More and more Austrian citizens are coming over to Hungary to get their driver’s licence significantly cheaper, the major Hungarian tabloid Blikk reported. As they wrote, there are a total of ten driving schools operating in the north-western city of Sopron, which is unusually high for its population of just 62,000. These schools are staying in business thanks to their influx of foreign clientele.
Currently, it costs about half as much to get your driver’s licence in Hungary than in Austria.
In Hungary, that would cost you around 375,000 HUF (€987) provided there are no major setbacks from failed exams. Meanwhile, in Austria, the total cost of getting the permit to operate a vehicle is around €1,950, according to Blikk’s estimations.
All EU Member States accept the licences issued by each other as valid within their respective countries. In Austria specifically, however, a foreign EU driver’s permit must be exchanged for an Austrian one within five years—no additional exams need to be taken for that, one just needs a doctor’s examination and some paperwork done. This procedure is handled by local police stations. Minimal fees are attached to this, so it is still well worth for an Austrian person to travel to Hungary and go through driver’s school here.
How to Get a Driver’s Licence in Hungary in 2023
In Hungary, you need to be at least 16 years of age to enter a driving school course. You also need at least an eighth-grade education, as well as a doctor’s clearance.
Three types of exams need to be passed before you can get your licence and hit the roads. The first one is a purely theoretical KRESZ (Hungarian traffic code) exam. This plays out as any exam you would take in college or secondary school: it is a written questionnaire where you need to score above a certain threshold to pass.
The second part is actual on-the-road driving. Authorities used to require a so-called ‘routine’ examination as well, where the basic vehicle operation skills were tested away from a real-life traffic set—however, that was done away with in 2012. Now the student drivers’ vehicle operation competence needs to be demonstrated on the road in actual traffic right away. Once this is all done, all you need is to complete a first-aid course to be done with your driver’s education and get your licence.
Hungarian driver’s licences expire every five years. However, you do not need to take any exams to renew them. You only need a routine check-up completed by your general practitioner and pay a small one-time fee.
