Tere!

On the latter half of the trip in Ireland 2022, I felt I wanted to be able to drive a car in Europe. After the trip, I searched for information about driving schools in Tallinn and made a plan. I’ve already had a Japanese driving licence for MT cars so I could drive outside Japan too (as in countries like Ireland or Germany, MT is more major than AT), and yet I was not allowed to get an international driving licence in Estonia anymore due to the Geneva Convention, in which it’s written that those who have lived in Estonia more than one year need to get an Estonian driving licence if they want to drive in Estonia.

In this article, I will explain all the process to get an Estonian driving licence which is called the “B category” licence in Estonia.

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Table of Contents

     1. Preparation to Start Taking a B-category Course in Estonia
          a. How to Choose a Driving School in Estonia
          b. Costs for a Driving School in Estonia
          c. The Process to Get a Driving Licence in Estonia
     2. Theory Course in Sky Autokool
     3. Driving Lessons in Sky Autokool
     4. Special Courses in Sky Autokool
          a. Night Driving
          b. Slippery-Road Driving
          c. First Aid
     5. Driving School’s Exams
          a. Driving School’s Theory Exam
          b. Driving School’s Driving Exam
               i. The First Driving Exam in Driving School
               ii. The Second Driving Exam in Driving School
     6. State (ARK’s) Exams
          a. ARK’s Theory Exam
          b. ARK’s Driving Exam
               i. The First Driving Exam in ARK
               ii. The Second Driving Exam in ARK
               iii. The Third Driving Exam in ARK
     7. After the Driving Exam in ARK
          a. Are You Not Yet Allowed To Drive?
          b. The Number of Days till You Get Your Driving Licence
     8. Appendix
          a. Liikluslab – Self-Learning Platform for the Theory Exam
          b. Private Driving Lessons
     ★Summary

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1. Preparation to Start Taking a B-category Course in Estonia

Since I decided to get a driving licence in Estonia, I started searching for information about when to start going to driving school in Estonia and how much it would cost. This was my first step as it costs to get a driving licence.

a. How to Choose a Driving School in Estonia

I decided to take a B-category driving course in Sky Autokool which I bookmarked on Facebook a long time ago because many people recommended Sky Autokool in the Expat group on Facebook. There are a few additional reasons for this.

Firstly, they offer the driving course in English. Though I’d already had B1 in Estonian, I wasn’t sure if I could understand the traffic rules in Estonian. Also, whatever the language is, it is hard for me to deal with information by listening, so I was sure that my brain wouldn’t work sufficiently well if I listened to the language I was learning. Therefore, I didn’t have any other options but English. As many expats are not so fluent in Estonian either, if a driving school has courses in English, it easily becomes popular.

Secondly, many expats in the group simply said “Sky Autokool was good!”. I checked some other driving schools in Tallinn and compared them with Sky Autokool. Based on the comparison, Sky Autokool seemed better for me as well.

Lastly, Sky Autokool offers in-class theory classes with live-streaming and on-demand theory classes. The latter option includes the self-learning platform for the theory exam called Liikluslab. As I thought I just needed to be online for the live-streaming theory classes after work and didn’t want to use Liikluslab yet when starting the course, I chose the live-streaming (in-class) one.

b. Costs for a Driving School in Estonia

Sky Autokool has the pricing for the B-category course on their website. However, the payment option and how to calculate it was not really written there. If you have questions, you can always ask them. (I literally asked them a lot before starting!)

In their calculation, it appeared to cost around 1100 EUR in total, and yet considering cases where I fail in exams, and I need additional driving lessons as well as the subscription for Liikluslab, I calculated how much I would need to save every month.

Since I-don’t-know-when, I started “one-cent saving”, and after one year, I use that saving in case I need a relatively big amount of money. So using that savings, I had a budget of 2000 EUR in total.

In Sky Autokool, what you firstly need to pay is the registration fee and the theory classes, which cost 260 EUR. When starting the driving lessons, salaries of 210 EUR for a driving instructor (as they are entrepreneurs) and 420 EUR for the lesson car (15 EUR per lesson), which costs 630 EUR in total, will be paid. This amount is actually divided into the minimum number of lessons, so one class costs 22.50 EUR. However, in Sky Autokool, they conduct two classes per time/lesson, meaning that if you take one driving lesson, you need to pay 45 EUR. Plus, most likely you will be asked to pay in cash. (The calculation is a bit weird and old here so I recommend you skip the detailed calculation part and access the page from the paragraph below.)

