Lithuania will end the option to take the driver’s theory exam in Russian starting Jan. 1, 2026, the Interior Ministry confirmed, despite earlier political debate and mixed public reactions.
Former conservative Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė signed an order in December 2024 requiring that, beginning in 2025, the theory exam be available only in Lithuanian or other official EU languages – effectively removing Russian as an option, despite it being the native language of Lithuania’s second-biggest ethnic minority.
But her successor, social democrat Vladislav Kondratovič, postponed the change by one year, arguing that agencies and driving schools needed more time and “deeper discussions”.
With the deadline approaching, the ministry said the change will take effect as scheduled. “We are prepared for the changes to the theory exam – they will take place exactly as planned,” the ministry told LRT.lt. The exam is currently available in Lithuanian, English and Russian.
Driving schools report no surge in Russian-speaking students
Some driving schools say the ban is unnecessary and report no sharp rise in Russian-speaking students seeking to take the exam before the cutoff.
“The ban on the Russian language in driving exams seems exaggerated. The essential issue is driving, not language,” said Edvardas Jogėla, head of the Laukininkų VM driving school. He said his school had seen only a slight uptick ahead of the deadline.
Valdas Šlepikas, director of the ARV-Auto driving school, said around 40 Russian-speaking clients contact the company each month. He acknowledged initial concern when Bilotaitė’s order became public but said demand stabilised after the delay. “There may have been a small ‘last-chance’ wave, but nothing major,” he said.
More EU languages to be added
The Interior Ministry said Regitra, the national vehicle and licensing agency, will continue offering the exam in English and will add Spanish, French, and Polish. The new languages are now undergoing testing before being integrated into the exam system.
Meanwhile, candidates taking the practical driving test can be assisted by an interpreter inot any EU language.
Last year, theory exams administered in Russian totalled 13,378 and accounted for 9.7% of the total. By mid-November this year, prospective drivers had taken the test in Russian 14,470 times (compared to 10,961 over the same period in 2024).
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