Free theory test: Taxi Operator Licence

The taxi operator licence exam is a theory test at Statens vegvesen that checks whether you have the professional competence to run a taxi company. You normally need to have passed it to get a taxi operating licence (drosjeløyve). If you apply as an individual, you are the one who must pass. If the applicant is a company, the general manager or the transport manager must meet the requirement. The exam is about running the business, not about driving – that is covered by the taxi driver licence (kjøreseddel) and the Drosjeprøven test.

The Drosjeprøven concerns the driver licence (kjøreseddel) and is required of you as a driver to carry passengers. The operator licence exam concerns the taxi operating licence (drosjeløyve) and is required of you to own and run the taxi business itself. Many take both: the kjøreseddel to drive, and the operator exam to run the company.

The taxi operator licence exam has 35 questions, and you must answer at least 30 of them correctly. That allows a maximum of 5 errors – a pass threshold of about 85%. You have up to 60 minutes. The exam is taken on a computer at a traffic station, by appointment. You get the result straight away, and you can ask for a printout showing which topics you answered incorrectly.

The exam follows the Statens vegvesen topic list and covers four main areas: professional and market access and road traffic (licensing rules), employer responsibilities (Working Environment Act, Holidays Act, training, internal control), starting and administering a taxi business (company forms, finance, prices, trip logging) and taxes and duties.

Statens vegvesen charges a fee to sit the operator licence exam – see vegvesen.no for the current price. On top of that come any preparatory courses from a course provider and the fee the county municipality charges to process the licence application itself.

Long experience as a driver is not enough on its own. You are exempt if you held a taxi operating licence before 1 November 2020, if you have passed the exam for a goods and coach operating licence, hold such a licence, or managed a transport undertaking continuously for ten years before 4 December 2009, or if Statens vegvesen approves a diploma or certificate of competence from another EEA country or Switzerland. Check with the county municipality what applies to you.

No. The exam is taken in Norwegian, and you cannot use an interpreter. You can ask to have the questions and answer options read aloud in Norwegian through headphones. Feel free to practise with the translation to help you understand the material, but make sure you know the Norwegian terms before the exam.