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What is the minimum age to drive and to rent a car in Norway?

Licence age, practice driving, rental limits and young driver fees.

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Short answer

You must be 18 to get a Norwegian licence for cars (class B), and rental companies set their own minimum age, which is 19 at Sixt. Sixt also requires a licence held for at least one year and charges a fee for drivers under 23. Private practice driving with a companion is allowed from 16.

Costs of renting a car in Norway a small car on a winding mountain road with a toll gantry and a snowflake road sign

Why

  1. Store norske leksikon lists 18 years as the minimum age for class B, which covers passenger cars and vans.
  2. Statens vegvesen says young people in Norway can already practise driving privately from the age of 16.
  3. Sixt says the minimum age for renting in Norway is 19 with a licence held for at least one year, and that an underage driver fee applies to those under 23.

Details

From 26 November 2028, Statens vegvesen says 17-year-olds will be able to get a class B licence, but until they turn 18 they must have a companion with them when they drive. Sixt adds that some car categories have a higher minimum age, and Visit Norway notes that rental companies may ask for a licence held for at least one year.

Tip

Check the minimum age, how long you must have held your licence and any young driver fee before you book, since the rules differ between companies and car categories.

What may differ

Visitors driving on a foreign licence follow other rules: the US State Department, for example, says US licences are valid in Norway for drivers aged 18, for up to three months after arrival.

People also ask

  • How old do you have to be to drive in Norway?
  • How old must you be to rent a car in Norway?

Sources

This answer is for reference only. Rules can change, so check Statens vegvesen and your rental company before you travel.

Costs of renting a car in Norway