In the Czech Republic, learning to drive happens entirely in a driving school. Act 247/2000 says that training for a driving licence may be provided only by a driving-school operator, so every kilometre you drive before the exam is driven with your instructor. The L17 scheme, in force since January 2024, lets 17-year-olds drive with a registered mentor, but only after they have completed the full course and passed the final exam.
With no practice outside lessons, how you use those lessons decides how ready you are. This guide explains how the driving exam works, what the figures say about retakes, and how to plan your lessons around the exam.
How the driving exam works
The exam is not held at a national test centre. It is run by the municipal authority with extended powers (ORP office) through an examiner (zkušební komisař) employed by that office, on public roads in and around the town. There are about 205 ORP towns, and your driving school will tell you which office examines its pupils.
You take the exam in your driving school's car, with your instructor in the instructor's seat. For category B the law sets at least 10 minutes for the first part (moving off, reversing, parking and other manoeuvres) and at least 20 minutes for the second part, driving in traffic, including junctions and roads outside built-up areas. The exam rules require roundabouts and junctions with traffic lights, and motorway slip roads or tunnels where the exam area has them.
No published routes
There is no official list of exam routes. The examiner directs you on the roads around the office, so the useful preparation is knowing that area well: its roundabouts, traffic-light junctions, tram lines in the cities that have them, and the roads out of town where the speed limit rises.
Why three attempts matter
Ministry of Transport figures reported by Czech Television in October 2026 show more than 590,300 first attempts at the category B driving part since July 2021. About 30,500 people failed it for the third time, more than 5%, and around 19,000 went back for more training before a fourth attempt. Retraining after three failed driving attempts costs roughly 14,000 to 24,000 Kč, so lessons spent well before the first attempt are the cheapest ones you will take.
Getting the most from each lesson
- Know where you will be examined. Ask your school which ORP office runs your exam and spend your later lessons on the roads around it.
- Ask for the hard parts. Multi-lane roundabouts, traffic-light junctions, tram tracks and the roads out of town are worth driving more than once.
- Do not neglect the first part. Moving off, reversing and parking come before the drive in traffic, so keep practising them right up to the exam.
- Preview before you drive. Look at the route at home before the lesson, so lesson time goes on driving rather than on finding your way.
- Finish with mock exams. In the last lessons, ask your instructor to give directions only, the way an examiner would, and talk the drive through afterwards.
- Keep a short note. One thing that went well and one thing to work on, after every lesson.
Common mistakes on the exam drive
- Roundabout signalling. In the Czech Republic you signal when leaving a roundabout, so check your mirrors and signal in good time before your exit.
- Trams. Know who has priority where tram tracks cross your path, and look for trams before you turn.
- Speed changes. Watch for the signs at the start and end of built-up areas and adjust as you pass them.
- Observation at junctions. Look properly both ways, then look again for cyclists and pedestrians.
SteerClear practice routes in the Czech Republic
SteerClear has nearly 300 practice routes from 30 exam locations in the largest Czech towns, from Praha and Brno to Ostrava, Plzeň and Olomouc. A typical route is about 16 km and takes just under half an hour, and most include at least one roundabout. They are practice routes on the roads around each office, not the route an examiner will choose on the day.
Bring SteerClear to your lessons
Pick your exam location in the SteerClear app and preview its routes at home, so you know where the tricky junctions and speed changes are before you get in the car. At the start of a lesson, show your instructor the route you would like to drive and drive it together, with turn-by-turn navigation and live scoring. The score after each drive shows you both what improved and what to work on in the next lesson, and Mac, your AI driving coach, helps you decide what to practise next.
Find your centre among the 30 on the Czech Republic exam locations page, read the Czech practical driving test guide, and download SteerClear to plan your next lesson.