Driver training for special groups
From 1 January 2024, only drivers who have completed the driver training for special groups may drive Kela taxis. Register and we will tell you the start date.
Who needs the training
The law does not oblige you to take the training. However, Kela has made it a condition for all Kela taxi drivers from 1 January 2024. If you drive or plan to drive taxi trips reimbursed by Kela, you need the training.
Other customers may set their own conditions. Always ask the customer or the dispatch service whose trips you drive.
What the training covers
The Traficom regulation divides the training into three parts:
- meeting customers who belong to special groups
- assisting customers with functional limitations and others who need special support
- special issues in school and day care transport
In the practical exercises you learn, among other things, to use a wheelchair lift and a wheelchair ramp and to secure a wheelchair and other aids in the vehicle.
Duration and format
The training takes 21 hours, of which at least 7 hours are practical teaching. Practical teaching is always face to face.
The theory can be taken as remote training in which you can ask the trainer questions in real time. Independent online study can be up to 7 hours. The training organiser gives you a certificate. The training is in Finnish.
If you held a taxi driver licence under the old, repealed law and can show that you completed the statutory training or further training of that time, you receive the certificate by completing the practical teaching.
Register
Leave your details and we will tell you the start date.
Sources, accessed 5 November 2026: Traficom regulation, Finlex · Kela: Kela taxi drivers are trained to meet special groups (in Finnish). This page is general information, not legal advice.