In addition to the basic lessons above, you will need to pay for other special courses such as a night driving course, a slippery-road driving course and a first aid course.

In the end, you will also need to pay for the exams in Sky Autokool and for the state exams (ARK’s exams).

Though I wrote a bit of details, Sky Autokool’s pricing page explains much visually easier anyways. 😂 Also the prices above are as of 2022.

By the way, whichever AT or MT you choose, it costs the same. (In Japan, AT costs less.)

I personally recommend you get a driving licence for MT so you are allowed to drive AT cars too. It’s just more convenient.

c. The Process to Get a Driving Licence in Estonia

The process to get a driving licence in Estonia starts with a theory class in a driving school unlike Japan. When I went to a driving school in Kyoto, the first lesson was a driving lesson. However, the reason why in Estonia they let a learner start taking the theory lessons first was to learn the traffic signs and rules before driving on the real roads. In Estonia we practise driving on the real roads basically and the exams are conducted on the real roads as well whilst in Japan we mainly practise in the practice areas. This is why without knowing the Estonian traffic rules, you can’t really drive on the real roads in Estonia.

In Sky Autokool, they recommend students start driving lessons after taking a few theory classes because of the reason above.

In Estonia, the minimum number of driving practices is determined, which is 26 times. This excludes the special courses like a night driving course. Since you can take the driving lessons after a couple of theory classes, in fact from some points you need to attend both the theory classes and the driving lessons.

When starting the first driving lesson, my driving instructor recommended that I should take Sky Autokool’s theory exam and ARK (Autoregistrikeskuse — vehicle registration centre)’s theory exam after finishing all the driving lessons. I think this is because then you are used to the real roads so you know better after completing the driving lessons. Therefore, the flow is to take the driving school’s theory exam after completing the driving lessons, and to take ARK’s theory exam after passing the driving school’s theory exam.

As for ARK’s driving exam, like their theory exam, you cannot take it without passing the driving school’s driving exam. Plus, ARK’s driving exam was much more difficult than the driving exam in Japan, and you might need to queue a lot. (Strictly speaking, this depends on the season and timing.) So my instructor advised me to book one exam anyway, and if the date and time are not ideal, I could change a few days before the exam because sometimes students cancel the booked exams.

2. Theory Course in Sky Autokool

In Sky Autokool, there are seven theory classes in total, and it takes two hours per class. Every class began at 6 pm, so I accessed the live-streaming class right after getting home from work. Although they said one class would take two hours, in reality the classes often finished within two hours. Since it was live-streaming, students could also ask questions online from home.

What is more, we had homework videos and quizzes after homework.

What I felt while taking the theory classes in Sky Autokool was there were so many traffic signs. 😂

3. Driving Lessons in Sky Autokool

In my case, I started my driving lessons during the week when I had the third theory class in Sky Autokool.

When I asked the person-in-charge in Sky Autokool how to register for the driving lessons, he did it immediately on his own. Since I already went to see my GP to check my body condition for the B-category driving licence before starting the theory course in Sky Autokool, the process went very smoothly. This health check is a must-do before driving a car. You can ask your GP for the B-category health check. Mine charged me 40 EUR for the health check for the B-category driving licence.

In addition, on the side of Sky Autokool, they had to register me as a driving learner in Estonia. Since they do for us, students do not have to do anything specific. After the registration, I received an email from Transpordiamet (ARK).

Also, the person-in-charge in Sky Autokool asked me AT or MT, so I told him MT. Then he gave me the phone number of my instructor.

As it was a phone number, I wondered if I should ring or message him, but as I don’t like calling strangers, I messaged him eventually, and he replied to me. I booked one session which was conducted in the practice area. In this area it costs extra unlike the driving schools in Japan, you need to enter there with your phone. If your phone cannot charge you, the instructor should pay alternatively, and you can pay them back later. That is what I did.

4. Special Courses in Sky Autokool

In Estonia, in order to graduate from a driving school, you need to take special courses separately. (However, these courses do not require separate exams.)

