Converting a driver's license to a German one

It can be a complete nightmare, I was banned in the UK over 15 years ago for drink driving, the ban has been over for years but I had only a paper licence and should have changed it years ago to a proper EU plastic one, which I am doing now, It was one of the many things I am sorting that I have been lazy for years. The law in the UK has changed and now you have to take a retest if you are banned for drink driving for a second offence, which I was. I applied for what they call a certificate of entitlement from the DVLA, and it came back as disqualified until a retest!!!, I now have to pay for a sight test, a first aid certificate and do another driving test here. At least I can just take the tests without all the normal driving school stuff, I have to do a one hour evaluation with the instructor then just do the test, I think I have to do the theory test as well, not a big deal, buts all added expense and I cant drive until its all completed which is a serious pain

what you said in 201 words, i can say in 4.

dont drink and drive.

Indeed.
The only bright side to all of the driver's license rigamarole is that once you get your license it is valid throughout the EU until you die (or get it suspended/taken away for violations). German licenses currently have no expiration (that may change in the future, but for now a German license is the best type of EU license).

No necessity to convert or exchange your UK license. It's perfectly valid here. Your UK penalty points don't count in the German system (at the moment). You start here with a clean sheet.

As you've only been driving 2 years and had a claim in that time you are pretty stuffed on the insurance front. You'll probably start with a 25% (maybe even 40%, depending on your age) loading, so pay 125% (140%) of the premium. You'll need to be looking for a cheap low rated car and take minimum insurance.

I'm just impressed a mod hasn't edited the title by now, very impressively lazy of them.

My license was ~35 euros and no hassle at all a couple years ago, because I checked ahead before moving here and switched to an IL license. A little extra thought at the beginning saves a hell of a hassle...

Does that mean, I would be in trouble if I tried to swap my Australian License for an UK one while I was still registered in Germany. (I am a German citizen, would that make any difference )

You don't have to be a mod to edit titles--what do you think it should be?


I don't know what the requirements are for license conversions in the UK.

You can't swap it for a UK license while resident in Germany. You'd have to be resident in UK for at least 180 days to get a UK license. Your citizenship is not relevant.

It'd be easier to get one in Ireland imo. They don't have any way of checking residency and we're outside schengen. All you need is an address of a pal who'll post the application and fee (25 euro) and then post the licence to you when it comes back in a few days.

Exchange of licence in Ireland

As YL6 said, for your license to be valid in Germany, you would have had to be a resident of the country issuing the license for at least six months.
While you might have a card that says you are licensed, if you get into trouble...
www.tuev-hessen.de/resource/pub/files/Tipp_Auslaendischer_Fuehrerschein.pdf

Notwithstanding the theoretical residency requirements, an Australian license holder can only exchange in Ireland if their existing license has expired, or is shortly due to expire.

That's simply not the case (it may be the case for EU/EEA licences which are valid in Ireland for their period of national validity up to a maximum of 10 years however even in this case I believe the irish authorities have no problem exchanging EU/EEA licences at any time). Sure you can only drive on an Australian licence for up to 12 months (with your IDP) and then you MUST convert it to an irish one to have a valid licence-same requirement as Germany except Ireland recognises Australian licences and Germany doesn't.

Hi! I've got an Uk provisional driving licence. Can I exchange it here? And what equivalent will I get?

As far as Germany is concerned you don't have a driving licence. A UK "provisional" licence has no validity here, unless your license shows validity for other vehicles, e.g. mopeds or tractors, which some do. You can't drive, nor can you exchange it for anything. You need to take a test to secure a real licence in whichever country you are formally resident.

Question in reverse --

does anyone know the rules for converting a German license back to an american license in the state of Texas?

I've got categories: B; F - Agricultural tractors; K -Mowing machine or vehicle controlled by a pedestrian; P - Mopeds.

Why bother, you don't even have to take a phsyical driving test to get a tx license, just answer some questions on a computer.. I swear it was messed up, I got a license at 16 without having ever gotten behind the wheel of a car.

Does your office have parking space for company mowing machines?

Thanks for your link, murphaph, it sounds great. Do you think they will ask you how long you have been Ireland?

hey thanks a bunch .. My next stop is to hunt for cheaper insurance .. I tried Directline .:-).. well i should say i was really surprised to see the quote of 2500 euros ..cant believe it .. I am asking some german friends to help me out with cheaper insurance here .. As u mentioned the age factor , i remm in the UK i had my insurance reasonably reduced due to the age (more than 25 yrs ) .. I think i have to hunt more insurance guys here who take that into consideraton here ..

Anyways thanks a lot for your reply :-),,

I don't know if Starshollow sells KFZ insurance, but if he does, he'd be a good place to start.
I've used ino24.de for insurance comparison shopping, but I don't own a car, so I can't speak directly to their KFZ insurance offerings.

