Driving instructor

In Sweden, the applicant is required to obtain approval as a driving instructor

• has turned 21 years old
• have a valid driving license in category B issued within the EEA and has had such a driving license for a total of at least three of the last ten years
• have such a driving license with the qualifications to which the education relates
• has undergone polytechnic training as a traffic instructor and
• with regard to their personal circumstances can be considered suitable as a traffic instructor.

An approval as a driving instructor may be limited to training for one or more driving license qualifications. In order for the approval to also include training for motorcycles, heavy trucks and buses, the applicant must also have undergone special training for such teaching in accordance with Chapter 6 of the Swedish Road Administration's regulations (VVFS 2006:65) on traffic schools.

The education for traffic instructors

The education for driving instructors within the polytechnic (polytechnic degree with a focus on traffic instructors) is a regulated vocational preparatory education comprising 300 polytechnic credits. The education must provide the student with the knowledge, skills and abilities required by working life for a profession as a driving instructor in a driving school. The education includes the modules work environment and responsibility, vehicle safety and the environment, constitutional knowledge, traffic psychology, traffic safety work, vocational pedagogy 1 and 2 and learning in work 1 and 2 (vocational internship in a driving school). The education must also include a degree project.

A professional qualification as a driving instructor who has been acquired in another state within the European Economic Area (EEA) or in Switzerland can under certain conditions be recognized for a corresponding professional practice as driving instructor in Sweden. A first condition for this is that the applicant is qualified to practice this profession in the state in which the professional qualification has been acquired.

If the profession is regulated

If driving instructor is a regulated profession in the state where the professional qualification has been acquired, the applicant must also be able to show the qualifications or evidence of formal qualifications required to practice this profession.

If the profession is not regulated

If driving instructor is not a regulated profession in the state where the professional qualification has been acquired, the applicant must be able to show proof of competence for such a professional qualification. If these do not constitute evidence of a regulated education, the applicant must also be able to show that he or she has practiced the profession of driving instructor in that state for at least one year during the last ten years.

Compensation measures that may be required for recognition

If an acquired professional qualification meets the requirements for recognition for a corresponding professional practice as a driving instructor in Sweden, any compensatory measures may also be required. These may consist of an adaptation period or an aptitude test, and may be required, among other things, if the applicant's education for the professional qualification deviates significantly from the educational requirements set in Sweden.

In Sweden, an application for approval is required to work as a driving instructor. In this, the applicant must, among other things, meet the driving license and suitability requirements set out above under "National requirements for approval as a driving instructor". These driving license and suitability requirements are also set for those who have acquired their professional qualifications in another state within the EEA or in Switzerland. Therefore, the Swedish Transport Agency also conducts an approval test in connection with the recognition test where the driving license and suitability requirements are checked.

• certified copy of valid passport
• certified copy of certificates of formal qualifications or certificates of competence (such may refer to qualifications, diplomas and certificates with associated educational descriptions, certificates from vocational examinations, etc., read more under the tab Requirements for recognition of professional qualifications)
• certified copy of certificate of professional experience as a traffic instructor if applicable (read more under the tab Requirements for recognition of professional qualifications).

In addition, the following must be attached:

• Certificate from the competent authority showing that the applicant, in view of his personal circumstances, can be considered suitable for the profession. Certificates must be available from the competent authority or authorities in the country or countries in which the applicant has resided during the last three years. Certificate must not be older than three months (read more under the tab Requirements for approval as a traffic instructor for those who come from another state)
• Information from the competent driving license authority which shows how long the applicant has held the driving license and its period of validity and whether the driving license holder has had any driving license interventions. Reporting of driving license interventions must be made for the previous ten years or the length of the driving license holding, if it is shorter than ten years (read more under the tab Requirements for approval as a traffic instructor for those coming from another state).

A professional who has acquired professional qualifications for professional practice as a driving instructor in another state within the EEA or in Switzerland may, under certain conditions, temporarily practice this profession in Sweden without prior examination from the Swedish Transport Agency.

In the case of temporary professional activity, the professional shall use the professional title of the state of establishment or, if it does not exist, state his proof of formal qualifications.

For such temporary practice, the practitioner must be legally established in another state within the EEA or in Switzerland in order to practice there as a driver instructor, the profession must also be a regulated profession in that state.

If the profession is not regulated

If the profession is not regulated in the state in which the practitioner is legally established, the practitioner must have worked as a driving instructor in an EEA state or Switzerland for at least one year in the past ten years. However, such professional experience is not required if the education for the profession is regulated in the state of establishment.

Responsibility of the permit holder

The permit holder for the driving school must check that the requirements for temporary professional practice are met, before register a driving instructor as a temporary professional in the driving school.