Law and permits

A 21-hour training course is required for the first taxi driver licence from 1 November 2026

22 October 2026, updated 31 October 2026 · Taksiuutiset editorial team

By law, the taxi driver training lasts at least 21 hours, and you can take the exam only after the training. The transitional provision that allowed a licence without training, while training was not yet offered, was valid until 31 October 2026 at most.

Note: The training is given in Finnish, and the exam is held only in Finnish or Swedish, with no interpreter or dictionary allowed.

What the law says

The Act on Transport Services changed on 1 September 2026 (Act 612/2026). According to section 25 a, the taxi driver training lasts at least 21 hours, and taking the exam requires completed training. The training covers five topics: assisting passengers and safety, the special needs of different passenger groups, customer service situations, the rights and duties of the driver, and factors affecting the safety of traffic.

The entry-into-force provision gave a short transition. A licence could be granted without training while training was not yet available, but only until 31 October 2026 at most. The transition therefore covered October at most.

What this means for you

• If you apply for your first taxi driver licence, the training is now part of the path before the exam and the licence application.
• You must pass the exam no more than one year before you submit the licence application. Do not start the training too early if the application is still far away.
• At the exam site you must have completed the training and have it recorded in the register of transport matters (liikenneasioiden rekisteri) (Traficom regulation, section 2).
• This applies to the first licence. Training for renewing a licence is a separate article, and you can read about it here.

Read more about the 21-hour training