Is it easy to drive in Finland?
For most visitors, yes. Traffic keeps to the right, and you generally pay no road tolls. What you do need to plan for is the distance, especially if you head north to Lapland, and the winter.
Helsinki to Turku is 169 km, under two hours without breaks, and Helsinki to Tampere is 180 km, also under two hours. Savonlinna in the lake district is 334 km from Helsinki, about three and three-quarter hours. Rovaniemi in Lapland is 832 km from Helsinki, about nine and a half hours. From Rovaniemi it is 169 km to Levi, about two hours, and 257 km to Saariselkä, about three hours. We calculated all these drives with Roadme on 30 September 2026, for a petrol car leaving at 09:00 on Tuesday 6 October 2026. In snow and ice, allow more time.
The calculator above prices any of these drives. If you drive on to Sweden or Norway, it also adds the tolls and bridges on the way, and every ferry it has a fare for. To add stops, use the route planner.
Can I drive in Finland with a foreign licence?
A driving licence from an EU or EEA country is valid in Finland, and you do not need an International Driving Permit or a translation with it.
Finland and some 110 other countries, including the USA and the UK, have signed the 1949 Geneva or the 1968 Vienna road traffic convention. As a visitor to Finland, you may drive on a valid licence from any of these countries, or from Hong Kong, Macao or Taiwan. If the police stop you, show your licence together with an International Driving Permit or an official translation into Finnish, Swedish or English. You do not need either if your licence clearly shows the licence categories and how long it is valid. A licence without a photo is only valid together with photo ID.
The UK government says you do not need an International Driving Permit in Finland with a UK photocard licence; with an old paper licence, you need to update it to a photocard or get an IDP. Car hire companies often have stricter requirements of their own, such as a year of driving experience, a minimum age or an IDP, so check with them.
Whatever your licence, you must meet Finland's age and health requirements; the minimum age for driving a car is 18. Always carry your licence when you drive: not having it with you can cost EUR 40.
If you live permanently in a convention country other than Finland and your car is registered in a convention country, you may use it in Finland for up to one year from the day you arrive. The car must have its home number plates, its nationality sign and motor insurance valid in Finland, and you must carry its registration certificate and proof of your right to use the car, unless it is registered in the name of a person on board. For a UK car, the UK government says to carry the log book (V5C), or a VE103 certificate if the car is hired or leased in the UK, and your insurance certificate; it also says you do not need a green card in the EU. If your number plate does not show the UK identifier with the Union flag, put a UK sticker on the back of the car.
Sources: Traficom: driving in Finland with a foreign licence, Traficom: car licence, Driving Licence Act §§ 5, 32, 60 and 93, Vehicles Act §§ 125–126, GOV.UK: International Driving Permit, GOV.UK: Finland travel advice, GOV.UK: driving in the EU. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Border control, passport and customs
Finland is in the EU and the Schengen area, and in normal circumstances the Finnish Border Guard does not check people at the borders with Sweden and Norway. On the Finnish side you can cross them at any point if you have no goods to declare. Carry your passport or national ID card anyway: Sweden has temporary checks at all its internal borders, including the land border with Finland, until 11 November 2026. Finland's border with Russia is closed: all eight crossing points have been shut since 15 December 2023, and on 4 June 2026 the Finnish government decided they will stay closed until further notice.
If you are not an EU citizen and come for a short stay (if you are British or American, for example), you are registered in the EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) when you cross the external Schengen border, for example when you land at an airport. The first time you enter, border officers photograph your face and/or scan your fingerprints, and your passport is no longer stamped. The EES has been fully in operation since 10 April 2026. The ETIAS travel authorisation is not in use yet: the EU last said, in April 2026, that it is scheduled for the last quarter of 2026 and that it will announce the start date in advance.
