Apply for an age exception permit for a driving licence | Traficom
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Transport and Communications Agency

Apply for an age exception permit for a driving licence

A 17-year-old can be granted an age exception permit for a driving licence for a car if travel, for example to school or work, is particularly difficult. The guardian submits the application.

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Grounds for granting an age exception

The most common reasons for obtaining an exception permit are long distances or slow or entirely lacking public transport connections to:

  • school,
  • work, or
  • a goal-oriented hobby.

The young person’s need for transport must be continuous and regular.

For more details on the preconditions for obtaining a permit, see the section Grounds and preconditions for granting an exception permit at the bottom of this page.

Guardian: How to apply

  • Step 1

    Make sure the young person meets the requirements for an age exception permit

    You can apply for an age exception permit for special reasons at the earliest when the young person is 16 years and 8 months old.

    We will grant a permit at the earliest when the young person is 16 years and 9 months old.

    The young person may take the theory test at the earliest one month before turning 17. Read the instructions and make sure the special reasons apply.

  • Step 2

    Fill in the application electronically

    Apply for an age exception permit in Traficom’s My e-Services. Choose the role Personal services. You can find the application form under Driving licence.

    Fill in your own details and the personal details of the young person for whom you are applying for an age exception permit. You can apply for the permit electronically only if you are the young person’s official guardian.

    Select the reason for applying for the permit in the application.

    In the application, you confirm that you have read the instructions on this page and that

    • the young person’s regular need for transport at least four times a week exceeds a walking distance of seven kilometres in one direction and no public transport connections are available for the journey, or
    • the journey by public transport in one direction takes at least 1.5 hours.
  • Step 3

    Attach the required supporting document to the application

    The required supporting document varies depending on the grounds for the application. Make sure the grounds for the application are indicated in the signed attachment.

    The following attachments are accepted:

    • certificate of attendance from an upper secondary educational institution if you are applying for an exception permit on the basis of school travel
    • certificate issued by the education or training provider if you are applying for an exception permit for workplace-based training included in vocational education and training
    • employment contract for an employment relationship lasting at least two months if you are applying for an exception permit for commuting to work
    • certificate of a goal-oriented hobby issued by a sports federation or education provider if you are applying for an exception permit for travel to a goal-oriented hobby
    • medical certificate indicating which health-related reasons make it difficult or impossible for the young person to travel without a car.

    Use the ready-made certificate templates available at the bottom of this page.

  • Step 4

    Pay for the application

    Pay for the application in the service. The application fee is 127 euros. The fee will not be refunded, even if the permit cannot be granted.

    We will contact you during the processing if additional information is needed for the application.

    You can also supplement your application afterwards. Add a new attachment in the service under My Activities. Select the Case details button for your application. Adding an attachment does not extend the processing time.

    Submit only one application. If needed, supplement the application that is already being processed.

  • Step 5

    You will receive the decision in Suomi.fi Messages or at home

    As the applicant, you will receive the decision on the age exception permit in Suomi.fi Messages. Activate Suomi.fi Messages before submitting the application in the service.

    If you do not use Suomi.fi Messages, the decision will be posted to your home address.

    The young person must carry the age exception permit with them when driving. The age exception permit may be presented electronically on a phone to traffic control authorities.

    You can forward the age exception permit received in Suomi.fi Messages to the young person, for example as a message, email or image.

If you are not the young person’s official guardian or cannot otherwise use e-services, you can apply for an age exception permit using a form.

  1. Fill in, print out and sign the age exception permit application. A handwritten signature is required.
  2. Attach the required attachment or attachments.
  3. Send the application to: Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, PO Box 320, 00059 TRAFICOM.
  4. An invoice will be sent to you once the decision has been made.

The application form and ready-made certificate templates are available at the bottom of this page.

Please note that each submitted application is processed as a separate case. A processing fee is charged separately for each application. The fee is also charged if the decision is negative.

Processing time for age exception permit applications

The average processing time for applications is about 1.5 months. This applies to applications that do not require additional information. Applications are processed in the order they are received.

The Driving Licence Act was reformed on 29 May 2026. The legislation in force at the time the application was submitted will be applied when processing the application. Applications submitted before 29 May 2026 will be processed under the old legislation. Applications submitted on or after 29 May 2026 will be processed under the current legislation.

