The Minister of Infrastructure has put forward a draft amendment that would change how senior drivers renew their licenses — and so far, no public comments have come in through the consultation portal.
The proposal comes from newly appointed Minister Inga Sæland. Under the new rules, drivers would not need to provide a medical certificate on age grounds until they turn 75. Sæland’s position is straightforward: in practice, very few applications from older drivers are actually rejected today, largely because people are living longer and in better health than previous generations. Right now, seniors must renew their driver’s licenses every five years once they hit 65.
The push for reform traces back to the Ministry of Health, which has flagged the strain that frequent renewals put on both older drivers and the doctors who sign off on their certificates. Currently, anyone who reaches 72 must renew their medical certificate every two years, and from 80 onward that becomes an annual obligation.
The governing council’s website notes that the changes are intended to take some pressure off healthcare providers — especially given that over 16,000 seniors are expected to be seeking license renewals in 2024. The core requirement isn’t going anywhere, though: every driver, regardless of age, still needs to be fully qualified to get behind the wheel.
One thing worth flagging: even with these changes, Iceland’s rules would actually be stricter than those in other Nordic countries. Elsewhere in the region, driving fitness tends to be assessed on health grounds rather than tied to a specific age, and licenses often run for ten to fifteen years before renewal is needed.
