didn't use the emergency brake at any point. But it was still not good enough for him to pass me, because my highway driving was not smooth enough... I was really sad. I thought I was not fit for driving. I honestly felt like giving up then and there, and I was ready to accept the fact that I might never get a license. But after a week of resting, I gathered myself together, booked some more lessons, and booked the next exam on March 31st, 2026! Well, fourth time was the charm for me: finally I passed and got a driving license after a lot of effort, stress, and money!
The theory test
To practice for the theory test, I did a lot of mock exams. After each try, I went through the test results, copied the questions that I did wrong to a Google docs for reviewing later. I kept doing this in the evenings after a work day, my goal was one mock exam per day. I did this for about 3 weeks until I passed 10 tests in a row. That was when I felt ready to book an actual test. I passed the test at first try, it was not a glorious pass but still a pass :D
The driving lessons
I had in total 38 hours of driving lessons until I got my license. Compared to my friends and people around me, this was an excessive number. But because I had a long break of half a year in between my exam attempts, the number made sense to me.
Your driving instructor(s) should be carefully chosen
I would say that a good driving instructor is one of the most - if not the most -important factors in your learning experience. I am qualified to say so because I have had in total 6 driving teachers :D I'll tell you about them below.
My 1st driving teacher (codename A) from the course at popular driving school was not a good fit for me. He was screaming a lot when I made mistakes, which made me even more anxious. When I asked him after the lesson if he could be calmer and not raise his voice at me, he said it was his usual talking style and he was never screaming. My nervous system definitely disagreed, because after I gave him another try with a second lesson, I came out of the car with shaky hands. So I contacted customer support to find a new teacher.
My 2nd teacher (codename B) was a way calmer instructor. She never screamed at me. She did curse one time (in Finnish) at some cyclists when they clearly broke the rules and blocked me while it was not their turn to go. After I failed the first exam after 13 driving lessons with B, I wanted to explore other options. I found a new driving school that was highly recommended by English speakers in Helsinki.
My 3rd teacher (codename C) from this new school was nice and calm, but quite expressionless. When I made mistakes, he tried to explain it to me with a mono tone and it was hard for my brain to interpret if the mistake was serious or not because of the lack of emotions in the delivery of the teacher.
Outside of the driving school, I had a few lessons with a private teacher (codename D) that I found from Facebook. This makes him the 4th teacher. He was fine, not super calm, and he questioned a lot of my decisions during the drive.
I came across the 5th teacher (codename E) by chance, he was the one from the new driving school to take me to my second driving exam because teacher C was not available on that day. So far this was the best teacher I'd had up until that point. He was calm, supportive, laid-back, and he had the focus on the right things. After I failed the exam the second time, I told myself that "I want to take future lessons with teacher E!"
And that's what I did. After Singapore, the next 15 lessons were with E. I had no complaints about him. I had 1.5 lessons with the 6th teacher (codename F) because E was not available during the chosen day. Teacher F and I got off on the wrong foot, but after half the lesson I realized he wasn't trying to be mean and I enjoyed the rest of the driving with him.
The lesson here: find a teacher who matches your learning style. A calm, supportive instructor who communicates clearly can make a huge difference in your confidence and progress. Don't suffer through someone who doesn't work for you, trying different options and switching is worth it.
Do not pay for simulator lessons
One of the mistakes I made was paying for a course that had simulator driving lessons. They are, in my opinion, a huge waste of time and money. If I could do it again, I would spend that money on real driving lessons. It takes the car, the road, and actual traffic risks, to build the confidence of driving.
The driving test
I will list the mistakes that I have made in the exams. Hopefully someone could learn from my mistakes.
In my first exam, I made multiple mistakes. I almost crashed with a vehicle when I attempted to enter the roundabout. And on the highway I used the wrong light signal (signal left when I wanted to go right)...My control of the speed on the highway was bad, I sped up too much and dropped speed suddenly at times...
In my second exam, everything went quite all right. Until there was road construction. There was a person holding on signs to direct traffic in a narrow road, half of which was under construction. In front of me, the vehicles were allowed to go. But until my turn, the person had raised a Stop sign, which I didn't notice in time so the examiner had to hit the brake. That was the only reason why I failed the second exam.
In my third exam, I failed because the examiner had to tell me to speed up when exiting the highway to enter another highway. There was no sign that told me to slow down but I still dropped the speed from 80 to 40, which resulted in him telling me verbally to speed up. He also told me that my speed of acceleration lane was too slow. That was enough to fail me because of the verbal intervention from the examiner.
In my 4th exam, I passed finally :D There was still feedback on improvement areas like I should not drive too slowly in residential area, and I should drive as close to speed limit as possible. But I got compliments on parking, equal crossings and acceleration lanes this time.
Lessons learned
The emotions
Each time I failed, I questioned whether I was capable of driving at all. After my third attempt, I genuinely considered giving up. The voice in my head said: "Maybe you're just not a natural driver. Some people cannot drive, maybe you are one of them..." . The truth is: failing a driving exam doesn't mean you can't drive. It means you weren't fully ready that day. I had to learn to separate my driving ability from the exam result. The anxiety was real, it only grew stronger with each failed attempt.
I think to manage the anxiety, the best way is to actually take enough driving lessons before booking a driving exam. Build the confidence and listen to the feedback from the driving instructor, don't rush it.
Time pressure
The deadline of leaving for Singapore in August was a double-edged sword. It pushed me to start learning, but it also created constant anxiety and there was zero buffer time for a retry. When my third exam got cancelled last-minute, I panicked. I tried to reschedule immediately, but the new test center stressed me out even more because it was unfamiliar. My advice: don't book your exam too close to a hard deadline. If you fail, you need buffer time for another attempt without external pressure.
Cost accumulation
With each new exam, the costs pile up, hurting both my confidence and my wallet. I told my friends that the driving test not only stresses me out mentally but also financially. It was like a bottomless pit, I didn't know when it would stop, there was no guarantee about when it would be over. With each new exam come new lesson fees, car rental fees, and exam fees..But I was so close, it would have been pointless to stop and waste all the money and efforts that I had invested. My boyfriend told me "You only need to pass once, and you can use the license for the rest of your life". It is indeed a one-time thing, so if you are also on the same path, remember: You only need one Yes.
I spent more than 4000 euros until I got a license. I think most of my friends only had to spend like 2000 euros. To reduce the costs, again, I would advise to plan enough time and buffer in case of retries, and take enough lessons to be confident before actually taking the exam.
Final words
Well, it was a long journey for me until I obtained the driving license. At times I questioned my ability to drive and even my intelligence, but at the end it turned out to be okay :D If you are planning to get your driving license in Finland soon, I wish you best of luck! Remember, you only need to pass once!