From Sweden or another EU country, you may bring alcohol for your own use tax-free. Finnish Customs uses guide levels, not fixed quotas: 110 litres of beer, 90 litres of wine (no more than 60 litres of it sparkling), 20 litres of drinks up to 22% such as liqueur or sherry, and 10 litres of spirits. Each level is separate: less beer does not allow more wine. Above these levels you must show that the alcohol is for your own use. You must carry the alcohol yourself, in the vehicle you arrive in. You must be 18 to bring in any alcohol, and if you are under 20, you may only bring mild alcoholic drinks. For your own use you may also bring 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars and 250 grams of roll-your-own, pipe or waterpipe tobacco.
Norway is outside the EU customs union, so from Norway the duty-free allowance is 16 litres of beer, 4 litres of still wine, and either 1 litre of spirits or 2 litres of drinks up to 22%. Other goods are tax-free up to EUR 300 in total when you arrive by car. If you are coming from Norway with goods to declare, go through a customs office: Kilpisjärvi, Kivilompolo, Karigasniemi, Utsjoki, Nuorgam or Näätämö. Cash worth EUR 10,000 or more must be declared when you arrive from outside the EU, for example from Norway, but not when you come from another EU country.
You may bring meat, milk and other food of animal origin from EU countries and Norway for your own use. Because of African swine fever, which was first found in Finland in July 2026, you may only bring pork and wild boar products in packaging with the oval EU identification mark. Fresh fruit, berries and vegetables from Norway need a phytosanitary certificate. From other countries, such as the UK or the USA, you may not bring meat, meat products, milk or dairy products; the only exception is up to 2 kg of infant formula, baby food and special foods needed for medical reasons. Fresh fruit and vegetables from these countries also need a phytosanitary certificate.
Sources: Finnish Border Guard: border crossings, European Commission: temporary border controls, Ministry of the Interior: eastern border, Finnish Customs: alcohol, Finnish Customs: tobacco, Finnish Customs: arriving in Finland, Finnish Customs: cash, Finnish Food Authority: food, Finnish Food Authority: African swine fever. Updated: 30 September 2026.
More sources: EU: how the EES works, EU: ETIAS, EU: EES questions and answers, European Commission: EES and ETIAS, 28 April 2026. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Speed limits and speed cameras in Finland
The speed limit is 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h elsewhere, unless a sign says otherwise. Many main roads have a 100 km/h limit in summer, and motorways up to 120 km/h where signed. In winter, limits on many main roads are lowered, typically from 100 to 80 km/h. The winter limits come in during October and November, so watch the signs.
With a trailer of up to 750 kg you may drive no faster than 100 km/h, and with a heavier trailer or caravan no faster than 80 km/h.
The police use fixed and mobile speed cameras. Fixed cameras are signposted; mobile ones are not. Before issuing a fine, the police usually deduct 3 km/h from the measured speed, or 3% (rounded up) at speeds above 100 km/h.
Sources: Road Traffic Act § 9, Fintraffic: 120 km/h on E18, Main road 1 and Main road 7, Liikenneturva: winter speed limits, Traficom: towing a trailer, Poliisi: automatic traffic surveillance. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Speeding fines in Finland: fees and day-fines
Up to 20 km/h over the limit, speeding in Finland costs a fixed traffic penalty fee that does not depend on your income. It is higher where the limit is 60 km/h or lower. The Road Traffic Act sets these amounts, in euros:
| Over the limit | Limit 60 km/h or lower | Limit above 60 km/h |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 10 km/h | 100 | 70 |
| 11–15 km/h | 170 | 140 |
| 16–20 km/h | 200 | 170 |
| More than 20 km/h | day-fines* | day-fines* |
* More than 20 km/h over the limit is a traffic crime, punished with day-fines; for a car driver the fine is at least EUR 200, and a driving ban is possible.
The size of a day-fine depends on your income: one day-fine is 1/60 of your average monthly net income after deducting a basic allowance of EUR 255, and never less than EUR 6. The number of day-fines depends on the offence, so the higher your income, the more you pay for the same offence.
