The CSDD exam in autumn: rain, dusk, and why it is not a verdict

You book the exam, open the forecast — rain all week. Almost everyone's first thought is the same: "in this weather I will surely fail." Over the years I have heard it dozens of times, and it almost never came true. An autumn exam really is different from a summer one — just not in the direction anxiety paints it.

Will CSDD cancel the exam because of the weather

Short answer: for rain — no. Neither in the procedure of CSDD (Latvia's Road Traffic Safety Directorate) nor in any case I know of has rain been a reason to cancel a category B driving exam. Exams run all year round, in any weather: in autumn rain, on winter snow. The only weather-related cancellation that made the Latvian press was for heat — the exam car's climate control had failed, and the inspector rescheduled at his own discretion; there is no written temperature rule, and the candidate did not have to pay again.

The only genuine seasonal restriction applies to motorcycles: the category A riding exam is held only from 1 April to 1 October. It does not extend to category B.

So the plan of "moving it to a sunny day" does not work — and, as we will see, is not needed. Facts verified in July 2026; check the current procedure on csdd.lv.

The exam itself does not change in autumn

The format is the same as in summer: about 40 minutes of driving in real city traffic, grades of labi / pietiekami / nepietiekami, and if it goes wrong — a retake no earlier than the next working day. The computer still picks two manoeuvres out of a pool of five figures — which ones exactly, and how to do them cleanly, I have covered in a separate article.

What changes is not the requirements — it is the conditions they are tested in. And here autumn is more honest than summer.

What the examiner really watches in the rain

Before you set off, the examiner gives the standard briefing: drive at the maximum permitted speed — taking road and weather conditions into account. That clause is the core autumn criterion. The rules (paragraph 99) require your speed to suit the conditions: in heavy rain, driving slightly below the limit is not a mistake but the norm. The mistake is the opposite — 50 km/h through puddles, tucked in close behind the car ahead, as if the asphalt were dry.

There is a second extreme too: crawling. If you drive so slowly that you hold up the whole flow for no reason, it can be marked as insufficient confidence. Slightly under the limit in rain — yes; half the limit — no.

What else comes into the examiner's field of view in bad weather:

Wipers and washer. Checking them before moving off is part of preparing the vehicle. Setting off into rain without making sure the wipers work is a recorded minor error. Learn in advance which stalk position does what in the exam car.
Lights. In Latvia, daytime running lights, dipped beam or front fog lights are mandatory in daylight anyway (paragraph 160); in the dark — dipped or main beam plus position lights (paragraph 161). The practical rain rule: if the wipers are on, switch dipped beam on manually — DRLs do not mark the car from behind.
Following distance. A safe gap is required at all times — that is paragraph 105 — but on wet asphalt the braking distance is noticeably longer, and the examiner watches whether you have widened your margin — or are sitting behind the car ahead in summer mode.
Fogged-up windows. Rain plus two people in the cabin — the glass mists over within a minute. Turning on the blower and the heated screen before you start, rather than mid-junction, is also part of the picture of "a candidate in control of the situation".

Note that none of these are separate "autumn requirements" — they are the ordinary rules that bad weather simply makes visible. In summer, sunshine forgives a forgotten dipped beam; in autumn it no longer does.

Why autumn candidates are often stronger than summer ones

An autumn exam has one unpopular advantage: it shows your real level. A candidate who trained through September and October has already driven in rain, at dusk, over wet leaves. One who only ever practised in dry July weather meets all of it for the first time — sometimes right on the exam.

Examiners see this. Confident driving in the rain is in itself a demonstration of competence: the right speed, a longer gap, lights on, smooth braking. What is "automatic" in summer becomes earned points in your favour in autumn.

And even if the first attempt fails, it is not a catastrophe: a retake is possible from the very next working day, and the typical places where candidates in Riga lose the exam I have analysed separately — most of them have nothing to do with the weather at all.

How to prepare: drive in the rain on purpose

The main advice will sound paradoxical: do not wait the bad weather out — go looking for it.

A lesson in the rain is the most valuable lesson of the month. Braking on a wet surface, aquaplaning through a deep puddle, a lorry's spray across your windscreen — all of it is better experienced for the first time with an instructor beside you, not on the exam.
At least one or two lessons at dusk. In autumn, some exam slots land on a grey evening. How the city changes in the dark season — pedestrians, lights, wet leaves — is covered in a separate guide.
Rehearse the "wet ritual". Get in — wipers, blower, lights, mirrors — go. A sequence drilled to automatism removes half of the exam-day fluster.
Check the tyres. On a worn tread a wet road is many times more dangerous; in the lessons before the exam this too is a conversation to have with your instructor.

If the exam is close and you want to drive the routes in real autumn conditions, CSDD exam preparation exists for exactly this, and you can book a lesson online.

Rain on exam day is not a verdict, and not even an obstacle. It is the set of conditions in which a well-prepared candidate is most clearly visible.