Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency (Traficom) announced on 26 June that from 1 July its main customer-service phone lines will be open on weekdays between 09:00 and 15:00. The change affects the agency’s driving-licence, vehicle-registration and professional-driver qualification units, all of which are frequently used by newly arrived expatriates and foreign companies operating fleets in Finland. Appointment booking for in-person services will continue to open as early as 07:30, but telephone advice outside the new six-hour window will cease. Traficom says the new schedule will “harmonise service windows and allow staff to focus on processing back-office work”, notably the surge in online applications for licence exchanges and digital tachograph cards. The agency processed a record 12 000 foreign-licence conversions in 2025, a volume officials expect to match this year as international recruitment in logistics and ride-hailing accelerates.
![Traficom streamlines phone service hours – what expatriates and international drivers need to know]()
For newcomers who still need to secure the right visas or residence permits before tackling licence formalities, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and expedited filing options, helping employers and assignees avoid administrative delays that could compound Traficom’s processing queues.
By reallocating staff hours, Traficom hopes to shorten backlogs that sometimes leave foreign drivers waiting several weeks for a Finnish licence, delaying their ability to work. Companies that relocate employees to Finland often rely on agency helplines to clarify whether a third-country licence can be exchanged directly or whether the employee must take a theory test. Mobility managers are therefore advised to update their internal guidance and ensure that queries – particularly from North American or Asian assignees whose licences are not always mutually recognised – are placed within the new 09:00-15:00 timeframe (UTC+3). Traficom emphasises that most routine matters can be handled through its English-language e-services portal, which remains available 24/7. Nevertheless, the agency acknowledges that certain cases, such as the issuance of an interim driving right for holders of UK exchange licences, still require telephone verification. Employers who schedule onboarding sessions in the late afternoon should be aware that same-day telephone assistance will no longer be available after 15:00. In parallel with the service-hour revision, Traficom reminded customers that from October 2026 all new professional-driver qualification cards will be issued in a digital-only format compatible with the EU’s forthcoming Mobile Driving Licence (mDL) framework. Companies are encouraged to factor both the shorter phone-service window and the digital transition into their mobility planning.
For newcomers who still need to secure the right visas or residence permits before tackling licence formalities, VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers step-by-step guidance, document checklists and expedited filing options, helping employers and assignees avoid administrative delays that could compound Traficom’s processing queues.
By reallocating staff hours, Traficom hopes to shorten backlogs that sometimes leave foreign drivers waiting several weeks for a Finnish licence, delaying their ability to work. Companies that relocate employees to Finland often rely on agency helplines to clarify whether a third-country licence can be exchanged directly or whether the employee must take a theory test. Mobility managers are therefore advised to update their internal guidance and ensure that queries – particularly from North American or Asian assignees whose licences are not always mutually recognised – are placed within the new 09:00-15:00 timeframe (UTC+3). Traficom emphasises that most routine matters can be handled through its English-language e-services portal, which remains available 24/7. Nevertheless, the agency acknowledges that certain cases, such as the issuance of an interim driving right for holders of UK exchange licences, still require telephone verification. Employers who schedule onboarding sessions in the late afternoon should be aware that same-day telephone assistance will no longer be available after 15:00. In parallel with the service-hour revision, Traficom reminded customers that from October 2026 all new professional-driver qualification cards will be issued in a digital-only format compatible with the EU’s forthcoming Mobile Driving Licence (mDL) framework. Companies are encouraged to factor both the shorter phone-service window and the digital transition into their mobility planning.
