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Validity of foreign driving licences in Germany
Below you will find the most important rules pertaining to holders of a foreign driving licence in Germany. For further information on how to register and obtain a German driving licence, please contact your local driver licensing authority. The Federal Ministry is not in a position to give advice on individual cases.
Contents
- Your driving licence is valid for a temporary stay in the Federal Republic of Germany
- Your driving licence was issued by a member state of the European Union (EU) or a member of the European Economic Area (EEA)
- Your driving licence was not issued by one of the member states of the EU or a member of the EEA and you plan to take up residence in the Federal Republic of Germany
- Exceptions
1.Your driving licence is valid for a temporary stay in the Federal Republic of Germany
If you possess a valid national or international driving licence you may drive vehicles of those categories for which your licence was issued. Any conditions and restrictions placed on your driving licence also apply when driving in Germany.
Your driving licence is valid even if you have not yet reached the German minimum age for the category concerned. Be sure to have your licence on you when driving.
For international driving licences no translation is required.
You will need a translation to accompany your national driving licence if
- your national licence was not issued by a member state of the EU or a member of the EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or
- your licence is in a language other than German or
- your licence does not comply with the Convention on Road Traffic of 8 November 1968 (Annex 6). Contact the relevant authorities in the country of issue to find out whether this is the case.
German language translations can be provided, among others, by German automobile clubs or internationally recognised automobile clubs of the country of issue, by official bodies of the country of issue, sworn interpreters and translators as well as by German diplomatic missions.
Holders of licences from the following countries do not need to provide a translation:
- Andorra,
- Hong Kong,
- Monaco,
- New Zealand,
- San Marino,
- Switzerland and
- Senegal.
2.Your driving licence was issued by a member state of the EU or a member of the EEA
Licences issued by a member state of the EU or the EEA remain valid until they expire even after the holder has taken up normal residence in Germany.
You will need a national driving licence - an international one is not sufficient.
1.1 General restrictions
1.2 Combating driving licence tourism
1.3 Special rules for students
1.1 General restrictions
Category A1
Riders below 18 years of age may only ride light motorcycles (125 cubic centimetres, 11 kilowatt) with a maximum design speed of 80 kilometres per hour.
Category C1 and C1E
Licences are only valid until the holder's 50th birthday.
Categories C, CE, D, DE and D1E
Licences of these categories expire five years after they have been issued, even if they would be valid for a longer period in the country of issue.
Categories C, C1, CE, C1E, D, D1, DE and D1E
Licence holders can apply to extend the validity of their licence by five years, provided they fulfil the relevant health and eyesight requirements. For more information, please contact your local driver licensing authority.
If the above rules mean that your driving licence is no longer valid at the time of your move, you may continue to drive in Germany with your old licence for a further six months but you will need to apply to the German authorities for an extension within this period.
If you do not observe the age rules for riding light motorcycles or if you drive or ride with a licence whose validity has expired or that is not valid because of specific German provisions, you will be deemed to have committed the offence of driving without a licence.
If your foreign driving licence is about to expire, or if it is no longer valid, you can apply for a German driving licence of the corresponding category.
1.2 Combating driving licence tourism
The Third EC Driving Licence Directive contains rules which prevent people with alcohol or drug related problems from obtaining a driving licence in a foreign country circumventing EC law and provide national authorities with better instruments for refusing to recognise such licences. The most important new rule is:
"A Member State refuses to recognise the validity of any driving licence issued by another Member State if the holder is, in the first Member State 's territory, subject to a measure which restricts, suspends, withdraws or cancels the right to drive."
This provides the German authorities with an efficient instrument to keep drivers who had been disqualified because of alcohol or drug abuse off the roads, even though they have (again) obtained a driving licence in another Member State after having had their licence withdrawn in Germany.
The directive was transposed into national law on 19 January 2009. Non-German EU or EEA driving licences issued from this date on will no longer be recognised by the German authorities if the holders had been previously disqualified from driving in Germany. It has also become irrelevant now whether holders of such a licence had only pretended to transfer their residence to the issuing country.
The previously existing principle of mutual recognition, without exception, of a driving licence issued by another Member State, as emphasized by the ECJ in several of its judgements, has now been restricted in order to better combat driving licence tourism.
Repeated claims in various media, referring to Art. 13 (2) of the Third Driving Licence Directive, that driving licences issued by another EU Member State before 19 January 2013 must be recognised by the German authorities are not true. The rule on the protection of grandfather rights is only valid if no other specific rule, such as Art. 11 (4) of the Third Driving Licence Directive, contains explicit provisions on the mutual non-recognition of foreign EU driving licences and the unrestricted protection of grandfather rights are thus rescinded by the Directive itself. Consequently, this specific rule in Art.11 (4) takes precedence over the general provisions on the protection of grandfather rights in Art.13 (2) of the 3. Driving Licence Directive.
According to the Third EC Driving Licence Directive, the Member States must refuse to issue an EU driving licence if the applicants have had their driving licence withdrawn in another Member State. Due to this new regulation, Germany will now also recognize the withdrawal of a foreign driving licence and issue a German licence only if the applicant proves that there are no objections to issuing a new licence neither under the law of the country having withdrawn the licence nor under German law.
1.3 Special rules for students
Attending a school or university in Germany does not in itself constitute a transfer of your normal residence. This means that if you obtain a licence in your home country while staying in Germany as a student, your licence will be valid here.
However, students from other member states can also acquire a driving licence in Germany if they stay here for at least six months.
The same applies to students normally resident in Germany when they move to another member state to attend school or university there for a minimum of six months.
3.Your driving licence was not issued by one of the member states of the EU or a member of the EEA and you are or will be a resident of the Federal Republic of Germany
If you obtained your licence in a country that is neither a member of the EU nor of the EEA, your licence will remain valid for six months following your move to Germany. After this time it will no longer be valid. To continue to drive on German roads, you will need a licence issued in Germany.
The conditions for obtaining a German licence vary depending on the country where your original licence was issued. For information on these conditions and on how to obtain a German licence, please contact your local driver licensing authority in due time before your licence expires. In some cases you can apply for an extension of six months, provided you can prove that you will not be staying in Germany for more than 12 months.
If you drive on German roads with a foreign licence that is not or no longer valid in Germany, you will be deemed to have committed the offence of driving without a licence.
4.Exceptions
If any of the following is the case, you may not drive with your foreign licence in Germany and may not exchange it for a German one:
- If your licence is no longer valid.
- If it is a learner licence or other provisional licence.
- If you had your normal residence in Germany at the time you obtained the foreign licence, unless your licence was issued in a EU member state. Licences issued by another EU member state in breach of regulations (e.g. not observing the place of residence rule) can in principle be used for driving in Germany. However, they can be withdrawn by the country of issue at any time.
- If your licence has been withdrawn while in Germany or if you have not been granted a licence you applied for or if the only reason it has not been revoked was that you have surrendered it voluntarily. (Specific rules may apply in the case of licences issued by other EU member states. Please contact your local driver licensing authority for further information.)
- If you are subject to a driving ban imposed by Germany, the country of issue or the country of your normal residence or if your licence was confiscated, impounded or placed in safekeeping.
If your foreign licence was withdrawn in Germany, you can apply for the right to use it again, which will be granted once the reasons for the withdrawal have ceased to exist.
Normal residence
'Normal' residence means the place where a person usually lives, that is for at least 185 days in each calendar year, because of personal and occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties which show close links between that person and the place where he or she lives.
