How to renew European driving license in Finland?

Question

I am from Spain and currently living in Finland. I would guess that renewing the driving license should be fairly simple as it is valid through Europe without any trouble. Though, I wonder what is the process for renewing the license, is there some special rules or paperwork to be considered? Do I have to go through the driving school first?

Answer 1

There are two options:

1. You go back to Spain, and renew your licence there.
2. You exchange your Spanish licence to a Finnish one

I don't know the Spanish rules, but you might need to be a resident in Spain to renew your licence, so this might not be a good option for you.

For the alternative, you have to apply for an exchange licence at your local police station.

Based on this site:

A driving licence issued in EU and EEA countries may be exchanged without taking a driving test, if no more than two years have passed since the expiry of the holder’s previous Group 1 driving licence

Group 1 driving licence among others contains driving licences for cars having a gross weight below 3500kg (B) and motorcycles (A).

So basically you have two years after your Spanish licence expires to exchange it to a Finnish one without needing to take a driving test. Note, that you will still need to do a health check.

You have to include the following to the application:

• 2 photograps
• a valid driving licence (your Spanish one)
• a medical certificate for a driving licence

Note, that the cost of the medical certificate can vary between places, so you should research before acquiring one.

Also note that the exchange route might only work if you have actually passed your driving test in the EU, and your Spanish licence is not an exchange one from a non-EU country (as for example Spain allows to exchange your Argentinian driving licence for a Spanish one). In the latter case you have to check whether the origin if your licence is in this list or not.