CSDD

Overview

CSDD (Ceļu satiksmes drošības direkcija, the Road Traffic Safety Directorate) is the Latvian state body that runs the driving exams. This page covers category B, the licence for a car of up to 3,500 kg and eight passenger seats. The pages used here are in Latvian.

The route to a category B licence has three steps: training at a driving school, the state theory exam, and the state practical driving exam. Both state exams are taken at CSDD.

Who can apply

• The minimum age for category B is 18.

• You must complete training at a driving school and sign a written contract with the school before lessons begin.

• To book the theory exam you need an identity document (passport, eID or learning permit), a valid health check, completed first aid training, and the fee paid.

Exam pattern

Practical exam in detail

• The inspector gives you one task to check you can inspect the car, such as telling whether the car has winter or summer tyres, explaining how to check the engine oil level, switching on the lights or hazard lights, or checking tyre pressure and coolant and washer fluid levels.

• Driving in traffic lasts about 40 minutes, in varied traffic conditions.

• The computer picks two special manoeuvres from this list: parallel parking, perpendicular parking, emergency braking, a turn to drive in the opposite direction and judging the gap when pulling up to an obstacle such as a ticket machine.

• You also drive independently for at least 5 minutes on a route you choose.

• Marks are given for vehicle control, following traffic rules and safe behaviour on the road.

Marking and results

You see the practical exam result straight away. A copy of the exam protocol is available through e-CSDD or in person. If you pass, the licence is issued at a CSDD service centre. Disputes about a practical exam must be filed within one month, and CSDD replies within 30 days.

Fees

CSDD's price table for category B, last updated 1 March 2025:

How to apply

1. Choose an accredited driving school and sign the contract. Check the exam success statistics CSDD publishes before choosing.

2. Complete the school's theory course (traffic rules and traffic safety) and pass the school's own theory exam within one year of enrolling.

3. Register for the state theory exam through e-CSDD, a CSDD customer service centre, your driving school or by phone. You can cancel by notifying CSDD no later than the previous business day.

4. After passing the school's practical exam, register for the state practical exam in the same ways. It must be taken within three years of enrolling in the school.

After the exam

• A failed theory or practical exam can be retaken no sooner than the next business day.

• After you pass the theory exam, you must pass the practical exam within one year, or the theory exam must be taken again.

• Every driving lesson should be registered in e-CSDD, because lessons that are not registered do not count.

Preparation tips

• Practise the traffic rules online and in the school course before your school exam.

• Drive with a parent or another eligible supervisor to add to your lessons, as CSDD suggests.

• Practise the manoeuvre list and independent route choice, since the computer chooses your manoeuvres on the day.