Driver training in Estonia

Running a driving school in Estonia, or organising the training of professional lorry and bus drivers, drivers of dangerous goods or transport managers, requires an activity licence (tegevusluba).¹²⁵ Training emergency vehicle drivers requires a notice of economic activities instead.⁶

Information as of 11 November 2026. Every numbered statement of this page was checked in the official text named below and re-checked by a second reviewer on 2026-11-11. The page is general information, not legal advice; the authority decides on every application.

What the activity is

"Driver training" covers several separate activities in Estonian law, each with its own permit:

Driving school (mootorsõidukijuhi koolitus) – training people to obtain a driving licence for a motor vehicle category under the Traffic Act (liiklusseadus, LS). A licence is required.¹
Professional driver training (autojuhi koolituse korraldamine) – the initial and periodic training of lorry drivers (C, C1, CE, C1E) and bus drivers (D, D1, DE, D1E) who drive in road transport, under the Road Transport Act (autoveoseadus, AutoVS).²³
Training of drivers of dangerous goods (ohtlikku veost vedava autojuhi koolituse korraldamine) – basic, specialist and refresher training under the European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR).²⁴
Training of transport managers (veokorraldusjuhi koolitus) – for goods transport under the Road Transport Act and for passenger transport under the Public Transport Act (ühistranspordiseadus, ÜTS).²⁵
Training of emergency vehicle drivers (alarmsõidukijuhi koolitus) – this needs a notice of economic activities.⁶

Not covered: the driving instructor's personal teaching certificate⁷ and the supervisor (juhendaja) certificate for a learner's practice driving,⁸ both issued to individuals by the Transport Administration (Transpordiamet).

The legal act and the authority

Activity	Act	Authority that decides	Where the permit shows
Driving school	Traffic Act, §§ 111–113	Ministry of Education and Research (Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium); the Transport Administration confirms the material requirements by a preliminary administrative act⁹	Estonian Education Information System (Eesti Hariduse Infosüsteem, EHIS)¹⁰
Professional driver training and dangerous goods driver training	Road Transport Act, §§ 42–45	Transport Administration¹¹	Register of Economic Activities (majandustegevuse register, MTR)¹²
Goods transport manager training	Road Transport Act, § 46	Ministry of Climate (Kliimaministeerium) or, on its authorisation, the Transport Administration¹³	Register of Economic Activities¹²
Passenger transport manager training	Public Transport Act, § 44¹	Ministry of Climate or, on its authorisation, the Transport Administration⁵	This is specified for the client's case
Emergency vehicle driver training	Traffic Act, §§ 84²–84³	Notice to the Register of Economic Activities; supervision by the Transport Administration⁶¹⁴	Register of Economic Activities⁶

The general rules on applications, processing and refusal are in the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act (majandustegevuse seadustiku üldosa seadus, MSÜS).¹⁵

Who must apply

Anyone who organises a training listed above needs the permit; the Traffic Act and the Road Transport Act apply the licensing rules also to organisers that are not undertakings within the meaning of MSÜS.¹¹⁶

Exemptions and limits named in the acts:

A learner may be prepared individually only under the supervision of a licensed driving school.¹⁷
A professional driver training licence covers the lorry or bus driver training of the type entered in it; a dangerous goods training licence covers the basic, specialist or refresher training of the type entered in it.¹⁸
A trainer that combines professional driver training with driving-licence training must also meet the Traffic Act requirements for driving schools.¹⁹
The emergency vehicle driver notice is not required where the trainer is the Internal Security Service, the Defence Forces, the Police and Border Guard Board, the Rescue Board, the Foreign Intelligence Service or the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences.²⁰

Requirements for the applicant

Whether a capital, seat or anti-money-laundering requirement applies is specified for the client's situation. The licence conditions set out below concern premises, curriculum, equipment and teaching staff.²¹²⁴²⁶

Driving school (LS § 112): classrooms and equipment or the right to use them; a driving practice ground or the right to use one; training vehicles meeting the legal requirements or the right to use them; driving instructors meeting § 118(1) and first-aid instructors meeting § 119; curricula and training documentation for each category taught; teaching aids, audiovisual aids and first-aid training aids required by the curricula.²¹ A driving instructor must, among other things, be at least 21, hold the driving licence of the category taught for at least three years and have no valid punishment for drink-driving or an intentional crime;²² a first-aid instructor must be registered as a healthcare professional.²³

Professional driver training (AutoVS § 43(1)): a lecturer meeting § 45(1)–(2), a curriculum meeting the minister's regulation, and the teaching aids the curriculum requires.²⁴ A lecturer must know the subject, have higher education or secondary vocational education based on general secondary education, have at least one year of relevant work or teaching experience in the last ten years and have taken at least six academic hours of further training.²⁵

Dangerous goods driver training (AutoVS § 43(3)): a lecturer meeting § 45(4)–(6) (higher education and at least one year of experience with dangerous goods in the last ten years; extra training for explosives and radioactive classes), an ADR curriculum, teaching aids, first-aid training aids and the protective equipment named in the ADR written instructions.²⁶²⁷

