Photo: ShutterstockThe amendment to the Driver’s License Act concerning age exceptions came into effect on May 29, 2026. With an age exception, a young person can obtain a passenger car driver’s license as early as age 17. The reform tightened the criteria for granting age exceptions. It is no longer as easy to obtain an age exception as it used to be. The requirements for verifying goal-oriented and regular participation in sports have also changed: a certificate from a sports club or coach is no longer sufficient as an attachment to the application; instead, the certificate must be obtained from the relevant sports federation.
– Only a certificate issued by a sports federation eligible for government subsidies is now accepted as proof of participation in goal-oriented sports. The certificate must be issued by the sports federation itself; a club affiliated with the federation cannot sign the certificate on the federation’s behalf,” emphasizes Henna Antila, department head at Traficom.
The sports federation assesses whether the hobby that serves as the basis for the age exception meets the requirements set for goal-oriented training.
Under the Driver’s License Act, the granting of an age exception requires that the young person has a justified and regular need to travel by car to school, work, or a hobby. When submitting the application, the young person’s guardian must certify that the trips meet the requirements for regularity and sufficient length or duration.
What does an age exception mean?
An age exception permit allows a young person to obtain a passenger car driver’s license one year earlier than usual—that is, at age 17. The permit is applied for by the young person’s guardian and is issued by Traficom.
To be eligible for a subsidy related to a hobby, the young person must have a regular need to travel at least four times a week, and the trip must be more than 7 km and meet at least one of the following conditions:
- There are no public transportation options available for this trip
- A one-way trip by public transportation takes at least 1.5 hours
Certificate of goal-oriented sports participation must be applied for through the sports federation
Previously, a certificate regarding sports activities could be issued, for example, by a sports club or a coach. Following the reform, certificates regarding goal-oriented sports participation are issued by the sports federation.
The sports federation issues a certificate confirming that the young person participates in sports activities at a level that meets the federation’s criteria for goal-oriented participation. The sports federation is not required to assess the young person’s eligibility for an age exception in any other way.
A certificate issued by the sports federation is a required attachment to the application, but it does not automatically grant an age exception. Traficom decides on each application on a case-by-case basis at its discretion.
To whom can the sports federation issue a certificate?
Sports federations independently determine the criteria for issuing certificates. A federation may charge a processing fee for a certificate. For example, the processing fee charged by the Finnish Football Association, the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, and the Finnish Gymnastics Federation is 20 euros.
Learn more about the sports federations’ policies and guidelines: