Questioned by Pirate MP , mobility minister (DP) provided details on driving licence pass rates... and on the prices of exams, which have risen considerably. Whilst the minister didn’t give any more figures on the rise in prices, she explained it partly as a result of “inflation and the rise in energy costs,” and partly because of the rate of failed exams, which “naturally has an impact on the price of the licence, since extra hours of lessons have to be taken and the exam has to be retaken.”

There are 38 approved driving schools in the country, as listed on the SNCA website. They were liberalised in 2011. This means that, since that date, the prices of driving lessons are no longer set by grand-ducal regulation. The schools are free to adapt their prices. After a quick search, it appears that prices range from €1,300 to as much as €1,700, including the theory test and the practical test, with no additional hours of driving.

In 2024, 13,640 theory tests were taken, with a failure rate of 25.91% (and 74.09% pass rate). For the practical exam, the failure rate was much higher, almost equal to the pass rate: 46.8% failed and 53.2% passed.

“Traffic is becoming more and more complex, as has the driving of vehicles with the multiplication of assistance systems in recent years,” says the mobility minister. It’s a surprising explanation, as these assistance systems are often meant to make driving easier and safer for drivers.

The , which will involve a number of changes to driver’s training, should “take these new challenges into account,” help to reduce the failure rate and, ultimately, the overall cost of the licence. The introduction of simulators to train future drivers is not ruled out, but will have to be the subject of reflection to study the possibilities and relevance of such a tool.

This article was originally published in .