Can You Start Learning to Drive Before 18 in Uzbekistan?

In short: a car licence is issued from 18, but the law checks your age at the end of training and at the exam, not on the day you enrol. So you can start at 17 if you turn 18 before the course ends. Licences for motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are available from 16.

What the law says

Minimum ages are set by Article 44 of the Law on Road Traffic of 19 January 2024; training is governed by the Traffic Rules and the exam regulation (Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 408). As of October 2026:

Category	What you can drive	Minimum age at the end of training and at the exam
A1	mopeds and scooters	16
A	motorcycles and electric motorcycles	16
B	cars up to 3.5 t with up to 8 passenger seats, except taxis	18
C	trucks over 3.5 t	18
BE, CE	with a trailer	19 under the Traffic Rules, plus 12 months' experience
D, taxi, tram, trolleybus	passenger transport	21

The key wording in the Traffic Rules (clause 149) is that a learner must be at least 18 "by the end of training" for categories B and C. The exam regulation (clause 25) says the same: once training ends, people who have reached 18 are admitted to the exams. To book with a private exam centre, the applicant must also have reached the age set by Article 44 of the law when applying.

The practical upshot: you can enrol at 17, but you cannot sit the exam before your birthday.

When to enrol if you are 17

A category B course in Tashkent usually takes anywhere from 2.5–3 to 4–5 months, depending on the school and schedule. Count back from your 18th birthday:

• Three-month course: enrol about three months before your birthday.
• Four-to-five-month course: four to five months before.
• Weekend-only lessons: add another month.

Example: a student turns 18 in mid-March. If he enrols in November on a four-month course, the school's final tests fall in March, and he can book the official exam straight after his birthday.

Do not start too early. Finish six months before turning 18 and your driving will go rusty, so you will end up paying for extra hours before the exam anyway. Course length and whether it can be shortened are covered in how long driving school takes.

Before enrolling, check that the school accepts 17-year-olds. Most do if the 18th birthday falls before the course ends, but a school may set its own conditions. Contracts with minors are usually signed with a parent involved.

What you can do at 16–17

Study the theory. Since 1 February 2026, attending theory classes at a driving school is optional for categories A and B. That suits teenagers: you can work through the rules at 16 or 17 and come to the school for the driving itself. Just remember that a theory pass is valid for two months, so sit the actual test closer to the practical.

Get a motorcycle or scooter licence. From 16 you can train and test for category A. Since April 2026, mopeds and scooters form subcategory A1, which needs no compulsory course: you can prepare on your own and go straight to the theory test (16 correct out of 20) and the practical. Under the Traffic Rules, mopeds and scooters may be ridden from 16. Schools with motorcycle courses are listed under category A in Tashkent.

Medical certificate: closer to the course. Get the 083 certificate shortly before the course starts, as you need it for both training and the exam. Validity is covered in the 083 medical certificate.

How learning at 17 differs in practice

Seventeen-year-olds usually pick up car control faster than adults: less fear, quicker reactions, the wheel and pedals click within a couple of lessons. The weak point is overconfidence. Teenagers start rushing on the practice ground early, cut corners and misjudge gaps in city traffic.

Our advice to parents:

• do not cut practice to the minimum, even if your child "already knows how";
• ask the instructor to hold at least a couple of lessons at rush hour on the Small Ring Road or in Chilanzar, where traffic is dense;
• do not hand over a car the day after the test: for the first months it is better to drive with an experienced driver alongside.

Exceptions: who may sit the exam before 18

The regulation (clause 54) lets two groups take the exams before 18:

• students of the Temurbeklar maktabi military academic lyceum;
• conscripts trained as drivers by the Ministry of Defence.

They receive a category B and/or C licence, with the special notes field showing the date (after they turn 18) from which they may drive. Ordinary driving school students get no such exception.

Driving without a licence: what the family risks

The classic story: a teenager is at driving school, drives confidently, and the parents let them take the car "just to the shop". Under Article 135 of the Code of Administrative Liability, driving without the right to drive is fined 5 BCU, and the person who handed over the wheel is fined the same. With the BCU at 440,000 soum, that is 2.2 million soum each.

Put simply: a learner who has not passed the test drives only with an instructor, in a training car with dual pedals, on approved routes. Anything else is a risk to them and to everyone around them.

A plan for a 17-year-old

1. Note your 18th birthday and work out which month to enrol.
2. Start on the traffic rules early, even at 16.
3. Choose a school and schedule. Browse driving schools in Tashkent or go straight to category B courses.
4. Get the 083 certificate a month before the course starts.
5. Book the exam right after your birthday while the skills are fresh.

If you would like us to find a school that accepts 17-year-olds and fits your district and lesson times, leave a request for driving school matching.