As they are special courses, you need to pay for them separately.

a. Night Driving

First of all, let’s talk about night driving. Personally, this course was very appreciative because there was no such a course in Japan. You will also drive on a highway in the dark in this course.

I had the night driving course in winter in Estonia, and suddenly one question popped up in my head while doing it, so I asked my instructor.

“How do you conduct the night driving practice in summer?”

In Estonia it’s bright at night in summer, even at almost 0 am, it’s pretty bright. (Technically, it’s very slightly dark, but you can walk around and see everything.)

In such a season in Estonia, when a student practise for the night driving, he said

“They use a simulator.”

Also he told me that

And every time, the student driver hits an animal there.

😂

However, as long as it’s dark outside, they offer the practice outside, so even if the environmental condition is with snow, ice and/or rain, which is scary for the beginners, the instructors still take us to highways. 😂

However, even though it was scary in the beginning, on the way back, you will already be used to it. 😂

I’m not sure if it is only in Sky Autokool, but it seemed the course usually took place with one instructor and two students. However, in my case, the other student didn’t come so I just had a special course with the usual instructor like always. 😂

By the way, before this night driving lesson, I had to watch the video that Sky Autokool sent me. (It means that this course has a “theory class” too.)

The course cost 60 EUR as of 2022.

b. Slippery-Road Driving

In Estonia in winter, it snows a lot and there is ice on the ground in February, which is too dangerous to walk. During the winter time, a car owner needs to change their tyres for the winter version too. (In Estonia they sell all-year tyres as well.)

This is why in Estonia another special course “slippery-road driving” is a must-take. In Sky Autokool, you also need to watch the lecture video beforehand.

Roughly speaking, you learn the differences among driving on the regular asphalt ground, half asphalt and half frozen/slippery ground and slippery ground.

It was also a pair (two students for one instructor) course. We met in Laagri, Harju county in Estonia, and a person-in-charge from Sky Autokool drove us to Laitse Rally Park in 20 minutes. (She also drove us back to the meeting place on the way back from Laitse Rally Park.)

The other student was learning how to drive cars with an AT. The instructor was a guy for this course. Since I was practising for MT, the other student tried first.

I was too scared of the sudden brake at 30 km/h. 😂 (Though after the first try I was fine because I knew when it would happen.)

However, I realised how easy it was to drive a car with AT because you can reach a faster speed so quickly. Since that AT car didn’t have a switch to turn off ABS, we switched to a car with MT.

It got me scared twice.

Firstly, I drove at 50 km/h on ice and then turned the wheel (without acceleration or brake).

Too scary as the car spinned 150 degrees or so.

Then I drove on the asphalt on the left and on the ice on the right without ABS. The speed was around 50 km/h.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I literally screamed like this while driving but not like MJ.

It was very scary because I literally felt the car per se was turning diagonally.

After the course, I seriously thought to be careful driving in winter.

The course cost 100 EUR as of 2022.

c. First Aid

On one weekend in February, 2023, I had a course of first aid. I expected it would take a few hours in the morning, and yet in fact the theory class took place in the morning and in the afternoon there was a practical lesson.

In other words, I had to spend a whole day on the first aid course.

Besides, they changed the plan from Saturday to Sunday.

In more detail, the theory for the first aid course took place online at 9.30 am. I thought it would last until around 12.30 pm, but there was a 10-minute break and it ended past 11 am. Since there were some medical terms, I was taking the class by checking those terms’ meanings from time to time.

The afternoon lesson started at 1.30 pm. We checked what we learnt in the morning, and how to place an unconscious person’s body and how to do chest compression. I knew how to do chest compression as I learnt it in Japan. However, I felt it was my first time learning how to place the unconscious person’s body. We had to perform this as a pair. There were some students who had already known each other and they were a pair of a man and a woman. So in the end, I was left because I didn’t want an unknown guy to touch my body, but the lecturer didn’t point it out, so I didn’t have to perform this activity with an unknown guy.

I never wish an unknown guy to touch my body unless it’s urgent/highly necessary and/orI’m unconscious. (In other words, paramedics, doctors, nurses and gym trainers are okay.)

I wished the instructor had considered such a thing better in advance.

The first aid course in Sky Autokool had a test, and we had to submit our answers in three days after the course. The test was really simple with around 15 questions in a word file.

