Driving licence and car

Steps

1. Check that your licence is valid (date on the card) and that the category covers the vehicle. Equivalences between categories follow European decision 2016/1945 (§ 28 para. 2 FeV).
2. EU or EEA licence: keep driving. No exchange is required by the FeV as long as your licence is valid. You can exchange voluntarily at the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde (driving licence office) of your municipality or district: without a test, without an eyesight test, without first-aid training (§ 30 para. 1 FeV). You then hand in your old licence (§ 30 para. 3 FeV). If the validity of your card expires after you settle (or already had), you replace it in the same way with a German licence, without a test for the car and motorcycle categories (§ 30 para. 2 FeV); Service Berlin also accepts an expired European licence.
3. Heavy goods or bus licence (C, C1, CE, D, D1, DE…): these categories are limited to five years in Germany (§ 23 para. 1 FeV), and this rule also applies to your European licence, counted from its date of issue. If it is more than five years old when you settle, you keep the right to drive for six months, then you must apply for a German licence (§ 28 para. 3 FeV), with the medical examinations provided for these categories.
4. British (Scotland included) or Swiss licence: you can drive for six months from the time you settle (ordentlicher Wohnsitz). Extension possible by six months at most, on request and at the authority's discretion, only if you make it credible (glaubhaft machen) that you will not stay for more than twelve months (§ 29 para. 1 FeV). Request the exchange before the six months are up: for these two countries, all categories are exchanged without a theory or practical test (Annex 11 FeV); for the United Kingdom, an eyesight test may be requested.
5. Do the exchange at the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde with the documents below. The German licence is handed to you in return for your foreign licence (§ 30 para. 3 and § 31 para. 4 FeV).

Documents

• Your original driving licence.
• Identity document and, in practice, Meldebescheinigung (certificate of residence).
• A recent biometric passport photo, on paper (Service Berlin: it is not printed on site).
• For a non-EU licence (United Kingdom, Switzerland): written statement that your licence is still valid (§ 31 FeV); sometimes a translation.
• For heavy goods vehicles: medical and eyesight certificates required by the FeV.

Costs and timelines

• EU/EEA licence: no compulsory exchange, so no deadline. Fee for a voluntary exchange: €37.50 in Berlin (Service Berlin, page consulted on 23/10/2026; the page does not date the fee); fees follow a federal scale, but check the amount on your municipality's website.
• British or Swiss licence: valid for six months after settling, extendable by six months at most in a specific case (§ 29 FeV). Exchange fee in Berlin: €37.50 without a test (the case of the United Kingdom and Switzerland, countries of Annex 11), €45.10 when a test is required (Service Berlin, page consulted on 23/10/2026).
• Settling (ordentlicher Wohnsitz): you are considered settled when you live in Germany at least 185 days a year, with personal and professional ties (§ 7 FeV). An EU student who came only for their studies does not establish their home there.
• Validity of categories: cars and motorcycles (B, BE, A…) with no limit on the right to drive; heavy goods vehicles and buses five years at most (§ 23 FeV). German licences issued since 19 January 2013 are documents valid for 15 years, to be renewed (§ 24a FeV).

Common pitfalls

• Letting the six months pass with a British or Swiss licence. After that period, you are driving without a valid licence in Germany. Make an appointment as soon as you do your Anmeldung.
• Driving a lorry with an old European licence. The five-year limit for categories C and D applies even to your foreign licence (§ 28 para. 3 FeV).
• Having passed your European licence while living in Germany. If it was issued when you already had your home in Germany (except for studies of at least six months), it is not recognised (§ 28 para. 4 FeV).
• A licence withdrawal in Germany. A European licence obtained after a withdrawal or a ban in Germany does not give the right to drive there (§ 28 para. 4 FeV).
• Old paper licences. Old models of European licences remain recognised, but must be exchanged by 2033 at the latest if they have not been renewed before (Your Europe). Take the opportunity to exchange in Germany if your licence is old.
• Loss or theft. If you lose your European licence once you have settled, it is the German authority that issues you a new one (Your Europe).

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway): direct recognition, optional exchange (§ 28 and § 30 FeV).
• Switzerland: six months' validity after settling, then exchange without a test for all categories (§ 29 FeV, Annex 11).
• United Kingdom (Scotland included): same rule as Switzerland; an eyesight test may be required at the exchange (Annex 11 FeV, note 22).

