Renewing heavy vehicle licence categories with a health certificate
You must renew your licence for heavy vehicle categories every five years. From the age of 66, and in some other cases, you must renew it more often.
“Heavy vehicle categories” refers to lorries (C, CE), light lorries (C1, C1E), buses (D, DE) and minibuses (D1, D1E). You need to submit a health certificate to renew your driving licence.
How to check the validity term of heavy categories
You will find the term of validity for the different categories on the back of your driving licence. You can also find how long the categories are valid if you log in to Your Page.
Validity terms of heavy vehicle licence categories
A driving entitlement for a heavy vehicle category is usually valid for five years.
Exceptions where the driving licence has a shorter term of validity:
- If you have reached the age of 70, your driving entitlement (licence category) is valid for one year at a time.
- If you have reached the age of 66, your driving entitlement (licence category) is valid until the day before you turn 71.
- A driving licence category may have a shorter term of validity due to your health.
- Categories C, CE, D and DE have a validity term of one year if you have not taken the safety course on the practice track (skidpan driving).
If the category expires, you are no longer entitled to drive
If your licence includes heavy vehicle categories that have expired, you do not have a driving entitlement for these categories until you have renewed your driving licence with a health certificate.
You need to submit a health certificate
You need to submit a valid health certificate before you can renew your driving licence for heavy vehicle categories. You can obtain such a certificate from your doctor.
If you have any issues with your eyesight that require you to see an optician or ophthalmologist, you also need to submit an eyesight certificate. Find out from your doctor whether this is necessary.
Before you see a doctor, you need to fill out a Personal Health Statement regarding your health. You and your doctor should then review this statement together.
Your health certificate cannot be more than three months old when we receive it.
Check how long your photo is valid before you renew!
If the photo has a shorter validity term than what your new health certificate gives you, the photo will limit how long your new driving licence will be valid. It may then be a good idea to book an appointment at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office to take a new photo. You can submit your health certificate at the same time.
You can renew your driving licence either online or at a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office (trafikkstasjon)
Most people can renew their driving licence online. If you need to take a new photo for your driving licence, you have to visit a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office.
On Your Page: Send your health certificate by post and renew it online
Send your health certificate to a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office (trafikkstasjon)
Some medical doctors/GPs are able to send health certificates digitally. If your regular doctor does not offer this service, you need to send the original health certificate to your local Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office.
You cannot send us your health certificate by email.
Wait for confirmation
You will receive confirmation by SMS and email once we have registered your health certificate. You can also see on Your Page that it has been registered.
It may take up to a week from the time we receive your health certificate, before it is registered in our systems.
Renew your driving licence on Your Page
Once you have been informed that your health certificate has been registered, you can renew your driving licence in our online facility on Your Page. Your old driving licence becomes invalid when you order a new driving licence.
If you have downloaded the app that gives you a digital driving licence, you can use your digital driving licence while waiting for your physical driving licence. If you do not have a digital driving licence, you can print a temporary driving permit once you have paid for your new driving licence.
Destroy your old driving licence
If you renew your driving licence online, you are yourself responsible for destroying your old driving licence. You can also choose to hand it in to a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office. You will then have to book an appointment in advance.
At a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office: Book an appointment and bring your health certificate
You need to book an appointment before you go to a Driver and Vehicle Licensing Office. Bring the original health certificate you have received from your doctor.
You need to hand in your old driving licence, and you will receive a temporary driving permit that you can use until you receive your new driving licence in the post. If you have downloaded the app that gives you a digital driving licence, you can use this while waiting for your new physical driving licence.
Have you taken the safety course on a practice track recently?
If you have taken the safety course on a practice track after obtaining your driving licence for categories C, D, or CE, and you only have a one-year term of validity for these categories, you can renew your driving licence on Your Page as soon as the driving school/ course organiser has informed us that you have completed the course.
You submitted a health certificate when you acquired the category, and the validity term of your new driving licence will be based on this health certificate.
Driving test required for C1 and C1E originally acquired as stamped-on entitlements
It was previously possible to obtain a driving entitlement for vehicles up to 7,500 kg, also with a trailer, without taking a driving test. This entitlement was entered on the driving licence with an ink stamp, a so-called "stamped-on entitlement”. You may have had this entitlement if you acquired Category B before 1 October 1992. If you have later had this stamped-on entitlement converted to Category C1 and perhaps also C1E on your driving licence, you can renew these driving licence categories with a health certificate for up to five years after the categories have expired.
The health certificate must be submitted to and registered with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, and you need to have ordered a new driving licence with the renewed category(-ies) C1/C1E within five years after the expiry date. If you do not do this, you will have to both submit a health certificate and pass a practical driving test before the categories can be renewed. If you wish to renew both C1 and C1E, you need to pass the driving test for Category C1E.
You do not need to take a new driving test if you have previously passed a practical driving test in connection with
- renewing the driving entitlement (licence category)
- having the driving entitlement (licence category) reinstated after your licence was revoked
- upgrading your driving licence to include an equal-level or more comprehensive category
If you only had the entitlement stamped on your driving licence
If you had the stamped-on entitlement on your driving licence, you had to renew it with a health certificate to get Category C1 or C1E by 1 January 2002. If you failed to do so, you lost your entitlement.
If you want Category C1 or C1E, you will have to acquire these categories in the regular way by completing mandatory training and passing all tests.
If you have upgraded from Category C1 to D1
If you have upgraded from Category C1 to Category D1, you passed a practical driving test when you acquired Category D1. Category D1 is equivalent to Category C1, so you do not have to take a driving test to renew Category C1. This applies even if you originally acquired Category C1 without taking a driving test.
If you acquired Category D1E on the basis of C1E without a test
If it has been more than five years since Categories C1E and D1E expired, you will need to pass a driving test in one of these categories before you can renew them.