Other fees: using a hand-held phone, driving without lights or running a red light cost EUR 100 each; not wearing a seat belt or breaking the child seat rules, EUR 70; and breaking the winter tyre rules, EUR 100. For two or more offences at once, you pay the highest fee plus EUR 40.
Camera fines reach you afterwards. For offences caught on camera, the registered owner, keeper or temporary user of the car pays the fee, unless they can show that they most likely did not commit the offence. For a car registered in another EU country, the police can send the notice to its owner or keeper. You can pay as soon as you receive the notice; you have to pay once the decision becomes final, normally 30 days after you receive it if you do not ask for a review.
Sources: Road Traffic Act §§ 160–171, 175–178 and 186, Poliisi: automatic traffic surveillance, Oikeus.fi: fines, Legal Register Centre: paying fines. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Drink-drive limit in Finland: 0.5‰
Driving with 0.5‰ or more alcohol in the blood, or 0.22 mg/l in the breath, is a crime in Finland, punished with day-fines or up to 6 months in prison. From 1.2‰ (0.53 mg/l in the breath), it can count as aggravated drink-driving, punished with at least 60 day-fines or up to 2 years in prison. Even below the limit, the police can stop you from driving on if alcohol clearly affects your driving.
The police can breath-test any driver, even without suspicion. If you refuse, they can take a blood test.
Sources: Criminal Code, chapter 23, Road Traffic Act § 183, Coercive Measures Act. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Winter tyres and winter driving in Finland and Lapland
From November to March, cars must have winter tyres whenever the weather or the road conditions require them. Tread must be at least 3 mm. Since December 2024, non-studded winter tyres must carry the 3PMSF symbol, a three-peaked mountain with a snowflake; tyres marked only M+S no longer count as winter tyres on a car.
Studded tyres are allowed from the start of November to the end of March, and at other times when the weather or the road conditions require them. They must be on all wheels, and if your car has studded tyres, a trailer over 750 kg must have winter tyres. You may use snow chains if they do not badly damage the road surface. Breaking the winter tyre rules costs EUR 100.
In Lapland, towns are far apart, so check the road conditions before you set off: Fintraffic's free Traffic Situation service shows disruptions, road weather, road cameras and which ice roads are open.
Sources: Road Traffic Act §§ 105–106, Traficom: 3PMSF symbol, Fintraffic: Traffic Situation. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Lights, warning triangle, right of way and phones
Headlights or daytime running lights must be on at all times when you drive, and you must use headlights in the dark, at dusk and in poor visibility. Every car must carry a warning triangle. If you stop on the carriageway outside a built-up area where the car could endanger traffic, put out the warning triangle.
Unless signs say otherwise, you give way to traffic coming from the right. When you turn, give way to pedestrians and cyclists crossing the road you turn into, and when you drive out of a yard, a car park or a petrol station, give way to everyone. On roads with a limit of 60 km/h or lower, let a bus pull out when it signals from a stop.
You must not hold your phone while driving; hands-free use is allowed. Everyone must wear a seat belt, and a child shorter than 135 cm must use a child restraint.
Sources: Road Traffic Act, Vehicles Act § 13, Liikenneturva: driving in Finland. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Parking disc in Finland
Where a sign limits the parking time and requires a parking disc, you must display the time you parked. You may set the disc to the time you arrived, or to the next full or half hour after it: if you park at 10:40, you can set it to 11:00. Put the disc inside the windscreen where the time can be read from outside. You do not need a disc in a paid parking area, where you must pay instead.
Sources: Road Traffic Act §§ 37 and 40, Liikenneturva: parking. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Road tolls and ferries in Finland
According to Visit Finland, the national tourism board, Finland has no toll roads or toll bridges, so you do not need a toll tag, an account or any registration. The road ferries that Finferries runs on public roads are free too, except on the summer route between Houtskär and Iniö.
