A personal car in Slovenia is a very popular and convenient transport. It is especially comfortable to travel by car: it takes just one hour to get to the sea coast and ski slopes from the city.
The highway network covers almost entire Slovenia quite densely. Detailed information on the traffic rules on different road sections, routes and restrictions is available on the website — www.dars.si/.
Basic traffic regulations in Slovenia
Traffic rules in Slovenia don’t differ much from traffic rules in other countries. Here it is also necessary to use seat belts and dipped headlights even during daylight hours, have winter tires or snow chains from November 15 to March 15, turn off fog lights only in the limited visibility and near the emergency stop sign. You must also have a set of spare lamps, a first aid kit, and a reflective vest.
The maximum allowable blood alcohol level for a driver with over two years of driving experience is 0.5 ppm, it’s similar to a glass of wine or beer.
Slovenia has a well-developed system of bicycle lanes, there are more cyclists than motorists. So, be careful when making right turns and driving in the city.
Speed limits on the roads:
- Populated areas — 50 km/h.
- Outside populated areas — 90 km/h.
- Highways and routes — 110 km/h.
- High-speed central roads — 130 km/h.
Driver’s license replacement
During the first year in Slovenia, you can use any international driver’s license. After a year in the country, you must obtain a national driving license.
To get a license, you need a medical examination certificate (it costs about € 70 and is valid for 12 months). Also, you must pass two exams: theory and practice. The practice includes driving in the city and on the court.
If you already have a driver’s license from another country, it is still necessary to take a few lessons at a driving school to learn driving in the new country.
The procedure of obtaining a Slovenian driver’s license includes the following steps:
- Get a referral to a driving course from the Upravna enota (driving license office).
- Take a medical examination.
- Take lessons at a driving school.
- Take a driving test.
- Submit the driving test results and submit the old license to Upravna enota.
Attention: the license contains information about your registration address in Slovenia. If you change your registration, your license must be re-issued. Otherwise, you will be fined by the inspection.
Car purchase and registration
It is easy and quick to register a car bought in Slovenia because everything is done in the same place. The second registration of a car imported from another country is a bit more complicated, it takes about 20 days. But it is a must-do, because you can drive with foreign license plates and a Slovenian residence permit for one month only.
If you have a residence permit in Slovenia, you can buy a car and register for yourself or your company. Each option has some peculiarities:
When registering as a natural person: the car can be registered only if the residence permit is valid. The car is automatically de-registered 3 weeks after the residence permit has expired. If you don’t extend your residence permit within this period, the car registration procedure must be repeated.
When registering with a legal entity: additional accounting. Each trip requires filling out trip sheets. Otherwise, the list of the company’s activities must include "car rent", then you will rent the car yourself. Moreover, for companies the insurance is more expensive.
The cost of registering a car includes the annual fee, passing the technical inspection, license plate number registration and production of prometno dovoljenje — equivalent of our driving license, without which you cannot drive a car. Registration cost can be calculated on this website.
Making a driver’s license plate costs about € 150.
Car insurance costs from € 200 to € 500. It depends on the car type, its power, the number of drivers and their history.
Insurance companies in Slovenia:
- Adriatic Slovenica zavarovalna zavarovalna družba d.d.
- Generali zavarovalnica d.d.
- Merkur zavarovalnica d.d.
- Zavarovalnica Maribor d.d.
- Zavarovalnica Tilia d.d.
- Zavarovalnica Triglav d.d.
- Grawe zavarovalnica d.d.
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