Traffic rulesSlovakia

The driving-licence entitlement is the legal authority to drive particular vehicle groups. The driving licence is the official card used to prove those entitlements.

The Police Force, through the competent traffic inspectorate, grants driving-licence entitlements after the applicant satisfies the legal conditions.

Document departments of the district directorates of the Police Force issue Slovak driving licences.

Yes. A driver must carry a valid driving licence and present it to a police officer when requested.

No. Slovak law provides that a person may hold only one driving licence.

No. Slovakia does not issue temporary driving licences.

Yes. A valid Slovak licence is recognised throughout the European Economic Area, subject to the categories, validity dates and restrictions recorded on it.

The usual route is to meet the age and residence conditions, pass the required medical assessment, complete an accredited driving-school course, pass the theory and driving tests, and receive the entitlement from the Police Force.

Yes. The prescribed course must be completed at an accredited driving school unless the law permits a special form of training.

Yes. The card records the vehicle categories the holder may drive, the relevant dates and any applicable restriction codes.

Yes. Harmonised or national codes may require glasses, hearing aids, an adapted vehicle, an automatic transmission or another condition.

No. Procedures, forms and individual eligibility should be confirmed with the driving school and the competent Police Force office.

The applicant must meet the minimum age, residence, health and professional-competence requirements and must satisfy the other conditions in the Road Traffic Act.

As a rule, the applicant must have residence in Slovakia for at least 185 days in the relevant calendar year, subject to the statutory rules for the current or previous year.

A person studying in Slovakia for at least six months may qualify under the student exception, provided the other requirements are met.

Yes. Slovak rules refer to usual residence, generally the place where a person normally lives for at least 185 days in each calendar year because of personal or occupational ties.

Yes, for categories available below 18, but the application requires the information and signature of the legal representative.

Yes. Medical fitness for the relevant vehicle category is a condition for granting the entitlement.

Normally yes. Professional competence is established by passing the required theory and practical driving tests, unless a special statutory route applies.

No. An active court or administrative driving ban prevents the grant of a new entitlement.

No. A retained driving licence or a withdrawn entitlement is a legal obstacle until the relevant requirements have been resolved.

Generally no. Slovakia does not grant the same or an equivalent category when the applicant already holds it on a Slovak or foreign licence.

Yes. A foreign driving ban, suspension, restriction, withdrawal or cancellation may prevent the grant of an entitlement in Slovakia.

The driving school that issued the course certificate normally registers the candidate with the competent Police Force authority.

The minimum age is 15. Category AM covers qualifying mopeds, light three-wheel vehicles and light quadricycles.

The minimum age is 16. Category A1 covers light motorcycles within the statutory engine-capacity and power limits.

The minimum age is 16. Category B1 covers qualifying quadricycles.

The minimum age is 17, but a person receiving category B before 18 is subject to the accompanied-driving rule.

The minimum age is 17. Category T is the Slovak national category for agricultural and forestry tractors and certain special vehicles.

The ordinary minimum age is 18.

The ordinary minimum age is 21, although special professional or public-service exceptions may apply.

The ordinary minimum age is 24, with statutory progressive-access and professional exceptions.

Yes. A holder with at least two years of A1 experience may obtain A2 through the prescribed special practical test or special training, subject to the other conditions.

Yes. A holder with at least two years of A2 experience may obtain category A through the prescribed special practical test or special training.

It generally covers motor vehicles with a maximum authorised mass not exceeding 3,500 kg and designed to carry no more than eight passengers in addition to the driver, subject to trailer rules.

The holder needs the appropriate harmonised code after completing the prescribed special training or passing the special practical test.

Normally yes. The applicant must complete the prescribed course for the requested category at an accredited driving school.

It prepares the student for road-traffic rules, traffic signs, safe driving, vehicle control, hazard awareness and the official examination.

Yes. Training includes vehicle-control work and driving in road traffic under the supervision of an authorised instructor.

Yes. Manoeuvres and vehicle control may be practised on a training ground or another suitable area closed to ordinary traffic.

Yes. The school issues the prescribed certificate when the candidate completes the course requirements.

The application for the examination must generally be submitted to the Police Force within six months after completion of the driving course.

The driving school normally provides the appropriate training vehicle, fuel and the authorised instructor required for the examination.

Yes, but the resulting entitlement may carry an automatic-transmission restriction unless an exception or later removal procedure applies.

It can generally be removed by successfully completing the prescribed practical examination in a manual-transmission vehicle of the relevant category.

