How Much Does a Driving Licence Cost in Malta in 2026?

Transport Malta fees, item by item (2026)

These are the fees Transport Malta itself charges on the road from learner's permit to probationary licence. Every line comes from the Authority's own pages unless marked otherwise. Cash is not accepted — pay by card online or by bank transfer.

Add the compulsory lines together and the government's share of a first-time category B licence is €107.75 on the cheapest path (weekday test, first-time passes) or €124.50 with a Saturday practical. Everything above that is training, insurance and school admin — which is where the serious money goes.

How much are driving lessons in Malta?

Licensed motoring schools publish rates of roughly €20–€28 per one-hour lesson in 2026, and the price you pay depends more on the time of day than on where you live. Off-peak weekday mornings are cheapest; evenings and Saturdays cost a few euro more. Some schools sell shorter 45-minute slots at a lower headline price, so compare the price per hour, not per lesson.

On top of lessons, almost every school charges a one-off registration or application package that bundles the €23.25 permit fee with its own admin and a learner insurance cover: published examples run from €60 to €120. Most also charge a test-day fee for the use of the instructor's car and their time on the day, typically €95–€150 including the Transport Malta test fee.

Those are the schools that publish prices; many Maltese instructors only quote on WhatsApp. As a rule of thumb for the islands: central and northern Malta (Mosta, Birkirkara, Sliema, St Paul's Bay) sits at €21–€25 an hour, the south (Paola, Żejtun, Marsaskala) is similar or a euro or two cheaper, and Gozo has fewer schools and less published pricing, so ask two or three before committing.

How many lessons do you need?

There is no legal minimum number of hours in Malta, but every lesson on the Transport Malta Student Record Sheet must be signed off before a school can submit your practical test application. In practice, complete beginners take 15–25 hours; 20 hours at €22 is €440. Learners with private practice between lessons regularly finish nearer 12–15.

Worked totals: three realistic budgets

So the honest answer to "how much in total?" is €500–€750 for most learners, and around €1,000 if you fail once and need a handful of extra lessons. The official fees are the same for everybody; the spread is all lessons and retakes.

How much is a learner's permit in Malta?

€23.25, paid online to Transport Malta at licenzji-xufiera.gov.mt, and valid for three years. You must be 18 for category B (16 for e-kick-scooters, 18 for AM mopeds and A1, 20 for A2, 24 for A or 22 with two years on A2). Your doctor files the medical fitness form online and charges you separately. Third-country licence holders must also complete the DRV029 declaration, and anyone whose ID card was issued recently may be asked to prove 185 days' residence. Schools typically wrap the permit into a €60–€120 registration package; you can file it yourself for the bare €23.25 and name a licensed school or a private instructor (25+, five years on the category, insured, red L-plates).

How much is the theory test in Malta?

€30.25 per sitting at the Theory Test Centre on Gwardamangia Hill, Pietà, with a re-sit at €22.50. It is 35 multiple-choice questions, 30 correct to pass, 45 minutes. You need to be 18 and hold a learner's permit; bring your ID card. Transport Malta publishes the full question bank in English and Maltese for cars, motorcycles, trucks and buses, so a failed sitting is mostly a preparation problem. If you cannot take the test in Maltese or English, some schools arrange a translator for around €45 — the Authority's own free reading assistance covers those two languages only. Gozo residents can sit every second Monday at the NGO Centre in Xewkija.

How much is the practical driving test in Malta?

The Transport Malta fee is €23.25 on weekdays or €40.00 on a Saturday, submitted with form DRV022. What most learners actually pay is the school's test-day fee of €95–€150, which includes that Authority fee plus the instructor's car, insurance and time. Fail, and you re-apply and pay again; miss the slot, arrive more than 15 minutes late, or turn up with a car that fails the examiner's cursory check (expired road licence, bald tyres, broken lights) and you also lose the fee. Date changes are only granted for documented reasons at least a week ahead. The test opens with two "Show and Tell" safety questions and then follows one of the Malta driving test routes from your test centre. Our guide to the Malta practical driving test covers what the examiner marks.

Driving licence renewal fees in Malta

A full Maltese driving licence is renewed for €80.00 for up to ten years. From age 70 it becomes renewable every five years at €29.25, with a medical certificate. Holders of C, C1, D and D1 categories renew every five years with a medical certificate regardless of age. Transport Malta posts a renewal form 8–12 weeks before expiry; you can pay online with your e-ID using the reference on the form. One fee covers all categories you hold (except D-class holders over 50). Need the card fast? The urgent service is +€25 for next-working-day collection. Renewal is only granted if you carry fewer than 12 penalty points.