Once you pass it, you will receive a certificate. (I’m not sure what will happen if you fail in it.)

5. Driving School’s Exams

In this chapter, let’s talk about the driving school’s exams.

a. Driving School’s Theory Exam

In the beginning of November, 2022, all the theory classes finished. As Sky Autokool’s rule, the students had to take the driving school’s theory exam on Liikluslab (a self-learning platform for the driving theory) within four weeks after the end of the theory course.

According to the lecturer, he mentioned this in the beginning of the theory class, but of course I didn’t remember it at all, so I thought “Shit!” and registered on Liikluslab immediately though I planned to do it in the middle of November. The reason why I had a plan for the registration on Liikluslab was because Liikluslab’s subscription for one payment was valid for three months and I didn’t want to pay for another three-month subscription by failing in the theory exams.

I read each chapter in Liikluslab five times, passed the quizzes of each chapter once, and did the mock exams 10 times. (In Liikluslab, it is recommended to pass the mock exam three times in a row in order to pass the state theory exam in one time. However, to feel more sure, I took the mock exam 10 times on Liikluslab. I wanted to pass the theory exam with one try. 😂)

One day in November, 2022, I was in Osaka, Japan. While I was staying in Osaka, I had a plan to meet someone only in the evening, and didn’t want to take the driving school’s theory exam just before the due date, so I took the driving school’s theory exam on Liikluslab three or four days before the due date. In Sky Autokool, the borderline to pass the driving school’s theory exam on Liikluslab was allowing up to four mistakes out of 40 questions, within which if an examinee has two mistakes or more on the traffic safety, then they fail. In other words, even though you have four mistakes in total, if you have two mistakes about the traffic safety, then you fail in the driving school’s theory exam.

In my case, I had three mistakes in total and no mistakes on the traffic safety.

Therefore, I passed the driving school’s theory exam in one try!

I was so relieved after the driving school’s theory exam as the first step to get the driving licence was completed.

By the way, in Sky Autokool, if you take the driving school’s theory exam within four weeks after the theory course finishes, and should you fail in the theory exam, according to them, you don’t have to take the second theory exam within the same four weeks.

b. Driving School’s Driving Exam

I took the driving school’s driving exams twice. To put it another way, I failed in the driving exam on the first try, and passed it on the second try.

However, I knew that I would fail on the first try because I had to postpone the exam appointment due to the sprain on my foot which caused the blank time for two weeks with no driving experience, and because I had a confidence that I would not be able to confidently drive well in one of the tricky area in Tallinn called Nõmme. In addition to these reasons, it is fairly normal in Estonia that learners almost always fail in the first driving exam, so the failure was not a big deal for me.

i. The First Driving Exam in the Driving School

Though it was the driving school’s driving exam, the examiner was not my instructor, and the car was different as well. Since I had no idea about both the driving exam and the car, before the driving exam, the examiner in the driving school explained to me what I can do at the ARK’s driving exam before its exam.

First of all, some people had told me that I could use the lesson car at ARK’s driving exam whilst Sky Autokool didn’t have such a comfortable option in ARK’s driving exam and I was told to use ARK’s exam car, which means that a car model and its functionalities are different from the lesson car. Therefore, the examinees are allowed the examinee to check functionalities in the car on their own and to ask some questions to the examiner before the exam starts.

Then, the driving exam begins with a few questions. For example, they ask the examinee how to turn on the wipers and how to turn on the emergency switch. You can also check these questions on Liikluslab.

After the questions, you start driving on the real exam route.There are some exam routes in Tallinn from the easier one to the tricky one. (My instructor let me practise these exam routes in the latter half of the driving lesson course.)

Of course I had no idea which exam route the examiner would choose. However, as briefly mentioned earlier, I failed in Nõmme where there were roads from one-way with two lines to one-way with one line, and from 30 km/h sign to sudden change of 50 km/h, etc.

In addition to them, there was one misreading of the sign, so I didn’t pass the exam.

Otherwise I had no problems (like using a car itself).

