Getting a driving licence in Groningen as an international student: the 2026 guide

Step zero: check whether you need driving school at all

If you already hold a foreign licence, start with the issuing country.

A valid licence issued in the EU or European Free Trade Association can generally be used in the Netherlands for up to 15 years after its issue date for categories including B and BE. If it was issued more than 15 years ago but remains valid, the RDW normally gives a two-year period from the date you moved to the Netherlands. Different periods apply to truck and bus categories.

A valid licence issued outside the EU or EFTA can normally be used for only 185 days after you become resident in the Netherlands. After that, you need a Dutch licence. Some foreign licences can be exchanged, including in particular circumstances connected to the Dutch expat tax scheme. If exchange is not possible, you must pass the Dutch theory and practical examinations.

Do not assume an international driving permit replaces the original licence or extends the 185-day period. It is normally only a translation used alongside the original document.

Use the RDW foreign-licence guidance and its exchange checklist before paying a driving school.

Step one: confirm that Groningen can issue the licence

Passing the CBR tests does not automatically guarantee that the municipality can issue the physical licence.

The CBR advises non-Dutch candidates to check their eligibility with the municipality before starting lessons. To receive a Dutch licence, you must normally have lived in the Netherlands for at least 185 days during the 365 days before the application. The municipality also checks your residence status.

Your identity information must match the Personal Records Database, or BRP. EU, EEA and Swiss nationals can generally identify themselves at the CBR with a valid passport or identity card. Students from other countries will normally need a valid Dutch residence document or another document specifically accepted by the CBR.

This check matters especially for exchange students staying for one semester. It is possible to spend thousands of euros and pass both tests before discovering that the municipality cannot yet issue the licence.

Build the administrative route first

For the usual online route, you will need municipal registration, a BSN, DigiD and access to Mijn CBR. In Mijn CBR you can:

• submit the Health Declaration;
• book your theory examination;
• authorise a driving school to book the practical examination;
• see examination appointments and results;
• withdraw a driving-school authorisation if you change schools.

Never give a school your DigiD password or approve a login request that you did not initiate. Authorising a school is something you do yourself inside Mijn CBR.

Submit the Health Declaration early. It costs €46.90 in 2026. If your answers require information from a doctor or an additional assessment, the process can take longer. A school promising a fixed examination date cannot override the CBR’s medical assessment.

What a Dutch licence really costs in 2026

The CBR reported that candidates who obtained a category B licence in 2025 spent an average of €3,320. They needed an average of 41 lesson hours, 2.5 theory attempts and two practical attempts. Because CBR fees and some lesson prices increased in 2026, a new student should treat €3,320 as historical evidence, not a guaranteed current budget.

The main official 2026 charges are:

• Standard Dutch theory examination: €50.50
• English theory examination: €57
• Health Declaration: €46.90
• CBR practical examination fee: €143.50
• CBR interim test fee: €143.50
• First driving licence application in Groningen: €53.65
• Passport photographs: additional cost

The €143.50 practical-examination fee is not normally the amount shown on a driving school’s invoice. Schools add the use of the car, the instructor’s time, administration and sometimes a lesson immediately before the test. Local advertised examination prices of approximately €289 to €340 can therefore be legitimate—but the school must explain what is included.

If an examination is already included in a package, do not add the CBR fee a second time when calculating the total.

Compare minutes, not the word “lesson”

One Groningen school may define a lesson as 50 minutes, another as 60 and another as 90. Twenty lessons therefore do not always represent twenty hours.

The following prices were publicly advertised on 29 August 2026. They are examples for comparison, not endorsements.

• Fast Lane Driving Groningen: free trial; €68.50 for 60 minutes; €101 for 90 minutes; €1,049 for 15 hours plus one practical exam; €1,949 for 30 hours plus exam; €2,449 for 39 hours plus exam. English courses are explicitly offered. Theory examination and Health Declaration are excluded.
• WOLF: €60 for a 100-minute trial; €67 for a 50-minute individual lesson; Start & Go from €1,737 for 20 lessons and an exam; Compact from €2,667 for 25 lessons, an interim test and exam guarantee. Groningen is listed as a service city, but confirm local availability, English instruction and the exact package price.
• Driving School Groningen: packages advertised from €935 for 10 lessons plus exam to €2,399 for 40 lessons plus exam. The page promotes English instruction, but does not make every inclusion and lesson duration equally clear. Ask for a written itemised quotation.
• Rijschool Groningen/ROVAVO: English-speaking instructors and a free trial are advertised. No detailed public price list was found during this check. Obtain a written price before committing.

