Driving Instructor License; Applying for Recognition of a Foreign Professional Qualification

The profession of driving instructor is regulated in Germany. This means that in order to work in this profession, you need a driving instructor’s license. Only with this license are you permitted to train people to drive vehicles.

You can also obtain a driving instructor license with a professional qualification from abroad. To do so, your foreign professional qualification must be recognized as part of the process for issuing the driving instructor license. As part of this process, the government of Upper Bavaria compares your foreign professional qualification with the German professional qualification and assesses their equivalence. The equivalence of the professional qualification is an important prerequisite for the issuance of the driving instructor license.

In addition to the equivalence of your professional qualification, you must meet other requirements for obtaining a driving instructor’s license.

It does not matter what your nationality is or in which country you obtained your professional qualification.

You can also submit the application from abroad.

• You have a professional certification as a driving instructor from another country.
• You are at least 21 years old.
• You are mentally and physically fit.
• You are professionally and pedagogically qualified.
• There are no facts that would make you appear unfit for the profession of driving instructor.
• You hold a valid driver’s license for the class for which the driving instructor’s license is to be issued.
• You have the necessary knowledge of German to teach student drivers.
• You wish to work in this profession in Germany.

   You must submit an “Application for a Driving Instructor License” to the appropriate agency (district administrative authority).

• The competent authority will then verify whether you meet all the requirements.
• An important requirement is professional qualification. To assess the equivalence of your foreign professional qualification, the competent authority involves the Government of Upper Bavaria, which has central responsibility for this matter in Bavaria. The Government of Upper Bavaria compares your foreign professional qualification with the German professional qualification and informs the competent authority of the result of the assessment. If your professional qualification is equivalent, it will be recognized.
• You must still meet the other requirements and provide proof of your language proficiency. You will then receive your driving instructor license as a written document.
• If your professional qualification is not equivalent, it will not be recognized. You will then receive a written notice detailing the differences in your professional qualification.
• If your professional qualification is not equivalent, you can choose between an aptitude test and an adaptation course to address the differences.
• The aptitude test covers only the differences identified by the competent authority. The aptitude test consists of a written and an oral exam. You must also conduct teaching demonstrations in both theoretical and practical driving instruction.
• The adaptation course is a practical retraining program and lasts a maximum of 3 years. During the adaptation course, you must complete written assignments and teach both theoretical and practical lessons.
• If you complete the adaptation course or pass the aptitude test (and meet all other requirements), you will receive your driving instructor license as a written document.
• You may take legal action against the decision issued by the competent authority. The decision will then be reviewed. Details can be found in the information on legal remedies at the end of your decision notice. We recommend that you first speak with the competent authority before taking legal action against the decision.

Freedom to Provide Services

You may also work as a driving instructor in Germany on a temporary or occasional basis. In that case, a corresponding note will be entered on your driving instructor’s license. In this case as well, the competent authority will assess whether your professional qualifications from abroad are equivalent to the training and examination required in Germany. If significant differences are identified and public safety is thereby jeopardized, the issuance of the license may be made contingent upon passing an aptitude test. The requirements mentioned above apply equally.

In addition, you must report your employment to the competent authority before starting work and annually thereafter. The competent authority will provide you with detailed information about the procedure.

Procedure for Ethnic German Repatriates

As a late repatriate, you may choose to undergo the recognition process either under the law mentioned here or under the Federal Displaced Persons Act. You may decide this for yourself. Your competent authority will advise you on this matter.

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Sometimes documents are still missing from the application. The responsible agency will then let you know by when you must submit the missing documents.

If the documents are complete, the process usually takes no more than 3 months.

Required Documents

Required documents, throughout Bavaria: The responsible agency will inform you which documents you need to submit.

Important documents generally include:

• Proof of identity (ID card or passport)
• An officially certified copy of your certification as a driving instructor
• Valid driver’s license for the relevant license classes
• If working as a driving instructor is not regulated in your home country: A certificate confirming that you have worked as a driving instructor for at least 2 years within the last 10 years
• Proof of your personal reliability. This proof must be issued by an authority in the country where you obtained your professional qualification. This can be a criminal record check or a Certificate of Good Standing. (The proof should be no more than 3 months old at the time of application.)
• Proof of your mental and physical health from the state where you obtained your professional qualification. This proof must demonstrate that you are fit to work as a driving instructor. (The proof must be no more than 3 months old at the time of application.)
• It is possible that your home country cannot issue the proof of your personal reliability or your mental and physical health. In that case, you may substitute these documents with a sworn statement. The competent authority will inform you of this.
• The competent authority will inform you which documents you must submit, either as originals or copies. If your documents are not in German, you must submit German translations of them. The translations must be done by translators who are publicly appointed or authorized.

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The relevant agency will inform you of the costs. The costs generally depend on the amount of work involved in processing the application.

Additional costs may also apply (e.g., for translations and certifications). These costs vary on a case-by-case basis.

The issuance of a driving instructor permit and a driving instructor license costs 40.90 EUR. Expenses are charged in accordance with the schedule of fees for road traffic measures.

Legal Basis

• Legal basis, Bavaria-wide: § 1 et seq. of the Law on Driving Instruction (Driving Instructor Act—FahrlG)
• Legal basis, throughout Bavaria: § 1 Implementing Regulation to the Driving Instructor Act
• Legal basis, throughout Bavaria: No. 302.2, Annex: Schedule of Fees for Road Traffic Measures (GebOSt)
• Legal basis, throughout Bavaria: Section 10 of the Act on Matters Concerning Displaced Persons and Refugees (Federal Displaced Persons Act—BVFG)
• Legal basis, Bavaria-wide:Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of September 7, 2005, on the recognition of professional qualifications. Version dated May 24, 2016

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