Foreign driving licences in Germany
Unlimited mobility?
Arriving in Germany with a foreign driving licence gives rise to a host of questions: Am I allowed to drive over the border? Can I drive on any road in Germany? And which type of driving licence can be converted to a German licence, and what conditions does this entail?
You will need the following
International agreements grant you basic permission to drive in Germany using a foreign driving licence. Make sure however that your driving licence is valid and has not expired. You should naturally have purchased your driving licence via official channels and have lived in the country for at least 185 days.
Green light for Europe
Citizens possessing a driving licence issued in a European state or in a country within the European Economic Area (EEA) are free to drive in Germany. You are not required to convert your driving licence.
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Green light for Europe |
EEA states | ||
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Belgium |
Italy |
Romania |
Iceland |
"Naturalisation" of foreign driving licences
Under what circumstances is it possible or a requirement for a foreign driving licence be converted to a German one? As a German citizen, am I permitted to acquire my driving licence abroad and subsequently transfer it here? Questions about questions that are often only solved by consulting regulations in the country of origin.
Everything made simple: Driving licences from "listed countries"
If you are the holder of a licence issued from a country outside the EU or the EEA, you are required to have it converted at the latest 6 months after the establishment of your "official place of residence" in Germany. You can extend this deadline by six months, if you can prove that you will not maintain your official place of residence in Germany for longer than 12 months..
After this time, it is essential that you convert your driving licence. If your driving licence was issued in one of the listed countries then this makes things simpler for you. Sometimes, taking a new test is not even necessary. Or you simply take either the theory test or the practical test. If you would like to know exactly what you can expect with which driver's licence, click here.
This is somewhat more complicated: Driving licences from other countries
This is somewhat more complicated: If you are the holder of a licence issued from a non-member country, you are also required to have it converted at the latest 6 months after the establishment of your "official place of residence" in Germany. This deadline can likewise be extended by six months if you can prove that you will not maintain your official place of residence in Germany for longer than 12 months. After this time, it is essential that you convert your driving licence.
In fact, driving licences from all other countries can, in principle, also be converted in Germany following establishment of official residency. You are, however, in this case required to take the theory test and the practical driving test.
Stop there please.
The authorisation to drive motor vehicles is not permitted for
- holders of a provisional driving licence or driving licences issued from any other sources
- anyone who, at the time when their foreign licence was issued, had their official residence in their home country, unless it was the case that they were issued the licence when they were staying in a different member state within the European Union (EU) or in another country that is a party to the agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA) while on a university- or school-organised exchange visit lasting at least six months;
- who has been disqualified, temporarily or for statutory reasons by a court of law, from driving, or whose domestic driving licence has been revoked by an administrative authority either with immediate effect or fully and absolutely; who has been fully and absolutely disqualified from driving or whose driving licence has not been revoked for the obvious reason that the driver has relinquished their licence ad interim;
- who, due to a valid judicial ruling, is prohibited from possessing a driving licence
- for as long as, either in their homeland or in the country where the driving licence was issued or in the country where they have a registered official residence, they are subject to a driving disqualification or have had their driving licence seized, confiscated or impounded subject to Section 94 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
