Your first 2 years with a licence: what is different for new drivers in Latvia

Exam passed, licence in your pocket. It feels like the hard part is over — but your first two years behind the wheel work differently from the rest of your driving life. The law watches you more strictly, and you do not yet have the experience that forgives mistakes. Let's look at both sides: what the law actually requires, and how I suggest building your first solo months.

Alcohol: your limit is lower

While your experience is under two years, the permitted blood-alcohol level for you is no more than 0.2‰. For experienced drivers the limit is 0.5‰. This comes from the Road Traffic Law (Ceļu satiksmes likums, Section 28), and in practice 0.2‰ means one simple rule: if you are driving, do not drink at all. Even "one glass last night" can cost more the next morning than it seems.

Penalty points: the ban comes sooner

The demerit-point system is also stricter with new drivers. An experienced driver faces a driving prohibition at 16 accumulated points — you, while under two years' experience, at 10.

The ladder up to the ban is the same for everyone:

4 points — a warning from CSDD (Ceļu satiksmes drošības direkcija, the Road Traffic Safety Directorate);
8 points — a referral to safe-driving courses;
12 points — a referral to theory and driving tests.

If the threshold is reached, the prohibition lasts one year, and afterwards the licence does not come back automatically: you must pass both the theory and the driving exam at CSDD again. Points expire after two years, and after five for the heaviest offences (8 points at once). The conclusion is simple: for your first two years, every violation costs you more than it costs the driver next to you.

What does NOT change

There is no separate "probationary" licence document in Latvia: a category B licence is issued for 10 years straight away, and after two years you do not need to exchange or confirm it. There are also no special bans on night driving or carrying passengers — novice status only means stricter thresholds for alcohol and points. This information is current as of July 2026; check the exact conditions on csdd.lv.

Your first solo drives: my advice

The first drive without an instructor is an event of its own. Nobody beside you, every decision yours. To make it a calm experience rather than a stressful one:

Start with familiar routes. The way to work, to the shop, to your parents — where you know every turn, your head stays free for the traffic.
Pick quiet hours. Sunday morning in Riga and Friday evening are two different cities. In the first weeks, drive when the flow is calm.
Leave the back-seat commentators at home. Advice from the passenger seat only gets in the way on early drives.

Parking: practise near home

What drains a new driver's confidence most is not the driving — it is the parking. The recipe is boring but it works: find a spot near home that is usually free and repeat parallel parking for ten minutes on several evenings in a row. After a week your hands remember on their own. I have covered the typical traps of the first months separately — in the article on common beginner mistakes.

Your first motorway trip

Speeds of 90–110 km/h after the city intimidate many. Make your first highway trip in daylight, in good weather, and with a clear plan: decide in advance where you are going and where you will turn around. Stay in the right lane, do not tailgate lorries, and remember that overtaking is not an obligation. Two or three such trips, and the highway becomes just another road.

If you have had a break

A common story: licence obtained, then winter, no car, and getting back behind the wheel feels scary. The skill does not vanish, but it rusts — and it is better to clean that rust off in one or two lessons than to carry it around for months. For exactly this I offer refresher lessons, and I have written about what actually gets forgotten and what comes back quickly in the article on driving after a break.

Your first two years are not a trial to endure. They are the period when caution is at its cheapest — and when the habits of your whole driving life are formed.