Probably, but they won't be able to check it and will take your word for it. We don't have very tight immigation controls, and none between the UK and Ireland so you could have entered the country through the UK and you'd not show up on any system. They really wouldn't bother going to such lengths anyway. All you'll need is an address to use.

I have two licences. I had a german one first, moved to the UK, got a UK licence. Moved back to Germany, said I'd lost my ooriginal paper licence (which I had) and got a new photocard one.

I have a question: we have a big trailer which we used in Germany. I have been told it is illegal to use it in the UK, you can only use small ones, or else you need a special licence. At themoment we are not using it, it;s in our garage in England, but one day it will be needed. What are the regulations? We used it over here before I knew it was illegal.


I find insurance MUCH cheaper in Germany, but then, I'm a special case! I hate the Uk system, in which the insurance is per person. When my son first got his license in the UK I had to get extra insurance for him. Of course, he had accidents, speeded etc, got points. So his insurance went up, and the unfair thing is, SO DID MINE. Finally he got a conviction, long story, don't ask. At that point MY UK insurance skyrocketed to a few thousand pounds. No kidding.
Luckily, though, we had a second car which was registered and insured in Germany. The insurance is valid for all drivers. And then I moved back to Germany, imported my UK car, registered it in Germany, insured it in Germany. Since I had a clean license in Germany my insurance was extremely low and it was for all drivers, including my son.
My son is now a much more careful driver, his license is now clean, and he needs to drive to get to college. We still have our car isured in Germany. Because my insurance record is now cleaned up in Germany, I think I'll be able to start again in the Uk at some point. Complicated, I know!

In Ireland the requirement to do a test with a trailer arises if you wish to draw trailers above a certain weight, or if the combined gross weight of the car+trailer exceeds a certain limit (3,500kg I think) so small trailers can be drawn on a straight category B licence while larger ones or larger combination weights require a B+E licence. I think the UK is similar. Only trailers which are EU harmonised and have a data plate and the relevant 'E' stamps can be legally taken across EU borders, so that trailer you made yourself might be legal in Ireland but could not be taken anywhere else.

UK info here shows it also depends on when you obtained your licence (ie, before or after the 2nd driving licence directive was adopted).

I just went down and handed in my UK drivers license, and they said that they would send me a letter in 3 to 4 weeks when the German one is ready to be picked up again. A couple of people on here said that they didn't need a translation if it was a new style license - well, in Munich you do. I didn't have one, so I had to go around the corner to the ADAC to get one, which cost 39 euros.

Then the actual change over cost 35 euros.

I'm now a little concerned too, because in the translation, it clearly states that I got my UK license by swapping my Australian license for it. And you can't swap an Australian license for a German one. Has anyone done this successfully? ie. Aussie to UK to German?

Has anyone added a qualification obtained abroad after having been issued a German license? Thank you.

I should've looked into this earlier! My license expires on Saturday. My question is, if I go tomorrow will they still issue me a German license that doesn't have the same expiration date as my Illinois license? Or will they say, "Your license expires tomorrow. Too bad."

Does that make sense? Any advice would be appreciated.

Since German driver's licenses don't have expiration dates...you're fine.

Excellent news! I know where I'm going tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the info!

Good luck. You're cutting it pretty close, so I hope they don't make you get a translation or are closed tomorrow, etc.

Just got back from the office in Marktoberdorf, that of which I cannot remember the name of (I'm only 6 months into my German lessons), and it went fairly smoothly. They told me that I have to go get a translation from the ADAC, which wasn't a surprise thanks to you guys. And they also told me that I need to go to the American Embassy to get documentation saying that my license is indeed valid, and verifying that I'm not a criminal, which I found odd. No big deal, it gives me an excuse to go to Munich.

I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I can do all this next week even though my license expires tomorrow. I don't know if the guy in charge was exceptionally cool or what. I guess as long as the paperwork is in progress, that's all that mattered. What a relief that was!

There was a small issue when I first got there based on the fact that I have a CDL (commercial drivers license/truck driving license), which is why the guy in charge was the one helping me. It's a class "C", while the standard license is class "D". Because it wasn't in the books, at first they had me sweating. But then they called the bossman over and all he had to do was confirm that class "D" is included in class "C". I thought I'd mention that in case anyone else comes here with a CDL.

Thanks again for the guidance, everyone. I love this place.

That's a new one, and those things are not specified in the FeV as required, and I don't know if the Consulate will even be able to do that.
The license verification is supposed to occur through the KBA and the Führerscheinstelle. They have a book of license pictures that they compare the license to and then the KBA can verify it with the issuing authority (state) if they desire.

Yeah, I know. I guess I'll find out next week!


You know, he did pull out that book and look it up, but maybe he wants some extra assurance. Who knows how this will all unfold once I get to Munich. I'll keep you guys posted.