For the driving school’s driving exam, it cost the same as one driving lesson in the driving school, which was 45 EUR (as of 2023).

ii. The Second Driving Exam in the Driving School

In Sky Autokool, the examiner shared my mistakes with my instructor, so I could practise once again, focusing on driving in Nõmme, before the second exam. I got a lot of confidence because I practised driving for 90 minutes almost only in Nõmme.😂

I also practised the place where I misread the sign, so I reviewed all the failed parts, and went for the second driving exam in Sky Autokool.

On the second try, though we didn’t go to Nõmme, there was one place where I got confused; there was an intersection and where we had two lines, and there was a sign. The examiner told me to go straight, but I saw all the cars in front of me only turned right, so I wasn’t sure what I saw. I didn’t want to make a mistake, hence as a safer solution, I turned right. Although I didn’t follow the examiner’s order, the action I took was acceptable because the most important thing in the driving exam is “to drive safely”. Should I really have misread the sign and gone straight from the lane where I was and it allowed only turning right, I would have failed in the exam again. However, since I took the safer solution, it was alright. The examiner will take you to the correct direction after such an incident in case it happens during your exam so you don’t need to worry about that.

Also, while it was March and there was still some snow on the ground, since it was not as snowy as January, I had to drive at 90 km/h on a highway. (90 km/h is the legally maximum speed on highways for learners and junior drivers in Estonia.) However, I was chicken and tended to increase the speed little by little, so the examiner asked me what the speed limit was when I had a big difference between the speed limit and the speed I had. Of course I knew what the speed limit was, so I was increasing the speed. However, then I almost caught up to a white van in front of me, which made me reduce the speed to 70 km/h.

Then, my examiner requested me to take a U-turn on a highway. Coincidentally, this van also took the U-turn, due to which I could not decrease the speed in the deceleration lane properly and increase the speed in the acceleration lane either.

What is more, two cars passed our car while I was making the U-turn on the highway, and they and I had to drive at 40 km/h on the highway because of that white van. I instinctively said “That white van…”, and my examiner just said “He’s a motherfucker.” 😂

Since a truck was coming, I couldn’t overtake the white van, and yet they started stopping on the edge of the highway, so then I passed them. After that, I successfully finished the exam.

The driving exam was not ideally conducted because of that white van, but I passed the driving school’s driving exam!

When I finished the exam, my examiner told me “Even if today’s exam was ARK’s driving exam, you can pass it. If you can drive this car so smoothly, you won’t have any problems with the exam car.”

All I remember after his comment is that I was wondering which cake I should buy at Kaubamaja (a department store in Tallinn). 😂

6. State (ARK’s) Exams

To get a driving licence in Estonia, in addition to the driving school’s exams, you need to take both a theory exam and a driving exam in ARK too.

You can book exams on Transpordiamet’s E-service.

a. ARK’s Theory Exam

I took ARK’s theory exam at the end of 2022. Since I’m stingy and I wanted to pass ARK’s theory exam on the first try, I studied on Liikluslab almost every day.

ARK’s theory exam cost 46 EUR including the registration fee. If you need to take it once more, you will need to pay 46 EUR again.

ARK’s theory exam took place in ARK’s building in Tallinn. Once the examiner opens the exam room’s door, you need to bring only your ID card, check your registration with the examiner and take an assigned seat. The examiner explains a bit in Estonian.

Each examinee has one tablet, and you can choose the exam language from Estonian, Russian or English. Then you need to enter your ID number.

Before you start the theory exam, you can take a short mock exam that consists of three questions. Just in case, I took it, and then did the theory exam.

It the real theory exam, you can skip or mark questions, so I went through everything by marking concerning parts to check them later. There were three questions that I was not sure of.

In ARK’s theory exam, you can have up to five mistakes, and if there are six and more mistakes, you fail. Plus, even if the total number of the mistakes is five, there are two or more mistakes about the traffic safety, you will fail.

The result was too quickly shown on the tablet, and I passed ARK’s theory exam with three mistakes (which are the ones I marked.)

Before that, everyone said to me that “Most people fail on the first try”, and yet I thought you wouldn’t feel even the tricky questions are really tricky as long as you prepare for the theory exam well enough on Luukluslab.

Like the driving school’s theory exam, I was more than happy to pass ARK’s theory exam on the first try.

b. ARK’s Driving Exam

I couldn’t take ARK’s driving exam right after completing the driving school’s driving exam because I needed to do something in Sky Autokool. (However, I’m not sure about other driving schools.)

