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Deadline for exchanging older German driving licences extended

German interior ministers have extended a deadline for exchanging old driving licences to ease pressure on civil servants during the Covid crisis.

Published: 18 January 2022 12:11 CET
German driving licence
A German driving licence document. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Ole Spata

Older drivers in Germany have been given an additional six months to organise the exchange of their paper driving licences for new digitalised versions. 

People born in the mid-1950s were supposed to be the first group to transfer their licences by January 19th – but in light of the ongoing Covid pandemic, this deadline has now been extended to July 19th.

The change was passed at a meeting of the state interior ministers on Monday under the leadership of Bavaria’s interior minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU).

It affects people born between 1953 and 1958 who still use old paper driving licenses that were issued up to December 31st, 1998 – either in West Germany or the GDR.

According to Hermann, Bavaria will immediately introduce a motion to amend the driving licence ordinance in the Bundesrat (Germany’s upper house of parliament).

Until this comes into force, the otherwise-due warning fine of €10 will be waived by the police.

READ ALSO: Brexit: New licence needed to bring vans and trailers from UK to Germany

“However, all those affected should immediately take care of the exchange in the meantime,” Herrmann said, adding that new licences could take several weeks to be issued. 

Welcoming the move, a spokesperson for the German Motorists’ Club ADAC said the extra time would bring peace of mind to car drivers.

“For the affected driving licence holders, the decision brings the certainty that they can continue to drive with the old licence for the coming months without worries and do not have to fear fines,” they said.

In extending the deadline, the federal states were responding to bottlenecks in their driving licence offices thanks to ongoing Covid crisis, the ADAC explained. 

Uniform EU licences

In order to comply with new EU regulations, around 43 million driving licences will need to be exchanged by 2033. This is set to take place in stages, with the 1953-58 age group earmarked as the first set of people who to make the switch. 

This phased process is intended to prevent bottlenecks in driving licences offices, but people can nevertheless opt to transfer their licence ahead of time. 

In future, driving licences are to be forgery-proof and uniform throughout the EU. In addition, all driving licences are to be recorded in a database to prevent misuse.

After the extended deadline, the next group to change their licences will be people born between 1959 and 1964. Assuming the deadline isn’t extended again, this group will be asked to make the switch by January 19th, 2023. 

READ ALSO: Everything that changes in Germany in 2022

The final deadline will be January 19th, 2033. 

According to the Federal Ministry of Transport, old driving licences will become invalid after the respective deadlines have expired, with drivers who fail to exchange them subject to a warning fine of €10. 

The fee for switching the licences is €25, and no further driving test is needed in order to obtain one. 

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DRIVING

EXPLAINED: The changes to Germany’s driving licence theory test

Anyone now taking their written test to get a German driver's licence has a bit more prep work to do. New questions have been added to the test this month.

Published: 20 April 2024 08:13 CEST
Updated: 22 April 2024 17:21 CEST
EXPLAINED: The changes to Germany's driving licence theory test

A total of 61 new questions were added to the theoretical driving licence test as of April 1st, both for a regular licence and several special categories. 

That’s not necessarily encouraging news for anyone aspiring to work toward earning their German driving licence. The country’s process for earning a driving licence is already notoriously difficult and expensive – regularly costing more than €2,000.

READ ALSO: How much does it cost to get a driving licence in Germany?

However, adding new questions to the theoretical driving test is standard procedure in Germany, in fact it happens every six months. 

The relevant authorities suggest that these regular updates are necessary because the road transport system and its related legal framework is constantly changing.

But that doesn’t mean the test is constantly getting longer. Questions are added to a catalogue of potential questions for the driving test, but outdated questions are also removed. 

Ultimately the written test that a prospective driver will face consists of a total of 30 questions chosen from the catalogue. Of these, 20 will cover basic material and 10 will cover knowledge specific to vehicle class B, which is passenger cars.

Who creates the driving test?

Germany’s theoretical and practical driving licence test is continuously developed by the Technical Inspection Association (TÜV) and DEKRA, an auditing company which manages testing, inspection and certification for vehicles, among other things.

Mathias Rüdel, managing director of the TÜV | DEKRA joint venture, told German regional broadcaster MDR that the catalogue for the theoretical driving test contains “a total of 1,197 basic and supplementary tasks”.

One or more questions could potentially be created to test students’ understanding of each of these tasks. 

READ ALSO: More than a third of German driving tests failed in 2022

Rüdel added that there is not a set maximum number of tasks which could be included in the test. Instead, the number of tasks correspond to the relevant road safety content being taught, which is a result of European and national frameworks.

Asked which types of questions make up the biggest part of the driving test catalogue, Rüdel suggested that emphasis is placed on the subjects of ‘hazard theory’ and ‘behaviour in road traffic’.

READ ALSO: Germany sees ‘record number’ of cheating cases on driving licence exams

What does it take to get a driving licence in Germany?

Germany’s rules around driving licences are notoriously strict. 

Advocates for the country’s regulations say that ensuring drivers are properly trained is a benefit to society, because unsafe driving comes with severe consequences for drivers and pedestrians alike.

But drivers holding foreign driving licences that are considered invalid in Germany, despite years of driving experience, and even some German parents who have to shell out thousands of euros to put their kids through drivers’ education, suggest that the process seems excessive and over-priced.

The basic steps to earn a driving licence are:

  1. Pass an eye test
  2. Complete a first aid course
  3. Complete a driving school course (Fahrschule)
  4. Request a licence / make an appoint to apply (If you don’t have a foreign licence this covers you while you are learning to drive)
  5. Pass the written theoretical test
  6. Pass the practical in-car test

READ ALSO: ‘A year-long ordeal’: What I learned from getting my driving licence in Berlin

More information on the entire process can be found here.

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