Steps

1. Take out German third-party motor insurance (Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung). It is compulsory for any vehicle habitually parked in Germany (§ 1 PflVG). The insurer gives you an eVB number (elektronische Versicherungsbestätigung, electronic insurance confirmation) to present at registration.
2. Check the technical inspection. A valid Hauptuntersuchung (HU, technical inspection, often called "TÜV" after an inspection body) under § 29 StVZO is needed, except for a fairly recent car: for a passenger car, the first HU takes place 36 months after first registration, then every 24 months (Annex VIII StVZO). If your car passed a technical inspection compliant with European rules in another EU or EEA country where it was in use, it is recognised: no new HU before registration, and the date of the next one follows the German rhythm. You must prove the date of first registration, otherwise an HU is required (§ 8 para. 2 FZV). For a car with European type approval that was in use outside the EU and the EEA (Switzerland, United Kingdom), a German HU is compulsory before registration (§ 8 para. 3 FZV).
3. Gather the certificate of conformity (EG-Übereinstimmungsbescheinigung, COC) or a confirmation of the manufacturer's data. Without type approval, an expert report (Gutachten under § 21 StVZO) less than 18 months old is needed (Service Berlin).
4. Make an appointment at the Zulassungsstelle of your home area and bring all the originals.
5. Sign the SEPA direct debit mandate for the Kfz-Steuer: without a bank account, no registration of a taxable vehicle (Service Berlin).
6. Leave with your registration certificate (Zulassungsbescheinigung Part I and Part II) and have your plates made (often at a manufacturer next to the office), then have them stamped.
7. Have the car deregistered in your home country. German registration leads to information being sent to the home country, but not to automatic deregistration: it is up to you to do it (Service Berlin). The foreign plates are generally returned to you for this.

Documents

Berlin office list for a used car coming from the EU or the EEA (each Zulassungsstelle publishes its own list: check the one for your municipality):

• Registration application and SEPA direct debit mandate.
• Purchase contract or invoice.
• eVB number of the insurance.
• Identity card or passport, with certificate of residence.
• Foreign registration certificate(s) and foreign plates.
• COC or confirmation of the manufacturer's data (or § 21 StVZO expert report).
• Proof of a valid HU, except for a recent car.
• Power of attorney and identity documents if someone goes in your place.

Costs and timelines

• Registration: fees follow the federal scale of road traffic fees (Gebührenordnung für Maßnahmen im Straßenverkehr). In Berlin, €34.70 in the simplest case, more if your file requires additional acts (exemption…); plates not included (Service Berlin, page consulted on 23/10/2026; it does not date the fee). The final amount depends on your file: ask your Zulassungsstelle.
• Kfz-Steuer (passenger car): calculated on engine size and CO2 emissions. For each 100 cm³ begun, €2 for a petrol engine and €9.50 for a diesel, plus a surcharge per gram of CO2 above 95 g/km (from €2 to €4 per gram depending on the band for cars first registered since 1 January 2021) (§ 9 para. 1 no. 2 c KraftStG). Cars first registered from July 2009 to the end of 2020 pay €2 per gram above 95 to 120 g/km depending on the year of first registration, and those from before July 2009 fall under another scale depending on their emissions standard (§ 9 para. 1 no. 2 a and b KraftStG). Text in force read on 23/10/2026.
• Electric car: exempt for ten years if it was first registered between 18 May 2011 and 31 December 2030, until 31 December 2035 at the latest (§ 3d KraftStG).
• Minimum insurance: €7.5 million for personal injury, €1.3 million for property damage, €50,000 for purely financial loss, per claim (annex to the PflVG). Premium set freely by the insurer.
• Driving with foreign plates: one year at most from crossing the border, and only if the car does not have its habitual parking place in Germany (§ 46 paras. 1 and 7 FZV). In a particular case, the period may be longer (3 years at most) when the temporary use is part of the exercise of the free movement of workers, freedom of establishment or freedom to provide services in the EU (§ 46 para. 7 FZV). As soon as you settle in Germany with a car registered in your name abroad, you must apply for German plates (Bundesportal): the car then has its habitual parking place in Germany and the one-year tolerance no longer applies. The law gives no number of days: do it as soon as you arrive.

Common pitfalls

• Driving for months with the original plates after you settle. The one-year period is for temporary use, not for a car that now lives in Germany. The insurance from your home country may also stop covering you: ask them in writing.
• Forgetting the COC. Without it, a paid expert report is needed. Ask the manufacturer for it before you leave if you no longer have it.
• Not deregistering the car in your country. You risk continuing to pay tax and insurance there.
• Buying a car outside the EU (Switzerland, United Kingdom). Customs clearance is also needed (§ 6 para. 7 FZV), and import VAT may be due: check with customs (Zoll).
• Believing the Kfz-Steuer is paid in cash. It is collected from an account, hence the compulsory SEPA mandate.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA countries: procedure described above; the European COC is in principle recognised, and the Zulassungsstelle can retrieve its data from the chassis number (§ 6 para. 4 FZV).
• Switzerland and United Kingdom (Scotland included): these are non-EU countries for goods: proof of customs clearance required (§ 6 para. 7 FZV), and the vehicle may need an expert report if its type approval is not European. For a move, the car enters without customs duty or import VAT as removal goods (Übersiedlungsgut) if: you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months (possible exception if you prove, for example with an employment contract, that you at least intended to live there for twelve months or more), the car belongs to you, was registered in your name and was used by you for at least 6 months there, and you declare it to customs within 12 months of settling (form 0350). For 12 months from acceptance of the application, you may not sell it, lend it, pledge it, rent it out or give it away: otherwise the exemption lapses and the duties are claimed. Any excise duties remain due, and the Kfz-Steuer applies (Zoll, page consulted on 23/10/2026).