Renewing a Finnish taxi driver licence

Renewing the licence step by step

A taxi driver licence is valid for five years from the day it is granted. When the validity ends, you must renew the licence. You apply for renewal from the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom. You submit the application at a service point of a Traficom service provider. Below is the whole route in order.

1. Check that you meet the requirements for renewal

   According to Traficom, renewal requires that you are not under a driving ban, you meet the group 2 driving health requirements, and you have no criminal or fine register entries that prevent granting the licence. You also need a valid right to drive. If the applicant has committed an act during the licence that prevents granting it, the law still allows renewal if refusing it would be unreasonable, taking into account the penalties already given for the act.

2. Take the 7-hour supplementary training, if it is required

   Supplementary training is required when you renew the licence on or after 1 November 2026. The training is at least 7 hours long, and the provider gives you a training certificate. It covers the same five topics as the 21-hour taxi driver training: assisting passengers and safety, special needs of different passenger groups, customer service situations, rights and duties of the driver, and factors affecting traffic safety. The training is taught in Finnish.

   The training must be completed at the latest when you renew your licence. So you can take it in advance. You take the training only once to renew the licence. If you have taken the 21-hour taxi driver training, you do not need supplementary training.

3. Get a medical statement

   The statement shows that you meet the group 2 driving health requirements. It can be no more than six months old when you submit the application. If you are 68 or older, the statement must take the effects of ageing into account. You do not need to submit the statement again if you submitted it for another matter during the six months before the application.

4. Book a time and submit the application at the service point

   You fill in and pay the application at the service point of the Traficom service provider, Ajovarma. You can book a time in advance, and a booked time makes the visit faster. Bring a passport or identity card, the medical statement, a photograph (if you do not have a valid passport, identity card or an earlier card photo), and a driving licence issued in an EU or EEA country if you do not have a Finnish right to drive.

5. Wait for processing and the card

   The average processing time for applications is two weeks when no extra information is needed. The licence card is sent to your home by post in about two weeks. So submit your application well before the validity ends.

When you can apply for renewal

According to the law, you can apply to renew the licence six months before the validity ends, at the earliest. The calculator counts the date in calendar months backwards from the last valid day. If the month has no same day, the last day of the month is used. You can also submit the application on the limit days of the window. But if the day is important for you, submit the application a few days after the limit.

When you apply for renewal six months before the old licence ends, at the earliest, the new licence ends five years after the end of the old licence. You do not lose validity time by applying early. If you are 68 years old, or you turn 68 during your current licence, the new licence is valid for two years.

Transition period before 1 November 2026

The supplementary training requirement came into the law on 1 September 2026. The law allowed renewal without the training for as long as the training was not yet available, but until 31 October 2026 at the latest. Traficom says that supplementary training is required when you renew your licence on or after 1 November 2026. If your licence ends in the coming weeks, check with Ajovarma in good time what applies to your application. Applications that are already pending follow the rules that were in force when the law came into effect.

The requirement is temporary: the law change is in force until 31 August 2034.

What renewal costs

Renewal has three parts. Only the application fee is the same for everyone.

The application fee is the Ajovarma price list price for a taxi driver licence application. The prices of official services are set by the fee decree of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, so check the price when you book a time. A duplicate of the licence, if your card is lost, costs 46 euros according to the same price list.

If your licence has expired

Without a valid taxi driver licence, you may not work as a taxi driver. In the law, working without a taxi driver licence is a punishable act, and a fine can follow. So do not drive taxi shifts when your licence has ended.

According to the Traficom guide, renewing an expired licence differs from renewing in time in one way: the new licence ends five years or two years after the new licence is granted. So the end date of the old licence is not used in the calculation. When you apply in time, the new licence continues from the end of the old one. After an expired licence, the validity starts only when the new licence is granted, and the gap before that stays without a licence.

What you should do

• First ask Traficom if your application will be treated as a renewal or as a new licence. The Traficom page does not say how long an expired licence can still be renewed. We cannot promise this to you.
• Get the medical statement and the other attachments in the same way as for a renewal in time.
• The supplementary training requirement applies to licence renewal from 1 November 2026. Ask if it is required from you if your licence has already expired.
• Submit the application soon. Every day without a valid licence is a day when you cannot drive a taxi.

Frequently asked questions