Driver's License; Applying for a Driver's License and Extending an Existing Driver's License

If you wish to drive a motor vehicle on public roads, you need a driver’s license that authorizes you to drive that vehicle. You can apply for a driver’s license at your local driver’s license office at the district administration office or the independent city. You can also submit the application to your local municipality. The same applies if you already hold a driver’s license but wish to drive vehicles that fall under a different license class (extension).

When you apply for a driver’s license, you must specify which driving school you are attending.

The driving school you select will provide your theoretical and practical training and, once the driver’s license authority has issued an examination order, will also present you for the driver’s license exam at the TÜV. After taking and passing the exam—which is generally divided into a theoretical and a practical driving portion—the driver’s license for the requested class(es) can be issued provided all other requirements are met. The same applies to the extension of an existing driver’s license.

You must apply for a driver's license in person, as your signature is required for the Federal Printing Office to issue the card-style driver's license.

You will be issued a driver's license for the respective class if you

• have your primary residence in Germany,
• have reached the required minimum age,
• are fit to operate motor vehicles,
• have been trained to drive motor vehicles in accordance with the Driving Instructor Act and the legal provisions based on it,
• have demonstrated your ability to drive motor vehicles in a theoretical and practical examination,
• be able to administer first aid,
• do not hold a driver’s license of this class issued in a Member State of the European Union or another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and
• for certain driver’s license classes, hold a driver’s license of another class.

Further details are set forth in Sections 7 et seq. of the Driver’s License Regulation (FeV).

• valid ID card or passport
• a recent biometric photograph (front view)
• Eye exam certificate from an officially recognized eye exam facility or a certificate from an ophthalmologist (not older than 2 years)
• Proof of participation in a first aid training course
• Additional documents are required for driver's license classes C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1, and D1E

• Name of the Driving School
• Copy of the index card from the issuing authority of the previous driver's license (if not the City of Erlangen)
  Only for a driver's license extension
• Medical Certificate (valid for 1 year)
  for driver's license classes C, CE, C1, C1E, D, DE, D1, D1E
• Performance Review and Certificate of Good Conduct
  Additional Documentation for Driver's License Classes D, DE, D1, and D1E
• Basic Qualification under the BKrFQG
  For commercial use of a driver's license in Classes D, DE, D1, and D1E
• Transcript from the issuing authority's file
  If your current driver's license was not issued in Erlangen, you can obtain a copy of your driver's license record from the agency that issued it upon request.

It takes about 3 weeks to review your application and issue your driver’s license. You cannot register for the test with the TÜV until all required documents have been submitted there. Your driving school will be notified of this.

There is another deadline to keep in mind: The TÜV will return the test request to the driver’s license authority if

• the written test is not passed within twelve months of the test request being received
• the practical exam is not passed within twelve months of passing the theory exam, or
• in cases where no theory test is required, the practical test is not passed within twelve months of receipt of the test request.