I went and changed my UK License (was orignally Australian) to a German one today. As I lost my wallet the other week the DVLA sent me a letter from the UK that just stated that I am able to drive XYZ class. So I went in and it was all done in 1/2 hr, cost 65 yoyos no translation was required and they gave me a paper permit thing to use shildt I wait for my License however I am only allowed to drive within Munich

I guess this must be unique to Munich. When I changed my licence (4 weeks ago) I was charged 25€ for it. They also gave me a letter while I waited for the new licence, but it didn't say anything like I could only drive within the Heidelberg area. Seems a bit daft.

I am now waiting for yet another German licence as my english one stated that I had passed my motorcycle test when I was 11 years old. The uk waived the 5 quid fee for faxing the German office a letter with my correctly dated entitlements on, rightly so.

Has anyone gotten a German license, left the country temporarily and gotten an additional qualification (i.e. truck or motorcycle) and had it added on to the German one? Does anyone know how this works, or if it even does? Thanks.

I haven't had the exact situation happen, but I did recently apply for my German license using a class C CDL from the US and they said that I wouldn't be able to drive a truck here. Not surprising and not a problem for me, personally. They told me if I wanted to, I'd need to go through the German certification process to get the proper license.

I'm not sure you could do this, as "adding a qualification" can normally only be done to a license registered in the same country, so in theory you'd need to convert your German license to a local one, add the new driver qualification, then, if necessary revert back to a German on on your return, and thereby retain the new driving group. Of course, if you did this in the EU, while you would still need the new licence for the additional qualification in the second country you would not need to change it back on return to Germany.

Thanks. Might as well not put all my eggs in one basket points-wise.

Only the standard car/scooter classes can be converted/added. Motorcycles, Trucks and Buses all require special Training. If that training isn't don in Germany/EU
then forget it..

A few questions for you all.

My husband moved to Germany in January, so I figure his U.S. license is no good anymore. But how does a police officer know that if they stop him? He isn't required to carry his passport, so how would they know when it's been 3 months?

In any case, the secretary at his work said he has to mail his Illinois license to the ADAC to get it translated and "classified", whatever that means? But she said the charge is 50 euros! That sounds pretty steep to me. Is that what the rest of you paid? I'm going to have to pay the same fee for mine I assume (I have a Quebec license), and 100 euros is quite a chunk of change. Can anyone explain this to me? (We live in Saarbruecken, if that makes a difference).

Thanks,

captious

I was told that the clock started ticking as soon as they received my anmeldung. Not when it was processed, or when I received my visa, but when I first registered as living at an address in Germany. So a police officer could just find out how long you've been registered in Germany and then know how long you've been driving with a non-German driving license.

I think I paid around 45 euros a number of years ago, so 50 euros sounds about right to have ADAC translate it for you.

edit: Hmm... an explanation? Well, you can either pay the 50 euros each to translate, plus the eye test and other fees and get your German licenses for a few hundred euros now, you can stop driving, or you can wait three years and then pay 2000 each to go back to school, take classes and training and pass the tests again. I know which option I'd prefer. So from a different perspective, a few hundred euros isn't all that much to pay now, is it?

It can't hurt to check with the Saarbrücken Führerscheinstelle to see if they actually require a translation. Some cities waive the translation requirement for English-language licenses.

After six months of being registered as living in Germany, a foreign license loses its validity. If you drive with a foreign license after this time period, you are considered to be driving without a license and could face severe penalties if caught.

I would like to check with the Saarbrücken Führerscheinstelle, but I think my very minimal German is probably not up to asking them that. The secretary insists that she talked to ADAC and they said it has to be translated. Given my poor German at this point, it doesn't look like I have any other option than paying the 100 euros. I know that's not a lot compared to 2000 each, but it's still not a trivial amount, hence my attempt not to pay it if I don't have to!

Have the German secretary call the licensing bureau directly and ask them about the translation. Since ADAC makes money on the translations, I can see them always saying "yes" no matter which city you are in, even if not technically required. Perhaps you might be able to save some money after all

wow! you have to pay 100euros for the translation? ADAC had to translate my license, but i know it wasn't 100euros! Perhaps the price has severely increased since I did it almost 2.5 years ago.

Mere... do keep up... that's for TWO translations

_{(grinning here... just pulling your leg... you know how it is on a slow afternoon )}

+1

While the FeV does indeed specify that a translation is required, not all cities really require it for all licenses. Maybe Saarbrücken does, maybe they don't, but the ADAC isn't going to care.

But then again, maybe it's worth 100 euros to avoid pissing off a german secretary...

Captious
here is the email addres of the Saarbrücken Führerscheinstelle/buergeramt
send an email , just write it in English ,got to be worth a go for 100 euros

buergeramt@saarbruecken.de