Swedish driving theory words: the körkort glossary

Lingolib is a Swedish course, not a driving school, and is not connected to Trafikverket or Transportstyrelsen. The explanations are our own and simplified; for the exact rules, go to the authorities' own sites. Facts last checked 7 October 2026.

What is in the glossary

These are the words of Swedish driving-school books, theory practice and the road itself. Nouns have their en or ett, so you can use them in a sentence. Where Swedes have both an official word and an everyday one, both are here: the test says cirkulationsplats, everyone else says rondell.

How to get a Swedish driving licence as a newcomer

If your licence can't be exchanged (see below), you take a Swedish licence the same way a Swedish teenager does. For a car, category B, the steps are:

1. Apply for a körkortstillstånd (learner's permit) from Transportstyrelsen. You send a health declaration and an eyesight certificate (synintyg) from an optician or traffic school, no more than two months old. Applying is free, and the permit is valid for five years.
2. Practise driving (övningsköra), from the age of 16, at a driving school, privately with an approved supervisor (handledare), or both. A supervisor must be at least 24, have held a licence for the car category for at least five of the last ten years, and be approved by Transportstyrelsen for you. Since 1 August 2026 neither of you needs the old introductory course (introduktionsutbildning).
3. Take the risk awareness course (riskutbildning) in two parts. Part 1, riskettan, is about alcohol, drugs, fatigue and risky behaviour. Part 2, risktvåan, is about speed and driving in different road and weather conditions, and includes the skid pan (halkbana). Both must be done before the tests and count for at most five years.
4. Pass the theory test (kunskapsprov) at Trafikverket: 70 questions on a computer, 5 of which are unscored test questions, and you need 52 of the 65 that count, in 50 minutes.
5. Pass the driving test (körprov, in speech uppkörning) with an examiner. From 19 August 2026 a passed theory test for category B stays valid for a year, instead of four months, while you pass the driving test.
6. Drive on probation (prövotid) for two years. If your licence is revoked in that time, you start again with a new permit and both tests.

You need to be 18 for the licence itself, and you must show valid ID at both tests. Booking is done with Trafikverket, usually online with BankID.

Which languages is the theory test in?

For category B, Trafikverket offers the theory test in Swedish and in Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, British English, Finnish, French, German, Persian, Russian, Somali, Sorani, Spanish, Thai, Tigrinya and Turkish. If you can't read Swedish you can apply to take it with an interpreter, in a room of your own, with more time. You can also have the questions read aloud in Swedish while you do the test. On the practical test the examiner usually gives instructions in Swedish (ask Trafikverket if you need support), which is one more reason to know the words in this glossary.

Foreign licences: valid, exchangeable, or start again

The new EEA rule is aimed at people who swap their licence in another EEA country with easier rules and then exchange it in Sweden. From 1 May 2026, if your EEA licence was obtained by exchanging a licence from outside the EEA, Transportstyrelsen exchanges it only if it was issued after a driving test in an EEA country, if it originally came from the UK, the Faroe Islands, Japan or Switzerland, or if you had held it for at least five years before you settled in Sweden. Rules have exceptions and change, so check your own case with Transportstyrelsen before you rely on a foreign licence.

Signs, described in words

Swedish signs follow the European pattern, so many will look familiar. The shapes and colours tell you the type before you read the symbol:

Swedish warning and prohibitory signs have a yellow background where most of Europe uses white, so they stand out against snow. The official pictures of every sign are on Transportstyrelsen's pages: warning signs, give way signs, prohibitory signs, mandatory signs, information signs, supplementary plates and road markings.

Studying in Swedish: a few tips

• Learn the official word and the everyday one. Books say körriktningsvisare and cirkulationsplats, your instructor says blinkers and rondell.
• Break up the long compounds. Väjningspliktsmärke is väjningsplikt + märke, a give-way sign. Most of the scary words are two or three small ones.
• Watch the small words. Theory questions turn on får (may), måste (must), ska (shall), inte (not) and alltid (always). Read them twice.
• Say the words out loud. You will need them with the examiner. Tap Listen in the glossary, and check the sounds in our pronunciation guide.
• Numbers matter. Speeds, distances and times come up all the time; our Swedish numbers tool reads any number aloud.

New in Sweden? Our guide to the language when you move to Sweden covers SFI and the rest, and the Swedish holiday calendar tells you when the roads fill up: Midsummer, the July holidays and Christmas.

Sources

Trafikverket: Kunskapsprov B, Teoriprovet på annat språk. Transportstyrelsen: Körkortstillstånd, Riskutbildning bil, Handledare, Introduktionsutbildningen tas bort, Körkortsprovet giltigt i ett år, Ha utländskt körkort i Sverige, Skärpta utbyteskrav, Vinterdäck and Körkort och alkohol. All last checked 7 October 2026. The glossary is written by Lingolib and contains no questions from the theory test or any question bank.

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