Firstly, I had to bring the learner’s card (a document where my instructor and the driving school’s examiner wrote about lesson details and the driving schools’ driving exam result) to Sky Autokool. However, at that time, the person-in-charge was absent, and I was going to travel for a while, so I couldn’t bring him this document immediately. Also, he asked me if I completed other special courses (such as the slippery-road driving, the night driving, and first aid). This is because without completing these, you cannot graduate from the driving school.

I honestly thought it would be faster if the instructor brought the document to him. 😂

As for ARK’s driving exam, as a principle, it is conducted in Estonian, so I had to bring someone as an interpreter. (I said “interpreter” but technically it was my instructor on the first try and his colleague on the second and third tries.) You could bring your friend or partner, and yet I personally recommend your instructor as in case you fail in ARK’s driving exam, the instructor explains in more detail when practising again, and they can guide you better as they know traffic terminology in English as well. They charged me 45 EUR per time, but it might depend on the instructors or the driving school.

As you might be aware, I tried three times. (I passed ARK’s driving exam on the third try.)

i. The First Driving Exam in ARK

I took the first driving exam in ARK on the 4th of April, 2023. The result was: fail.

The examiner was quite a strict person, however he didn’t finish the exam and let me drive a bit more.

ARK’s driving exam starts from the parking area in the ARK building, so if you fail at the intersection after the parking area, it means some examiners can end the exam within 5 minutes. I also made a mistake at the intersection (though I didn’t notice my mistake), he let me drive on a highway as well. After that, I had to stop.

ii. The Second Driving Exam in ARK

I took the second driving exam in ARK in two weeks, on the 21st of April, 2023. The result was negative again. As I wasn’t confident enough last time, my instructor told me to be more confident, but I felt that was not the point. 😂 That day my instructor’s colleague came with me as an interpreter, who was very good as an! He advised me which examiner has what kind of tricky points they like to challenge examinees!! However, I couldn’t imagine the ticky places he told me well, so I failed in the driving exam again. In more detail I failed because I turned to the left from the right lane on a one-way road. (Although he told me about this place in advance! 😂)

iii. The Third Driving Exam in ARK

In Estonia, a person who is over 16 or something 18 and more is allowed to get a driving licence. Summer in Estonia was coming, and schools were nearly over, probably because of which I had to wait a month until the next driving exam in ARK. I booked an exam before the trip to Sweden, which was the 26th of May, 2023.

Since instructors constantly accept new learners and offer lessons to those who are in the process, my instructor didn’t have many options for many practice dates for me. Hence I booked one lesson one week before the driving exam. If my body is used to driving, it’s the best of all, and yet daily lives are not always ideal and the instructor told me my techniques were good, so instead of having multiple driving lessons, I watched Sky Autokool’s videos about the exam routes five or six times. I wanted to be engaged with driving somehow, and every time I drove the instructor told me to concentrate on driving more. I know the reason; as I have ADHD, when someone told me to turn right, I tended to focus on the action “turning” and missed the signs around there. Therefore, I watched their videos and remembered the tricky points in the routes. (I knew that I was able to remember stuff as images quite well.)

On the exam date, the same person (my instructor’s colleague) came with me as an interpreter, and the result was positive! Though I passed the exam, I thought I met the minimum score. The examiner told me my driving score was three out of five. I also know why; since I’m not good at multitasking in some situations due to ADHD, I couldn’t deal with multiple information quickly enough such as whether I had a priority on a road or someone else. (The comments from the examiner were about such things.)

When I went to driving school, my previous Italian colleague who eventually got laid off despised me, saying “Videos are not useful! lol”, but you know that people who want to look down on you are simply idiots. Besides, this previous colleague has gotten a fine ticket because he drove in Estonia in an Italian way (he didn’t show the indicator). In fact, Sky Autokool’s videos were highly helpful. I drove in the exam, remembering “I saw this place in the video” or thinking “Soon there will be a tricky point”.

However, as written earlier, ARK’s driving exam starts from the parking area and ends when you park the car in the same parking area. Therefore, when you come back somewhere around Nõmme, and feel “Soon the exam should end,” you still need to concentrate on driving. My ADHD trait appeared again when the examiner told me to park a car in ARK’s parking area. I focused on parking, and forgot to check the right side when moving in the parking area.The examiner asked me what the rule there was, and he seemed to think I understood the rule itself, and luckily there was no one on the right so we didn’t have any accident either.

