The Transpordiamet theory test: how it works and how to pass it

The theory test is the first state check on the way to a licence and the only one whose result you see on the screen straight away. Here is how you get admitted, how many mistakes are allowed, what is forbidden in the exam room and when you can try again.

What the theory test is

Transpordiamet says it plainly: the theory test is not part of the training, it is a check of knowledge. It is taken on a computer at the Transpordiamet service bureau you choose, on a pre-booked date and time, in Estonian, Russian or English.

A passed theory test is valid for 12 months from the test day. The driving test has to be passed within that time, otherwise the theory has to be taken again.

The school's theory exam and the state theory test: the difference

There are two theory exams and they are often confused.

The school's theory exam is the driving school's own check at the end of the theory course. It has 40 questions, like the state one, and you take it in the e-learning environment. There is no state fee. Three attempts are free — the first and two retakes; the fourth attempt is charged. Before the exam it is worth doing the practice exams included in the package and following the e-learning environment's recommendations: they show what is still open.

The state theory test takes place at a Transport Administration service office: 40 questions, 30 minutes, a state fee of 30 €. A passed state theory test is valid for 12 months.

The order is this. Once the school's theory exam is done, the school sends your data to the Transport Administration, and only then can you book a time for the state theory test. You can book the driving test when the whole curriculum is complete and the school exams are done: the school then sends the Transport Administration your certificate (tunnistus).

How to book the theory test

You book through the Transpordiamet e-service (ID card, Mobile-ID or Smart-ID) once your driving school has sent your details to Transpordiamet. Before that no slot can be booked.

If you are under 18, you act in the e-service with a parent's or guardian's consent: the system notifies the parent, who confirms the consent in their own e-service and can pay the state fee there too. The consent can also be filed on a form at the bureau.

The state fee for the theory test is 30 €, the same at the bureau and in the e-service. If you apply for the category B first licence as one procedure, the total in the e-service is 103 € (first licence 23 €, theory test 30 €, driving test 50 €), at the bureau 113 €.

Test day: what to bring and when to arrive

• A valid physical identity document. It is checked before you enter the exam room; without it you are not admitted.
• Arrive 10–15 minutes early. Latecomers are not admitted to the state theory test.
• If you need an interpreter (including a sign-language interpreter), an impartial adult interpreter may attend at your own expense.

If you cannot come, tell Transpordiamet in writing. With at least three working days' notice the time can be changed without paying a new state fee.

How the test runs: 40 questions in 30 minutes

Before the start the examiner explains the rules and answers questions; everyone begins at the same time on the examiner's instruction. Every question has exactly one correct answer, and you see the result as soon as you finish.

The category B test has 40 questions, 10 of them on traffic safety, and 30 minutes to answer. Up to 5 mistakes are allowed, but only 1 in the traffic-safety questions: two or more safety mistakes mean a fail regardless of the rest. A question left unanswered when time runs out counts as wrong.

The answers can be viewed only after the test ends; the question sets are confidential and you cannot take the questions with you.

What is forbidden in the exam room

Talking to other candidates, using aids, outside help or prompts (including from the interpreter), and taking notes about the questions. Phones and other devices, smartwatches included, must be switched off. You may address only the examiner, who does not comment on the content of the questions. If the rules are broken the test is stopped and counted as failed.

If you did not pass

The theory test can be retaken no earlier than the second day after an unsuccessful attempt, and the state fee is paid again for every attempt. The result can be challenged within 30 days, in writing through the e-service or by e-mail.

Before the retake keep doing the tests in the Liikluslab environment and sit the mock exams, including the hard ones. That is usually where it becomes clear which topics cost you the marks.

How to practise

• The theory course runs in Liikluslab's e-learning, and in the category B initial stage the three webinars are a compulsory part of it. The practice tests and mock exams are in the same environment.
• Transpordiamet has no separate practice environment. Its page “Theory test environment” shows two examples of how the exam program scores answers: look at them before the test.
• Learn by situations, not by answers: the one-safety-mistake rule punishes memorised answers most of all.

Common questions

Note this too: a passed theory test is valid for 12 months. If your driving training has stalled in the meantime, that clock runs against you — see how changing driving school works and what gets credited.

Sources: Transpordiamet, “Teooriaeksam” (updated 07.10.2025), the state-fee table and tables 2 and 3 of the exam procedure (number of questions and time limit). Checked 07.09.2026.

After the test: final-stage training and skid training. Within the two years of the probationary licence you must complete final-stage training, and skid training is part of it. Ours costs 180 € and the theory is done beforehand in e-learning: final-stage training and skid training in Tallinn.