Transport manager training (AutoVS § 46(1); ÜTS § 44¹(3)): the right to provide higher education in transport services, a compliant curriculum and the signed consent of a lecturer with professional qualification and experience.¹³⁵

Emergency vehicle driver training (LS § 84²(4)–(5)): a suitable classroom, a practice ground and a training vehicle (or the right to use them), and lecturers with higher or secondary vocational education.²⁸

Professional and dangerous goods training organisers must publish on their website the curriculum, the lecturers' names with their qualifications and experience, and the licence data.²⁹

Documents filed with the application

Every licence application contains the general data of MSÜS § 19(2): the company's name, registry code, contact details, field of activity and signatory.³⁰

Driving school (LS § 113(2)), filed through EHIS:³¹

the training licence application and the documents listed in LS § 113(2).

Professional driver training and dangerous goods driver training (AutoVS § 44(2) and (4)):³²

the curriculum for the type of training;
the list of teaching aids and materials;
documents proving that the lecturers meet § 45;
the lecturer's signed consent.

Transport manager training (AutoVS § 46(3); ÜTS § 44¹(5)): the curriculum and the lecturer's written consent.¹³⁵

Emergency vehicle driver training notice (LS § 84²(2)): the curriculum, data on the lecturers' qualifications and experience and their signed consent.⁶

State fee and processing time

State fees under the State Fees Act (riigilõivuseadus, RLS):

driving school licence application: EUR 100;³³
professional driver training licence: EUR 120, and EUR 60 for adding a further type of training;³⁴
dangerous goods driver training licence: EUR 120, and EUR 60 for adding a further type of training;³⁴
goods transport manager training licence under the Road Transport Act: EUR 120.³⁵

Processing time: the Ministry of Education and Research reviews a driving school application within three months from the filing of all required data and documents; the time stops while the Transport Administration gives the applicant a deadline to remedy deficiencies.³⁶ Under MSÜS, the general time limit is 30 days from the filing of all required data; the authority may suspend the time limit (up to 30 days) and may extend it once by up to 30 days.³⁷ The authority may ask for additional data.³⁸ These are the law's time limits, not a promise of when or how the authority decides.

What LexorCorp Global OÜ does and how to order

LexorCorp Global OÜ prepares the application documents for an activity licence under its service "Activity licence application documentation". The service includes the requirements of the act for the activity from its official text, the application and the documents it needs, and the submission and the written follow-up of the authority's questions. The client describes the activity and provides what the act requires of the company.

The price is from €3,500, one-time, for one licence of ordinary scope; no VAT is added. More work is agreed in writing before it starts. The state fee is separate and paid by the company.³⁹

Not included: the state fee, legal advice, audit or tax advice, and meeting the premises, staff or curriculum requirements of the act. The authority named in the act grants or refuses the licence; LexorCorp Global OÜ does not promise the licence, a date or the authority's decision.

Order: Request the service

Sources

Liiklusseadus § 111(1)-(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 42(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 36(1)-(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 7(12), § 39(1)-(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Ühistranspordiseadus § 44¹(2)-(5) — text in force from 01.04.2026
Liiklusseadus § 84²(1)-(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 120(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 109(3¹) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 113(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 113(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 44(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 48(1) p 4-5 — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 46(1)-(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Liiklusseadus § 84³(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
MSÜS §§ 19-20, 25 — text in force from 01.09.2025
Autoveoseadus § 42(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Liiklusseadus § 115 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 42(2)-(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 43(2) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Liiklusseadus § 84²(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 112(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 118(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Liiklusseadus § 119 — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 43(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 45(1) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 43(3) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Autoveoseadus § 45(4)-(6) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Liiklusseadus § 84²(4)-(5) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 43(4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
MSÜS § 19(2) p 1 with § 15(1) p 1-4, 7 — text in force from 01.09.2025
Liiklusseadus § 113(1¹), (2) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
Autoveoseadus § 44(2), (4) — text in force from 01.10.2026
Riigilõivuseadus § 56 — text in force from 01.11.2026
Riigilõivuseadus § 120⁷(1)-(4) — text in force from 01.11.2026
Riigilõivuseadus § 120⁸ (5. jaotis: Autoveoseaduse alusel tehtavad toimingud) — text in force from 01.11.2026
Liiklusseadus § 113(2¹)-(2²) — text in force from 01.10.2026 (RT I, 11.07.2026, 45)
MSÜS § 20(1)-(3) — text in force from 01.09.2025
MSÜS § 19(6) — text in force from 01.09.2025
LexorCorp Global price list and service description (price list)

Official sources

The laws this article names, each linked to its official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.

Road Transport Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
State Fees Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation

Sources in the text are named without links; the official texts are linked under Official sources. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.

Driver training in Estonia: activity licences for driving schools and professional driver training