Foreign driving licence in Germany: how to convert it (2026)
Foreign licence in Germany: EU licences, the six-month rule and converting without a test for Annex 11 countries such as the UK, Japan or Ukraine.
Last updated: November 2026 (FeV as amended on 12 August 2026)
Key points
- An EU or EEA licence stays valid when you move to Germany. You can exchange it, but you do not have to.
- A licence from any other country is valid for six months after you take up ordinary residence in Germany. After that you need a German licence.
- For states and classes listed in Annex 11 FeV, such as the UK, Switzerland, Japan or Ukraine, you get a German licence without a theory or practical test.
- For all other countries you take both tests, but you do not need to complete the driving school training.
Visiting or living here: why it matters
The rules depend on whether you have your ordinary residence in Germany. That is normally the case if you live here for at least 185 days a year because of personal and work ties (§ 7 FeV).
Without ordinary residence, for example as a tourist, you may drive in Germany within the scope of your foreign licence (§ 29 (1) FeV). If your licence is not in German, was not issued in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland and does not follow the model of the 1968 Vienna Convention, you must carry a translation or an International Driving Permit together with your national licence (§ 29 (2) FeV). Learner permits do not count, and holders of non-EU licences must have reached the German minimum age.
Licences from the EU and the EEA
A valid licence from an EU or EEA country remains valid after you move to Germany, within the scope of its classes (§ 28 FeV). Conditions on it apply here too. For trucks and buses (classes C and D), the German five-year validity applies. There are exceptions, for example if you obtained the licence abroad while your ordinary residence was in Germany.
If you want a German card anyway, you can exchange it without a test, eye test, first aid course or driving school (§ 30 FeV). The foreign licence is handed in and returned to the issuing country.
Licences from other countries: the six-month rule
Once you take up ordinary residence in Germany, a licence from a country outside the EU and the EEA is valid for another six months (§ 29 (1) FeV). The authority can extend this by up to six months if you credibly show that you will not live in Germany for longer than twelve months. After that you need a German licence; driving on the foreign licence alone is then no longer allowed.
Converting a non-EU licence
You apply to the driving licence authority where you live (§§ 21 and 31 FeV). You prove your licence with the national licence card and declare that it is still valid; the authority may check this. You do not need the driving school training. For the states and classes listed in Annex 11, you also need no first aid course and, as a rule, no eye test, and the tests are waived as listed there. In individual cases the authority can still order a test if there are facts suggesting that you no longer have the required knowledge or skills (§ 31 (1a) FeV).
You receive the German licence only when you hand in your foreign one. It is sent back to the issuing state if there is an agreement; otherwise the authority keeps it and may destroy it after three years. The time since you obtained your foreign licence counts towards the two-year probation period (§ 2a StVG).
Annex 11: where no test is needed
Annex 11 FeV lists the states whose licences are converted with fewer or no tests:
| Issuing state | Classes | Theory test | Practical test |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra, French Polynesia, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Japan, Jersey, Monaco, Montenegro, New Caledonia, North Macedonia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom | all | no | no |
| Albania | A1, A2, A, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE | no | no |
| Albania | AM | no | yes |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | A1, A, B | no | no |
| Israel | A1, A2, A, B | no | no |
| Kosovo | AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE | no | no |
| Moldova | A1, A2, A, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE | no | yes |
| Namibia | A1, A, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE (licence issued at least two years before the application) | no | no |
| New Zealand | 1, 6 | no | no |
| Republic of Korea | 1, 2 | no | no |
| Taiwan | B/BE | no | no |
| Ukraine | A1, A, B, BE, C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D, DE | no | no |
| Australia (all states and territories) | C and R (Victoria also CAR) | no | no |
| Canada (all provinces and territories) | car licence classes as listed, mostly class 5 (Ontario: G) | no | no |
USA: Car licences from these states are converted without any test: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington State, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. From Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon and Tennessee you take the theory test but no practical test. US states not listed are treated like other countries.
Important notes from the annex:
- Where only certain classes are listed instead of “all”, you receive only class B.
- Learner permits and similar provisional licences cannot be converted; the exact rules on provisional licences differ by state.
- Australian class C (and CAR in Victoria) corresponds to German class B, class R to class A.
- The Ukrainian class A1 corresponds to the German class AM. If Ukrainian C or D was issued without B, you take both tests for class B.
- For some states proof of vision is still required, and for Ukraine the authority may ask for an eye test.
The annex lists exact classes and conditions for each state. Check the official text linked below or ask your authority before you apply.
All other countries: tests without compulsory training
If your country is not listed in Annex 11, you take the theory test and the practical test, but the rules on driving school training do not apply (§ 31 (2) FeV). You do not have to attend the minimum theory lessons or the special drives. You still need a suitable test vehicle; in practice most people book it through a driving school, often together with a few lessons to get used to German traffic rules.
The theory test has 30 questions and can be taken in English and 13 other languages besides German, for example Turkish, Russian, Standard Arabic or Ukrainian (Annex 7 FeV). Our guide How to get a driving licence in Germany explains both tests step by step.