Living
Driving Licence
Once you get beyond the cliched sausages and beer, the things most people associate with Germany are its carmakers and vast stretches of multi-lane Autobahns without the shackles of a speed limit. It’s easy to understand why you’ll want to step behind the wheel in Germany.
In the beginning you needn’t worry about an international driving licence – anyone moving to Germany can use their foreign licence, regardless of where it was issued, for the first six months of residency.
After that, you can convert your licence into its German brethren, which is then good for life. Which hoops you’ll have to jump through depends on where you got your original licence – those issued in Canada, Andorra, Israel, Japan, Croatia, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, most US states, the Isle of Man and Guernsey can be converted with little fanfare (see below). Residents of other countries will be required to pass a theoretical and practical driving test, which can only be taken together with a driving school and cost about €300 in total. If you don’t convert your licence within your first three years in Germany, you lose that right and will be forced to start from the beginning.
EU citizens do not need to have their driving licences converted to German licences. They can maintain their original licence and it must be accepted by German authorities. There is no advantage for EU citizens that have their licence converted.
The minimum age for having a licence is 18, though a new variant allows 17 year olds to drive as long as someone with a driving licence is in the passenger seat.
Regardless of whether you’re using your old licence or new German permit, you must have it on you any time you’re behind the wheel of a car. Police regularly conduct spot checks to ensure that your car and paperwork are in order. If you cause a crash and don’t have your licence, your insurance company could even refuse to pay for the damages.
In the beginning you needn’t worry about an international driving licence – anyone moving to Germany can use their foreign licence, regardless of where it was issued, for the first six months of residency.
After that, you can convert your licence into its German brethren, which is then good for life. Which hoops you’ll have to jump through depends on where you got your original licence – those issued in Canada, Andorra, Israel, Japan, Croatia, Monaco, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa, most US states, the Isle of Man and Guernsey can be converted with little fanfare (see below). Residents of other countries will be required to pass a theoretical and practical driving test, which can only be taken together with a driving school and cost about €300 in total. If you don’t convert your licence within your first three years in Germany, you lose that right and will be forced to start from the beginning.
EU citizens do not need to have their driving licences converted to German licences. They can maintain their original licence and it must be accepted by German authorities. There is no advantage for EU citizens that have their licence converted.
The minimum age for having a licence is 18, though a new variant allows 17 year olds to drive as long as someone with a driving licence is in the passenger seat.
Regardless of whether you’re using your old licence or new German permit, you must have it on you any time you’re behind the wheel of a car. Police regularly conduct spot checks to ensure that your car and paperwork are in order. If you cause a crash and don’t have your licence, your insurance company could even refuse to pay for the damages.
