Taking the theoretical driver's license test

Hello all,

I'm considering applying for a driving license here. How does one go about doing the theoretical test? Does it take much learning? Where does it take place, and how?

In Australia the theoretical test was a good laugh and easy to pass, is it the same here?

Thanks!

You need to do it through a driving school. And the test is frigging hard, even in english. A lot of questions are counter-intuitive and dont make sense, so its more important to simply memorize the answers rather than think too much. I would say it was harder than any of the uni exams I have done, in terms of how much raw memorizing time is required.

Practical test is even harder, its not just a matter of getting from a to be without an accident, you actually have to look in mirrors in a certain order and turn your head certain angles and stuff. Its probably easier for a beginner, but the longer you have been driving the more different you drive to how the examiner expects, and the harder it is.

I kept getting done for resting my hand on the gear stick as I go through the gears, and if I concentrated on keeping my hand on the wheel then I would forget some other silly thing.

Getting my german license is definitly my biggest achievement in life. In terms of effort put in and stress gone through anyway.

Oh dear!

Do you vaguely remember how much the theoretical test cost?

Some common questions that I´ve been asked, and my corresponding answers:

1. Do I have to plan ahead to take the written test? Meaning, do you have to give notice to the license office that you are going to take it? If so, how long is it?
1.5 Did you have to give up your US license b/f or after your German one arrived?
2. How long feasibly should I study for the test? I have read that it is extremely difficult if one is not prepared? I plan on going to a local Fahrschule today to see if I can order the English practice questions
3. Since I have to do the driving portion also, I will probably register with a school to take a few drives to shake out any bad habits and to get an insider's view on the driving test. Is the test done by a school or a license office?
4. Were you required to take classes for either the written or practical or did you just take some refresher classes?

My answers:

1 and 3. I was under the impression that the limit on being registered here in Germany was 6 months, but someone posted after me on the thread that this isn´t necessarily so. You can find out though with one quick phone call I´m sure. You should first find out where the government office is that handles all this. Sorry forget what they´re called (Führerscheinstelle?). I took the test in Karlsruhe, and the office was colocated with the ADAC. Maybe it´s like that here in Munich as well.

Anyway, dealing with them was a pain in the ass but I sat through it and nodded politely when necessary. They´re the keepers of the gate so don´t piss them off! They told me what I needed, or rather, I extricated the info from them, they weren´t too proactive but this is standard procedure in Beamtentum in my experience.

Once you know what you need, it´s not that difficult anymore. I went through a driving school. THis was a joke, cause I´ve been driving since I was 15 (am 32 now!) I walked in and explained my situation. Signed up for the test through them but done by a federal official somewhere else (all of us examinees met on the day at the school and drove there together with the "teacher".) All the other students knew each other cause they´d gone through theory lessons at the school. I just showed up for the test, having studied for it on my own. I don´t know if you can avoid the whole school thing or not, but I wouldn´t recommend it since you plan on using them anyway for the practical portion. BTW the practical comes after the theory. Again up to that point I´d been at the school twice, once when I first walked in and signed up, the second time, when we met for the exam.

4. I took refresher classes for the practical. Something like 2 or 4 hours don´t remember which. But they´re bloody expensive. But highly recommend you take some. The teacher will know your situation, in my case I drove in the same area were the test usually is. The teacher showed me places where they like to "test" you i.e. a specific Kinder zone that was easy to overlook if you didn´t know it was there, etc. This is the inside gouge and worth it IMO. Also good to hear stuff like "don´t forget your blind spot" etc. I mean when you take the driving test, you have to go through all the motions. I.e. when turning accross a sidewalk, physically look to make sure it´s clear. After driving over the years, I know to do this ahead of time, but during the test you should do this physically so the tester can see you doing it, otherwise he thinks you forgot. Stuff like that. Again, pain in the ass, but all worth it when you get the license. Finally, during the driving test, it´s done with your driving school "teacher" and the official tester and you in the car (the car is from the driving school and the same that you took your lessons in). So it´s 3 of you in the car. Also keep in mind the tester and teacher know each other, since they do this all the time. I suspect they have some hidden rapport that conveys stuff like "he´s ok, don´t worry about him", or "this guy´s a nutcase, watch out!" etc.

1.5 I gave up my US license for a while, but got it back with my new German one. This may be because it had expired by that time, I don´t know if I got lucky and they never noticed, or they assumed that a U.S. license is valid for life like here in Germany. Anyway, I have the old one here with me now. It technically wasn´t expired, but on the license itself it was printed as expired (long story), glad I didn´t have to go into the details with the beamten.

2. The theory test is not hard as such. But it sucks! All that´s required is practice ahead of time. Get the Fragebogen, which is the pool where the questions are asked from. And study them, all 1000 or so. Dont remember the number of questions, a lot were similar but all easy. All I did was study the questions, there´s off course formal textbooks and stuff to prepare you for the questions. I ocassionaly looked up a question for clarification, but predominantly just make sure you do the questions. I gave myself a month, doing it in chunks. Sat down in a cafe for example and told myself "today I´m doing bogen 10-20" or something like that. I think there were a total of 50 bögen. If you can´t find used ones (i´m sure there out there somewhere), then you´ll have to buy them from the Fahrschule. Yet more costs!

Ok that´s all for now. HOpe this helps. Ended up costing me about 500€ for all the registration fees, the coulple of hours I did, license translation etc.

I am also in the middle of preparing for a drivers' license. I am from the US and a state which Germany requires only the theoretical exam. You will need to go to the Driving license office near the West End. You will need to bring with you a translation of your current driver's license (from ADAC 36€) I had an International Driver's license which has a German translation, but that was not accepted. You will need an eye exam, around 5€ at any optik. You will need a copy of your first anmeldung in Germany. You will need proof of a First Aid course (I was able to get out of it because I teach Medical students and brought a copy of my contract which states that. You will then pay around 45€ for the cost of the application. They will ask for the number of which school you will take the exam, if you do not have it with you, they will ask for youto fax in the school number and the filing of your paperwork will be delayed until it is received. You then must wait between four and six weeks before they notify the school that you are eligible to take the exam. I am currently at that stage now.The following fees are as follows:
registration (reduced) € 80,00
theory exam € 60,00

TÜV fees € 32,13

optional:
study material in English (set) € 120.00,
(questionnaires € 59,00, manual € 66,00 if you need
only one of the two)
study material in German € 45,00

hey great tips guys. geez and how often this has been asked!

i suppose i got lucky too. only had to take the theoretical. bought the practice test and like previous said, i studied them in chunks until i got all the questions right. on the theoretical test they willl only ask you questions which you had on the practice tests so save your money and don't buy the manual.

i also did my test in esslingen near stuttgart so they "overlooked" me having a first aid class or an eye exam. got out much cheaper than brokenm, but nearly missed the boat by not having deregistered when i left d-land the first time. luckily i could convince them i was only in d-land 2 1/2 yrs, not the 3-odd years they had on their records.

Hey there Toytown community,

I thought I would post this here, even though people haven't been on it that recently.

I just finished the hurdle of the German driving exam and have an English book (in great condition) plus 24 (out of 58) practice tests left (including the two with all the signs and all the calculations you need).

Does anyone want them?

I'd like to sell them for 70Euros (instead of the 120Euros you normally have to pay).

I live in Schwabing (Muenchener Freiheit area) and would be happy to pass them off, should someone be interested.

Just send me a e-mail!