Lost licence, replacement card and change of details

A reprint of a lost, stolen or damaged photocard costs €18.00 (declaration form VEH39 plus ID copy) and keeps the original expiry date. A replacement licence counterpart is €8.00 and a replacement Driver Permit Tag is €20.00. Changing details such as an address or surname is done with the same forms; a new card with altered details is quoted by Transport Malta at €10.00. If a renewed photocard never arrives, report it within 90 days and the Authority reissues it free.

How much is a motorcycle licence in Malta?

Budget €400–€600 for an A1 (125 cc) licence and more for A2 or full A. The Transport Malta fees are identical to a car: €23.25 permit, €30.25 theory, €23.25 or €40 practical. Motorcycle schools charge €22–€25 per hour (Smart Motoring School €22; ThrottleX at Ta' Qali €25; Pisani €20–€25 for 45 minutes) and usually sell a 10-hour course — Pisani lists a 10-hour package at €180 including damage insurance. Application packages run €60–€100 and test-day fees €95–€100. Minimum ages are 18 for A1, 20 for A2 and 24 for A (22 with two years on A2). Smart and Pisani also list a 10-hour 125 cc course aimed at existing car-licence holders — ask the school exactly which entitlement it leads to before paying.

Exchanging a foreign driving licence in Malta

EU, EEA, Swiss, Australian, UK and (for Maltese or UAE nationals) UAE licences can be exchanged once you have lived in Malta for 185 days in the last 12 months. If your original licence is still valid, the Maltese one runs to the same expiry at €7 per year. If it has expired or is about to, the fee is €80 for ten years under 60, €7 per year plus a €10 card fee between 60 and 70, and €29.25 for five years from 70. Forms are DRV030 (EU/EEA), DRV014, DRV008 and DRV009 depending on the country. Any other foreign licence lets you drive for 12 months after arrival, after which you go through the full learner-permit-and-tests route above, with the DRV029 declaration.

Road licence (circulation tax): a different fee altogether

Many searches for "Malta licence fees" are really about the annual vehicle road licence, not the driver's licence. That is paid yearly to Transport Malta and is calculated from the vehicle's engine size, fuel, CO2 emissions and age (Transport Malta's POL-33 annual circulation fee list). For a typical post-2009 petrol car expect roughly €100–€650 a year; battery-electric cars are exempt for their first five years and then pay a nominal €10. Pay late and a €10-a-month administrative fine applies, capped at €100. Use Transport Malta's online road-licence renewal to see your exact figure.

How to pay less for your licence in Malta

• Practise privately between lessons. A private instructor needs only to be 25+, five years licensed on the category and insured, with red L-plates front and rear. Every supervised hour with a parent replaces a €22 lesson.
• Book off-peak. Pisani's own price list shows a €7 gap between a weekday-morning lesson and a Saturday-afternoon one; over 20 lessons that is €140.
• Take a weekday test. Saturday slots cost €16.75 more at the Authority and €20–€55 more at the school.
• Use the free question bank. Transport Malta publishes every theory question; a first-time pass saves €22.50 and weeks of waiting.
• Pick the school before paying a package. Switching is free at Transport Malta but schools charge €40–€80 to release you. One trial lesson first.
• File the permit yourself if you already have a doctor: €23.25 instead of a €60–€120 package.
• Learn the roads around your centre so you are not buying extra lessons just for orientation — the reasons Malta learners fail are mostly avoidable.

To practise the roads, SteerClear builds practice routes around each Maltese test centre and lets you drive them with turn-by-turn guidance and feedback, so paid lessons go on skills rather than on finding your way — see our round-up of driving test apps for Malta.

Sources and how we keep this page current

• Transport Malta — Obtaining your driving licence (permit €23.25, theory €30.25, practical €23.25 / €40, ages, no-show rule, urgent card €25)
• Transport Malta — Renewing your driving licence (€80 / €29.25, medical rules, urgent service)
• Transport Malta — Lost driving licences, counterparts or tags (€18 / €8 / €20)
• Transport Malta — Exchange your foreign driving licence (€7 per year, €80, €29.25, page updated 18 June 2026)
• Transport Malta — Licence fees for vehicles (annual circulation tax, POL-33)
• Royal Motoring School, Pisani Motoring School, Smart Motoring School, Elite Driving Academy and ThrottleX published price lists, checked September 2026

We re-check the Authority's pages and the schools' price lists each quarter and after any Government fee notice. Last checked 24 September 2026.