Code 95 in your driving licence shows you have professional driver competence and can drive a lorry or bus for payment. When the code expires, you do not lose your driving licence. You regain the competence by taking a 35-hour refresher course.
What is Code 95 and professional driver competence (YSK)?
Code 95 is the proof that you have professional driver competence (YSK). In Norway, the code is in field 12 on the back of your driving licence, like this: 95(01.09.25). The date in brackets is your expiry date.
YSK is the right to drive freight or passenger transport for payment in classes C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE (yrkessjåførforskriften § 2). This requirement is in addition to the driving licence, not instead of it (§ 1).
You must always carry the certificate with you when driving (§ 34): the driving licence with Code 95 or a separate blue YSK card. Freight and passenger transport are two separate competences (§ 3).
YSK is not the same as a taxi licence — different rules apply for taxi drivers with a licence and permit.
Who must have YSK — and who does not?
Anyone who drives freight or passengers for payment in heavy classes must have YSK, says Statens vegvesen. Private driving is not covered because it does not happen for payment.
The exemptions are listed in yrkessjåførforskriften § 1 andre ledd bokstav a–j. The regulation does not apply to drivers of:
- a) vehicles for the Armed Forces, civil defence, police, fire service, ambulance service or public road control when only they can carry out the task
- b) test driving for technical development, repair or maintenance, and new or rebuilt vehicles not yet in service
- c) vehicles in emergency situations or rescue operations
- d) driving that is part of training for a driving licence or YSK
- e) transport of materials, machinery, tools or equipment you need in your trade when driving is not your main activity
- f) vehicles that cannot travel faster than 45 km/h
- g) transport of pupils in education when the driver is employed and responsible for the passengers
- h) vehicles from agriculture, horticulture, forestry, breeding or fishery for own production within 100 km when driving is not your main activity
- i) sporadic freight transport in your own business in rural areas that is not offered to others; Statens vegvesen can approve it after application
- j) buses in class D or D1 driven without passengers to a nearby workshop when driving is not your main activity
There is no weight limit in the list: the craft exemption in paragraph e is about your main activity, not how heavy the vehicle is. SamfunnPrep brings together more rules on work immigration to Norway.
How to renew: 35 hours of refresher training every five years
You renew YSK by taking a 35-hour refresher course at an approved training provider within every five years (§ 12). There is no exam after the course.
The hours are 60-minute clock hours (§ 2). The course is five modules, normally five days of seven hours each; two of the days can be split into 3.5 hours over two consecutive days.
You must attend all 35 hours (§ 14 andre ledd). If you miss one day, you must make up the hours before the course is approved. The course must be completed within six months of starting, even if you change training provider (§ 13).
Freight and passenger transport have separate courses (§§ 51 and 52). If you have completed refresher training for one, you can extend to the other with at least seven hours instead of a full 35-hour course (§ 50 femte ledd and § 53).
Code 95 has expired — do I lose my job and driving licence?
No, you do not lose your driving licence. Yrkessjåførforskriften only regulates the right to drive for payment, not your driving rights in class C, CE, D or DE.
§ 3 siste ledd puts it clearly: 'Expired professional driver competence is restored by completing refresher training.' So you do not retake the basic training, and no deadline shuts you out for good.
But you cannot drive for payment until the certificate is renewed. Driving professionally without valid YSK can be punished with fines or imprisonment for up to one year (vegtrafikkloven § 31).
Take the course in the last six months before expiry
If you take the refresher training in the last six months before the certificate expires, the new five years are counted from the old expiry date (§ 35 andre ledd). Then you lose no days.
An example: your code expires on 1 September 2027. If you take the course in March 2027, you get a new Code 95 until 1 September 2032. If you take it in February 2027, outside the window, the five years run from the first working day after the last course day — and you lose six months of validity.
You also have two separate deadlines:
| What | Duration | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| Code 95 (YSK) | 5 years from when the certificate was issued or renewed | yrkessjåførforskriften § 35 |
| Driving licence class C, CE, D, DE | 5 years from the date on the medical certificate | førerkortforskriften § 4-1 |
| The refresher training itself | completed within 6 months of starting | yrkessjåførforskriften § 13 |
From age 66, the driving licence for heavy classes may have shorter validity. Check both dates on Your page on Statens vegvesen's website.
What does it cost, and who pays?
The course is the main expense; the fee to the state is small. A new card costs 270 kroner at an attended traffic station appointment and 160 kroner via online self-service, with rates from 1 February 2026.
The course price is set by the training provider and is normally around 10,000–13,000 kroner in 2026. NAF Trafikksenter, for example, charges 12,500 kroner for the 35-hour course in 2026. Check the price with your own training provider.
No rule says the employer must pay; the obligation is on the individual driver (§ 12). Many employers cover the course anyway. If the amount is to be deducted from your salary, it must be agreed in writing beforehand (arbeidsmiljøloven § 14-15 tredje ledd bokstav c).
If you are a job seeker, NAV (arbeids- og velferdsetaten) can cover the course as labour market training. This is an assessment in each case, not a right. See the overview of NAV measures that can cover courses and training and what the driving licence costs in 2026.
Do you have YSK from another country — EEA or outside?
Code 95 from Poland, Lithuania, Latvia or another EEA country (Det europeiske økonomiske samarbeidsområdet) is valid in Norway as long as the date on the card applies (§ 36 første ledd). You do not need to retake anything here.
If you switch your EEA driving licence to a Norwegian one, the competence must be noted in the new licence (§ 36 andre ledd) — see how to convert your driving licence from EU/EEA to Norwegian. If you do not switch, you get a separate certificate for training you take in Norway, which you renew at a traffic station (§ 36 tredje ledd). If you live or work in Norway, you can take the refresher training here (§ 7).
If you are not an EEA citizen and drive freight transport for a business in the EEA, your YSK is documented with a driver's attestation marked with Code 95 (§ 37 første ledd). The employer applies for the driver's attestation (forordning (EF) nr. 1072/2009). It does not replace Code 95: the application must contain a copy of your driving licence with Code 95 or a valid professional driver certificate from the EU/EEA.
If you drive passenger transport without a Norwegian driving licence, you receive a separate professional driver certificate instead (§ 37 andre ledd). If you have two nationalities and one of them is in an EEA country, you are not considered a third-country national (§ 4). If you lack a Norwegian driving licence in heavy class, start with the rules for driving licence from countries outside the EEA.
Check your date in good time
If you have less than six months left on Code 95, book the course now — then you keep the full five-year period.
Yrkessjåførforskriften was amended twice in 2026, last on 17 July 2026, and the EEA reference is now direktiv (EU) 2022/2561. The information here has been checked against Lovdata and Statens vegvesen on 29 July 2026.
The rules on work, rights and public authorities in Norway are also part of the curriculum for the Samfunnskunnskapsprøven exam. Practice for free on SamfunnPrep, which has tasks in multiple languages.