A free trial is useful only if it produces a realistic assessment. Ask the instructor to write down:

• the estimated number of clock hours you need;
• whether that estimate assumes manual or automatic transmission;
• the price of extra lessons outside the package;
• the school’s complete examination charge;
• what happens to unused lessons;
• the cancellation and refund rules;
• how many lessons per week it can actually schedule.

Do not buy a 15-lesson package because it looks complete when the national average is 41 lesson hours.

Use the CBR data, not the school’s own success claim

Search every candidate school in the official CBR Rijschoolzoeker. It publishes the school’s first-attempt pass rate, overall pass rate and number of examinations. The current measurement period is 1 July 2025 through 30 June 2026, with figures refreshed quarterly.

Sample size matters. A 75 percent rate based on four examinations tells you less than a 55 percent rate based on 150. Compare schools operating around the same CBR centre and do not rely on a screenshot supplied by the school.

Check that the business name, CBR registration and name displayed on the lesson car agree. Ask to see the instructor’s valid WRM qualification card. An attractive English website is not proof that the person collecting payment is the registered school.

The English theory examination is a real CBR examination

The category B theory examination is available in English at all CBR theory locations. Book it directly through Mijn CBR and select “Theorie-examen Engels auto.” Avoid lookalike booking websites that add unnecessary administration charges.

Since April 2025, the examination has consisted of 50 questions in one continuous test. You have 30 minutes and need at least 44 correct answers. The test can include short animations and measures whether you can apply traffic rules, not only repeat definitions.

A successful theory result remains valid for 18 months. If you do not pass the practical test during that period, you must take theory again.

For another language, the CBR offers an individual theory examination with an approved interpreter. The 2026 CBR fee is €118.50, and the interpreter is paid separately.

Do not assume the practical test will automatically be in English

An English-speaking instructor can teach you in English, but the practical examination is conducted by the CBR. Ask the school before signing how it handles language during the test.

The CBR permits an official interpreter during a category B practical examination. The instructor may also act as interpreter if they have the necessary language ability and a valid WRM card. The school must indicate the interpreter arrangement when booking the examination.

The complete practical examination lasts approximately 55 minutes, including introductions and the result discussion. The driving section lasts approximately 35 minutes. You must bring the accepted original identity document, have a valid theory result and have received medical clearance.

Manual or automatic is a legal choice, not just a lesson preference

Automatic lessons can reduce the workload for some students and may be easier to schedule with an electric car. However, passing the examination in an automatic vehicle places code 78 on the licence. That licence permits you to drive only automatic vehicles.

To remove code 78 later, you generally need to pass another practical examination in a manual car. If you expect to rent inexpensive cars abroad or use an employer’s manual vehicle, include that limitation in the decision.

Groningen teaches more than the examination route

A useful local course should expose you to:

• cyclists approaching from both sides;
• bicycle priority at junctions and roundabouts;
• 30 km/h streets;
• bus lanes and restricted access;
• motorway joining and leaving;
• rural roads outside the city;
• driving in darkness, rain and peak-hour bicycle traffic;
• independent navigation rather than memorising an “exam route.”

Be suspicious of a school that teaches only repeated routes. The examiner can change the route, while your licence must work everywhere.

Protect the money before buying a package

Paying in instalments reduces the amount exposed if a school closes, cannot provide lessons or turns out to be unsuitable. Before paying a large amount, obtain terms covering refunds, lesson expiry, instructor changes and cancellations.

Do not let a school reserve an examination until you understand its readiness criteria. Equally, do not choose a school that repeatedly delays the test without showing your progress. Ask for a lesson card or app that records which skills have been completed.

If you change schools, withdraw the old authorisation in Mijn CBR and request a copy of your progress record.

After passing

You can apply for the licence at the Municipality of Groningen from the day after you pass. A first application costs €53.65 in 2026, excluding photographs. The municipality says the document is normally ready after five working days.

Bring the documents requested for your nationality and residence status. You cannot drive independently merely because the examiner told you that you passed; wait until the licence has been issued and collected.

The shortest reliable plan

1. Check whether your foreign licence remains valid or can be exchanged.
2. Ask Groningen municipality whether you satisfy the residence requirements.
3. Set up DigiD and Mijn CBR.
4. Compare at least two schools using clock minutes, written prices and CBR results.
5. Take a trial lesson before buying a package.
6. Submit the Health Declaration early.
7. Study for the official English theory test and pass it before the result becomes a scheduling problem.
8. Review progress after every ten lesson hours.
9. Confirm the practical-test language arrangement in writing.
10. Keep a reserve for extra lessons and at least one additional examination.

A good school is not the one with the lowest introductory price. It is the one that can explain, in English and in writing, how much training you probably need, how progress is measured and what happens when the first estimate is wrong.