The ARK examiners are all attentive to details but they have different strictness. On the third try, the examiner seemed to judge me that I didn’t ignorantly drive a car. I would say he was sort of considerate but also I think I was fortunate.

In the end, for some reason, my instructor was also in ARK’s parking area, and he took a photo of me. 😂

7. After the Driving Exam in ARK

Now let’s talk about some facts until you physically receive your Estonian driving licence.

a. Are You Not Yet Allowed To Drive?

In Estonia, after passing ARK’s driving exam, it takes some time until you receive your Estonian driving licence. However, it does not mean that you are NOT allowed to drive yet!

Since residents in Estonia have their personal IDs, their ID and their driving information are connected. Therefore, after passing ARKs’ driving exam until you receive your Estonian driving licence, you are allowed to drive a car with your Estonian ID card. (I admire this kind of point in Estonia because it’s so convenient.)

b. The Number of Days till You Get Your Driving Licence

Also, once your Estonian driving licence is shipped, you will receive an email from ARK. It says you will receive your Estonian driving licence within 10 days, and yet in my case I got mine the next day.

8. Appendix

As additional information to get a driving licence in Estonia, I summarise information about further self-learning and private driving practice.

One is a platform for the theory exam called Liikluslab, and the other one is a right to practise privately in Estonia.

a. Liikuslab – Self-Learning Platform for the Theory Exam

In Estonia, a self-learning platform for the theory exam called Liikluslab is available in Estonia, Russian, and English. You can use the demo version for free, but you need to pay if you want to learn more seriously and take some mock exams.

In the beginning I thought I might not need Liikluslab, but in Sky Autokool, unlike the driving school in Japan, the students didn’t get any materials. The theory course only gives the students permission to watch the archived lecture videos, which means if I wanted to review the theory by myself, I had to watch those videos one by one.

I was too lazy to watch all the videos and can understand much faster by reading, I reconsider Liikluslab’s subscription.

Although Liikluslab says they have subscriptions, their popular plan is not one-month subscription but valid for three months. I don’t remember the other optison as I didn’t need them. 😂

Liikluslab’s three-month subscription contains the materials with which I could review what I learnt in the theory course as well as go through mock exams. What is more, there are functions with which you can mark some questions as favourites and relearn the questions that you made mistakes on. Also, Liikluslab’s platform shows the possibility to pass the theory exam in a percentage, which varies depending on the number of correct answers in quizzes or the mock exams in addition to the status of leaning. Last not but least, Liikluslab’s platform visualises whether you passed the mock exams three times in a row so that you can pass the real ARK theory exam too. On Liikluslab, 50 mock exams are available.

It cost only 35 EUR, so I really felt it was worth subscribing. Now it costs 42.95 EUR, and yet they have some special gifts: a voucher that the user can park in a paid parking called Snabb with 20% OFF and a 20-EUR voucher of Casco insurance.

What is more, when I subscribed, I could access the platform only from a browser but now their app is available on Android too as of June 2023.

b. Private Driving Lessons

As for the private driving practice, if you legally register, you can practise driving privately. Of course you always need to bring your private instructor when practising driving. Anyone can basically be your private instructor but they have to have a driving licence for at least five years, and no penalties for one year at minimum.

Though I had an opportunity in my case, and the guy willingly offered it to me on his own, I couldn’t get connected with him, so I kept going to the driving school.

I thought “Hell to you. ⭐” (It means “Don’t let me expect.”)

When you practise driving privately, don’t forget the learner’s signs on the car.

★Summary

Given that you want to get a driving licence in Estonia, based on my own judgement and prejudice, I would recommend starting at the end of summer or the beginning of autumn.

The reasons are that you can practise driving in the real darkness for the special course “night driving”, and it could be much easier to pass ARK’s exam if it’s heavily snowy as you can’t see the signs and the road lines properly enough so the examiners tend to choose the easiest routes (according to my instructor).

However, if you take and pass ARK’s exam without snow, you would be more authentically confident when driving alone.

Ah, I’m so happy that I’m finally eligible to drive in Europe!!

Aitäh! 🙂