Special training is a limited statutory training route used for certain category extensions or harmonised codes instead of a full new driving course.

It is a driving-only examination used in specific cases, such as certain category extensions, without repeating the complete ordinary theory examination.

Yes. Course hours, scheduling, internal assessments and vehicle availability are administered by the driving school under the applicable training rules.

It is delivered electronically as an official computer-based test.

The test contains 40 randomly selected questions.

Candidates have 30 minutes to complete the theory test.

The maximum score is 100 points.

A candidate must obtain at least 90 points.

The Ministry of the Interior prepares the questions used in the official electronic tests.

The test covers road-traffic rules, priority, signs and traffic devices, traffic situations, safe driving, vehicle-related knowledge and procedures after a collision or emergency.

The official practice system has been based on a database of about 1,400 questions divided into ten subject areas.

Yes. The official competence examination starts with the theory test.

No. A candidate who fails theory cannot continue to the practical parts on that examination attempt.

Yes. The Ministry of the Interior provides an official electronic-test practice service.

No. Candidates should understand the legal rules and apply them to signs, junctions, hazards and real traffic situations.

It has two main stages: vehicle control on a training ground or other traffic-free area, followed by driving in road traffic.

It is conducted on a training ground or another suitable area where ordinary road traffic is excluded.

It assesses safe vehicle preparation, basic control and the manoeuvres prescribed for the relevant category.

No. A candidate who fails the traffic-free stage cannot continue to the road-traffic stage.

It is conducted in ordinary road traffic, including urban traffic.

It assesses observation, priority, positioning, speed choice, signalling, interaction with other road users, hazard response and overall safe control.

An authorised police examination commissioner conducts and evaluates the official test.

No. The instructor assists with the vehicle and examination arrangements, but the police examination commissioner makes the official assessment.

Yes. A candidate does not obtain professional competence if any required part is failed.

Applicants for C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE and T must also demonstrate the required knowledge of vehicles and maintenance.

Yes. Conduct that creates danger, requires intervention or shows inadequate control can lead to an unsuccessful result.

The driving school that issued the course certificate normally registers the candidate for a repeat examination.

Yes. Category B may be granted from age 17 if all course, health, residence and examination requirements are satisfied.

No. Until the accompaniment period ends, the young driver may drive only with an approved accompanying person seated beside the driver.

It lasts until the driver turns 18, but never for less than three months.

The minimum three-month accompaniment still applies, so the requirement can continue for a period after the eighteenth birthday.

The accompanying person must have held category B for at least ten years.

Yes. The Police Force must enter the person in the driver register for this purpose.

The young driver’s legal representative submits the request.

The approved person must sit in the front passenger seat beside the young driver.

Yes. The accompanying person must carry a valid driving licence and present it when requested.

No. The accompanying person has driver-like safety duties and must not be impaired by alcohol, drugs, medicines, illness or fatigue.

No. The person must meet the ten-year category B requirement and be entered in the official register.

No. Driving during the mandatory period without the approved companion is a serious breach of the licensing condition.

They are normally recorded with a validity of 15 years, but not beyond age 65 under the ordinary rule.

They are normally valid for five years, linked to the required medical and psychological fitness documents.

The card is normally valid for five years from the date of the medical-fitness document.

No. Administrative card validity and the legal entitlement are related but not identical; renewal depends on the applicable category and fitness requirements.

It is requested in person at a document department of a district directorate of the Police Force.

It includes identity details, photograph, signature, licence number, issuing authority, issue and expiry dates, and the authorised categories.

It shows category-specific grant and expiry dates together with restriction or information codes.

The holder should report the loss or theft and apply for a replacement through the Police Force document service.

The holder should apply for replacement or correction and present the required identity and supporting documents.

Those cards remain valid only until 31 December 2032 and must be replaced by that deadline.

No. Their transitional validity ended on 31 December 2023.

An expedited service may be available for a higher administrative fee; the current fee and deadline should be checked with the document department.

It means having the physical and mental ability required to drive a motor vehicle safely.

It is normally performed by the applicant’s or driver’s authorised general practitioner, or by a paediatrician for children and adolescents.

The person being assessed normally pays the cost.

Yes. Fitness may depend on a medical aid, an adapted vehicle, periodic examinations or another restriction.

Yes. AM through BE and T are generally medical group 1, while C1 through DE are medical group 2.

Yes. Drivers of C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE vehicles are subject to periodic medical examinations.

They are generally required every five years and, after age 65, every two years.

