What is a Driving Course at a Driving School Like?

The purpose of a driving school is to equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills so you would be able to drive a vehicle independently. After passing your driving school tests, you must prove your skills at the tests of the Transport Administration.

Driving schools offer theory lessons and practical driving lessons. The duration of each lesson is 45 minutes (one academic hour). You can take the theory course in person at the school or electronically (as an online course). The latter has become popular nowadays because you can learn at your own pace at the time and place of your choice. When taking theory lessons for category B (passenger car) driving licence, contact lessons are required in the case of online classes as well. Driving schools hold these in a classroom or through a video link (e.g., in Zoom). This exception does not concern other categories. You can take the theory course online without any contact learning.

The best online courses are available at Liikluslab (for more details, follow this link). The amount of lessons is explained in the following subsection.

Driving lessons take place simultaneously with the theory lessons. Special vehicles are used for driving lessons, where the instructors have additional pedals and mirrors. In the case of two-wheeled vehicles, your instructor follows you in a car and communicates with you through a headset.

During a driving course, you can practice driving with a driving instructor and a personal driving supervisor. Read more here.

Once you have completed your driving course, you must pass the theory and driving tests of your driving school. This is to ensure that you have acquired all necessary knowledge and are ready to take the state exams. The rules for driving school tests can differ. You will find the rules of your driving school in the curriculum of the school, which must be published on the homepage of the school. Usually, the test rules of driving schools are very similar to the test rules of the Transport Administration.

Once you have finished your course, the school issues a certificate (so-called 'driving school certificate'). This is valid without a term, so if you cannot take the tests of the Transport Administration right after passing the school tests, you can do it later (even after a decade). In this case, you should definitely take into account that your skill level has dropped drastically, and you should brush up on your theoretical knowledge and practice a lot before taking the tests.