Sources: Visit Finland: driving in Finland, Finferries: questions and answers. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Bringing your dog to Finland
A dog coming from an EU country or Norway needs a microchip, a pet passport and a valid rabies vaccination. The chip must go in before the vaccine, the dog must be at least 12 weeks old when first vaccinated, and the vaccination must be given at least 21 days before you travel (a booster given without a gap in cover needs no new wait).
A vet must also treat dogs against tapeworm with a praziquantel product 24–120 hours before they arrive in Finland and record the treatment in the pet passport. It cannot be given at the border just before you cross. Dogs coming straight from Norway, Ireland or Malta do not need it, but dogs coming from Sweden do.
A dog coming from the UK or the USA also needs a microchip and a rabies vaccination at least 21 days old, and, instead of a pet passport, an EU animal health certificate issued by an official vet no more than 10 days before you arrive in the EU; the tapeworm treatment above is recorded in that certificate. If you live in Great Britain, you cannot use a pet passport, even one issued in the EU. Dogs from the UK or the USA do not need a rabies antibody test. When you first arrive in the EU, go through a travellers' point of entry, where the dog and its papers are checked; if that is in Finland, take the red channel at customs and show the dog and its papers to the customs officer.
Sources: Finnish Food Authority: dogs from the EU, Finnish Food Authority: tapeworm treatment. Updated: 30 September 2026.
For dogs from the UK or the USA: GOV.UK: taking your pet abroad, European Commission: listed non-EU countries, Finnish Food Authority: pets from outside the EU. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Wildlife accidents and the emergency number in Finland
The emergency number in Finland is 112 for the police, the fire service and an ambulance. Call it after a road accident, too. A free 112 smartphone app can send your location to the emergency centre.
If you hit a moose, a deer, a forest reindeer, a wild boar or a bear, wolf, lynx or wolverine, you must always report it to the police on 112, even if you see no damage or the animal has left. Turn on your hazard lights and warn other drivers. After hitting a wild boar or a large predator, stay in the car: an injured animal can be dangerous.
Sources: Liikenneturva: driving in Finland, Finnish Wildlife Agency: wildlife accidents. Updated: 30 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What side of the road do they drive on in Finland?
On the right, as in the rest of mainland Europe and the USA. You overtake on the left, and unless signs say otherwise, you give way to traffic coming from the right. When you drive out of a car park, a yard or a petrol station, you give way to everyone.
Can I drive in Finland with a US or UK licence?
Yes. The USA and the UK are on the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency's list of countries whose licences visitors may drive on in Finland, as long as the licence is valid. You do not need an International Driving Permit or a translation if your licence clearly shows the licence categories and how long it is valid. The UK government says you do not need an IDP in Finland with a UK photocard licence. You must be 18 to drive a car, and you must carry your licence when you drive.
How much is a speeding fine in Finland?
Up to 20 km/h over the limit you pay a fixed traffic penalty fee: EUR 100, 170 or 200 where the limit is 60 km/h or lower, and EUR 70, 140 or 170 where it is higher. More than 20 km/h over the limit is a crime punished with day-fines, which depend on your income; for a car driver the fine is at least EUR 200.
When do you need winter tyres in Finland?
From November to March, whenever the weather or the road conditions require them. Tread must be at least 3 mm, and non-studded winter tyres must carry the 3PMSF symbol; tyres marked only M+S no longer count. Studded tyres are allowed from the start of November to the end of March, and at other times when conditions require them.
What are the speed limits in Finland?
50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h elsewhere, unless a sign shows another limit. Main roads are often signed 100 km/h in summer, and motorways up to 120 km/h, but in winter many limits are lowered, typically from 100 to 80 km/h. With a trailer over 750 kg you may drive no faster than 80 km/h.
What is the emergency number in Finland?
112, for the police, the fire service and an ambulance. Call it after a road accident, too. If you hit a moose, a deer or a wild boar, you must always report it to the police on 112, even if you see no damage or the animal has left.