Automatic or manual: which to learn on in Latvia, and what code 78 means
"Should I learn on an automatic or a manual?" Almost everyone about to start driving asks this. And they usually ask about comfort — which is easier, which is less of a juggle. But there's something more important than comfort: what ends up written on your licence. The gearbox you choose decides what you're actually allowed to drive after the exam.
What code 78 means
If you take the CSDD driving exam in a car with automatic transmission, you get a category B licence with a restriction — code 78. It means one thing: you may drive only vehicles with automatic transmission, that is, a car with no clutch pedal.
Code 78 isn't a Latvian invention — it's a single EU-wide code. "Automatic only" applies not just in Latvia but across the whole EU: renting or borrowing a manual car abroad is off the table.
Manual: harder at the start, but no restriction
The first lessons on a manual really are harder. The clutch, the gears, hill starts, the fear of stalling at a junction — all of it adds load while your head is already full of the road. Clutch control is one of the classic beginner mistakes, and it takes practice to make it automatic.
In return, you come out with a full category B and no restriction. Manual, automatic, someone else's car, a work van — you're cleared to drive any of them.
Automatic: easier to learn, but a restricted licence
An automatic is one worry less: no clutch and no shifting to think about. That frees up attention — you can focus on the road, the signs and other drivers sooner. For many people it's a calmer start, and if you plan to drive only automatics anyway (and most electric cars are automatics), the restriction may never get in your way.
One thing to be clear about: the exam on an automatic is not easier "on paper". The requirements for the B(78) test are exactly the same as for a standard category B — your driving is judged just as strictly. You can take it at any CSDD customer service centre.
How to choose
Start not from what's easier, but from what you'll genuinely drive:
- If for the foreseeable future that's only an automatic — a family car, car-sharing, an electric car — code 78 most likely won't get in your way.
- If a manual might come up — a cheap first car, a work vehicle, a relative's car, a rental or trips abroad — take the exam on a manual.
In Latvia, many people who pass on an automatic never go on to add the manual. For some that's sensible; for others it's an unnoticed limit they remember at the worst possible moment. How many lessons you'll need either way is a topic for a separate article.
If you change your mind: removing code 78
The choice isn't for life. To lift the restriction, you take the CSDD driving exam in a car with a manual gearbox. After that, your licence is swapped for a new one — without code 78. You won't start from scratch: it's the driving exam again, this time on a manual, not the whole course over.
If you're unsure which gearbox is yours, it's perfectly fine not to decide alone but in a lesson — to try it and feel the difference behind the wheel rather than in theory.
Verified against official CSDD materials, July 2026. The rules can change — check the current information at csdd.lv.