Yes. It may order reassessment when there is reason to suspect that the driver’s health has changed.

Yes. Psychological assessment applies to specified professional or priority-vehicle drivers and may also be ordered in individual cases.

Yes. A driver must not drive when illness, injury, nausea, fatigue or another condition reduces the ability to drive safely.

Yes. A person must not drive after taking medicine during a period when it can reduce driving ability.

The driver should promptly consult the treating doctor and comply with any medical, reporting, restriction or reassessment requirement.

Yes. Valid licences issued by European Economic Area states are recognised, subject to the categories and any territorial restrictions shown on the licence.

Yes, a valid national licence from a convention state is generally recognised under Slovak law, subject to the statutory conditions.

It may be required or useful when the national licence is from outside the EEA or when driving in a country that requires a convention-format permit.

No. A Vienna-format permit must be used together with the corresponding valid national driving licence, and travellers should carry both.

It is issued for three years, but not beyond the validity of the underlying national entitlement.

It is issued for one year.

It is issued only to a holder of a valid driving licence issued in Slovakia.

Normally no. A valid Slovak EU-format driving licence is generally sufficient within the European Union and EEA.

No. An international permit does not replace the required national entitlement for a person resident in Slovakia.

Not necessarily. A valid EEA licence is generally recognised, although renewal, expiry, residence and administrative circumstances may eventually require Slovak procedures.

Yes. The Police Force may verify the document and the underlying entitlement with the issuing authority.

The holder should contact the Slovak Police Force document department and consult the official foreign-licence guidance before driving or applying for exchange.

Yes. Category C1 may be granted only to a person who already holds category B.

Yes. Category C requires an existing category B entitlement.

Yes. Category D requires an existing category B entitlement.

Yes. BE is an extension for qualifying category B vehicle-and-trailer combinations.

Yes. CE requires category C.

Yes. DE requires category D.

It covers agricultural tractors, forestry tractors and other qualifying special motor vehicles, with a trailer permitted under the category rules.

Category T is a national category and its statutory entitlement is limited to Slovak territory.

Yes, where the applicant has completed the required initial-qualification course and satisfies the other statutory conditions.

Yes, where the applicant has completed the required initial-qualification course, with additional restrictions applying below the ordinary age.

Code 95 records compliance with the professional-driver qualification requirements applicable to specified goods and passenger transport drivers.

Yes. Drivers within the professional qualification system must complete the required periodic training and keep their qualification evidence valid.

Yes. Retesting may be ordered when there is reason to doubt the driver’s knowledge or practical competence.

Yes. A proven period of two years or more without driving may be a ground for an ordered competence examination.

The Police Force can order a remedial driving-school course, a full competence retest and medical and psychological examinations.

The Police Force can order a specialised medical assessment concerning dependence and may require professional counselling.

The holder must satisfy the statutory reinstatement conditions, which can include a rules test and, for a ban of two years or more, full competence, medical and psychological examinations.

The holder loses the required professional competence, and the entitlement can be withdrawn under the statutory procedure.

Yes. A report indicating a condition that may limit safe driving can trigger an official reassessment.

Yes. The holder may submit a written, formally signed notice and surrender the licence card for amendment.

No. An entitlement formally surrendered under the statutory procedure cannot merely be returned; a new grant procedure may be necessary.

Yes. Police may retain the card in cases provided by law, including circumstances connected with a driving ban, serious offence or loss of entitlement.

No. Slovakia does not operate a general points balance like some other European countries; enforcement instead uses offences, fines, driving bans, licence retention or withdrawal and mandatory remedial measures.

The driver should contact the competent traffic inspectorate because the required tests, examinations and documents depend on the legal basis and duration of the restriction.

The principal source is Act No. 8/2009 Coll. on Road Traffic, using the current consolidated Slov-Lex version available on the review date.

The FAQ also uses Ministry of the Interior Decree No. 9/2009 Coll., including the current rules for examinations, medical fitness and licence restrictions.

The official Slovensko.sk driving-licence entitlement guidance and related pages on examinations, validity, applications and international permits were consulted.

The Ministry of the Interior electronic-test service and its official information on the 40-question, 30-minute, 100-point test were used.

Yes. European Commission driving-licence material and Your Europe guidance were used for EEA recognition, the EU-format licence and cross-border context.

This English master was last reviewed on 4 August 2026. Laws and administrative procedures can change, so applicants should verify time-sensitive details with the Slovak Police Force or an accredited driving school.