Conversion foreign driving license

The German car driving license for expats and immigrants

Conversion foreign driving license

Information not valid for EU driving license

 

How long are you allowed to drive in Germany with your foreign driving licence?

These are the requirements you need to meet

Which driving licence class is right for you?

These are the vehicles you are allowed to drive

Theory lessons are not mandatory – but it's free for you

What to expect in your driving lessons

Does the German probationary period apply to you?

How long are you allowed to drive in Germany with your foreign driving licence?

Your entitlement to drive with your foreign driving licence (non-EU driving licences) expires already 6 months after the first registration in Germany.

In order to continue driving in Germany after that, you must have your foreign driving licence converted into a German driving licence.

You have unlimited time to convert your foreign driver’s license.

These are the requirements you need to meet

  • Start of training Minimum age 17,5 years -> issue of driving licence Minimum age 18 years
     
  • Foreign driving licence must be accepted by the driving licence office Munich (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde):

    1.  Your foreign driving licence must be currently valid.

    2.  At the time your foreign driving licence was issued, you had been resident in the issuing country for more than 6 months.

    3.  You did not have a registered place of residence in Germany at the time your foreign driving licence was issued.

    4.  If you have renewed your foreign driving licence, you were not allowed to have a registered place of residence in Germany at the time of renewal. As a rule, the date of issue on the driving licence is decisive.
     
  • Whether you need an eyesight test or a first aid course, and which exams (theoretical and/or practical) are required for your country can be found in the country list – available on the page Conversion of a Foreign Driving Licence on the Munich Driving Licence Authority website under "Links and Downloads".
     
  • Apply for a driving licence at the driving licence authority.
     
  • Individual number of training lessons in the city and special lessons on the motorway, until you are ready for your exam – no legally required minimum.
     
  • No theory lessons required.

Which driving licence class is right for you?

If you have to take a practical exam, you can choose between 3 driving licence classes: B, B78, B197

Help at class-finder.

Find my license class

These are the vehicles you are allowed to drive

For your safety and enjoyment in the training you drive on top equipped vehicles latest models.

A professional maintenance and cleanliness of our vehicles is natural for us.

At locations you will find following training vehicles that are offered in the respective driving school.


Vehicles:

  • up to 3500 kg permissible total mass
  • also with trailer up to max. 750 kg permissible total mass or
  • with trailer over 750 kg permissible total mass, provided the permissible total mass of towing vehicle and trailer is max. Is 3500 kg

Theory lessons are not mandatory – but it's free for you

Theory lessons are not required when converting a foreign driving licence.

However, you are still welcome to take part free of charge.

Theoretical lessons

What to expect in your driving lessons

Training lesson

In your training lessons, you need to train the basic driving maneuvers (parking, emergency braking, turning around), the operation of all driver assistance systems, and driving in the city with all traffic rules and situations.

To allow your driving instructor to explain every exam-relevant situation to you once and drive through it with you, you usually need 5 driving appointments of 90 minutes each. This applies if you already have a lot of experience driving.

However, this does not mean you have trained these situations yet. If you need more practice to master them confidently, you will likely need more lessons before you are ready for the test.

The number of training lessons is not set by the German Driving Student Training Regulation (Fahrschüler-Ausbildungsordnung) and therefore depends on each student’s individual level of training. It is not possible to give an exact forecast of how many training lessons you will need to become exam-ready at the start of your training.

How many you actually need will be determined together with your instructor as your training progresses.

drive easy simulator

Optionally, you can practise individual modules on our Drive Easy Simulator – for even faster progress.

drive easy simulator

Special lesson

In a special lesson (Sonderfahrt), you practice driving outside the city on the motorway.

We recommend taking at least one special lesson on the motorway. How many you actually need is something you should agree on with your driving instructor over the course of your training.

The number of special lessons is not set by the German Driving Student Training Regulation (Fahrschüler-Ausbildungsordnung) and therefore depends on each student’s individual level of training. It is not possible to give an exact forecast of how many special lessons you will need to become exam-ready at the start of your training.

Does the German probationary period apply to you?

Whether you have a probationary period in Germany depends on how long you have held your foreign driving licence:

  • Foreign driving licence longer than 2 years -> no probationary period in Germany
     
  • Foreign driving licence shorter than 2 years -> probationary period in Germany is so long that you hold your driving licence (foreign + German driving licence) for a total of 2 years.
Rechtsgrundlage Gesetz Probezeit Umschreibung