If we need additional information for your application, we will contact you. Inquiries about the processing stage will not speed up the handling of your application.

Grounds and preconditions for granting an exception permit

An age exception permit can only be granted if the young person has a justified and regular need to travel by car and the limits for reasonable journeys are exceeded.

The limits for reasonable journeys apply to all grounds for application:

  • the walking distance is more than seven kilometres in one direction at least four times a week and no public transport services are available, or
  • the journey by public transport takes at least 1.5 hours in one direction.

Check the duration or length of the journey in a journey planner, map service or other commonly used travel service. Use the default settings of the journey planner or other travel service.

If the journey exceeds seven kilometres in one direction, a return journey is counted as two times.

School travel must exceed the limits for reasonable journeys for an exception permit to be granted.

Attach to the application a certificate of attendance from the educational institution for upper secondary studies. The educational institution’s own certificate is also accepted if it includes the required information.

Print out and fill in the education or training provider’s certificate for an age exception permit (in Finnish)

An age exception permit can be granted for workplace-based training if the journey to the training place exceeds the limits for reasonable journeys.

Submit as an attachment an employment contract or a certificate of workplace-based training. The educational institution’s own certificate is also accepted if it includes the required information.

Print out and fill in the education or training provider’s certificate for an age exception permit (in Finnish)

An age exception permit can be granted on the basis of employment if the commute exceeds the limit for reasonable journeys.

The permit can only be granted once the job has already been agreed.

Submit an employment contract as an attachment, indicating whether the job is permanent or fixed-term. If the employment relationship is fixed-term, the contract must specify its duration.

An age exception permit can only be granted for a regular and goal-oriented hobby.

Attach to the application:

  • a certificate issued by the sports federation on goal-oriented training, or
  • a certificate issued by the education provider on participation in basic education in the arts.

The hobby must take place at least twice a week.

Print out and fill in the certificate of a goal-oriented hobby for an age exception permit (in Finnish)

A young person may be granted an age exception permit if health-related reasons make regular travel difficult or impossible.

Attach to the application a medical certificate no older than six months in which the doctor clearly states why the age exception permit is necessary for health-related reasons.

An age exception permit cannot be granted if the young person is or has been subject to a driving ban or temporary driving ban.

Driving with an exception permit is prohibited at night between 00.00 and 05.00

An underage holder of a category B driving right may not drive a vehicle requiring a category B driving right between 00.00 and 05.00.

The restriction has applied since 29 May 2026. It also applies to minors who obtained their driving licence before 29 May 2026.

The restriction applies until the driver turns 18.

Violating the restriction may result in a fine and a driving ban for unauthorised operation of a vehicle. A fine may also be imposed on a person who hands over a vehicle to a minor.

Sign identifying an underage driver mandatory from 1 October 2026

An underage driver must use a separate sign in the car from 1 October 2026.

The sign must be attached to a visible place at the rear of the car when the vehicle is driven by a minor. The sign may be removed when the vehicle is driven by an adult.

The signs will be widely available in different shops by autumn.

Failure to use the sign may result in a traffic penalty fee being imposed on the driver.

More information about exemption permits

If you are pursuing vocational driver training that includes obtaining the right to drive a lorry or bus, you can get a driving licence for a car already at the age of 17 without an exception permit.

In vocational driver training, the driving licence is obtained based on a certificate issued by the educational institution. In this case, you do not need an age exception permit for driving related to your studies.

You can take the theory test one month before turning 17 and the driving test once you have turned 17. When you go to the theory test, present the study certificate issued by the educational institution.

Before you turn 18, you may only drive journeys related to your studies. These include

  • travel to the educational institution’s units
  • driving practice with the educational institution’s fleet
  • travel to training organised in the workplace, such as workplace-based training or apprenticeship training
  • driving practice related to training organised in the workplace.

If a car is necessary in other situations as well, for example because of a goal-oriented hobby, you must apply for an age exception permit. Without an age exception permit, you may not drive a car on such journeys before you have turned 18.

If you have a driving licence obtained based on an exception permit, you are not permitted to drive in Åland, Sweden or Estonia, for example.

Before driving in another country, check with the local authorities whether driving is permitted.

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