Apply for a driver's license

Before you can obtain a driving license that entitles you to safely drive a motor vehicle on public roads, you must complete theoretical and practical training.

You can apply for a driving license in person at your local driving licensing authority or digitally via the online service.

Online Application

• Please have your ID card or electronic residence permit with the online ID function activated, as well as electronic copies of the required documents, ready.
• Follow the link to the online application and follow the instructions for authentication.
• Fill out the fields in the application form as instructed.
• Once all data fields have been filled out, submit the application, and the data will be transmitted to the relevant authority.
• You will be able to download a copy of your application after submitting it.

Written Application

• Submit a written application to the driver’s license authority. At some driver’s license authorities, it is recommended that you appear in person.
• Some driver’s license authorities regularly require applicants to appear in person because the applicant must sign a signature sticker—which is sent to the Federal Printing Office along with the order to produce the card-style driver’s license—in a precisely defined field using a special pen.
• Upon receipt of the application, the Driver’s License Authority must determine whether there are any concerns regarding the applicant’s suitability. To this end, it will obtain information from the Central Traffic Register and the Central Driver’s License Register. This may take some time.
• If the applicant still needs to take the required written and practical exams, the driver’s license authority will, following the suitability review, commission the Technical Testing Center (DEKRA) to administer the exams. The Technical Testing Center will generally return the exam order to the driver’s license authority if
  • the theory test has not been passed within twelve months of receiving the testing assignment,
  • the practical exam has not been passed within twelve months of passing the theoretical exam, or
  • in cases where no theoretical exam is required, the practical exam has not been passed within twelve months of receipt of the examination request.

Important Notes: Both the online application and the written application can be submitted no earlier than six months before reaching the minimum age. Currently, online applications are only available through the City of Leipzig, and there, only for driver’s licenses in classes AM, A1, A2, A, B, L, and T. Applications for other driver’s license classes and for a Class B driver’s license under the Accompanied Driving program for drivers aged 17 and older can currently only be submitted in writing.

You can apply for a driving license in person at your local driving licensing authority or digitally via the online service.

• Permanent residence: You must be a resident of Germany.
• Physical and mental fitness: You must be physically and mentally fit to drive a vehicle.
• Driving school: You must enroll in a driving school that will issue your driver’s license application.
• Vision test: You must pass a vision test.
• First-aid course: You must complete a first-aid course.

• Application form (the driving schools can also help you fill it out)
• Photo, 45 x 35 mm in portrait format and without border (so-called biometric passport photo) - frontal photo, without headgear and without covering the eyes
• Registration certificate from the registration office responsible for the main place of residence
• Photo ID (passport or identity card)

The total cost of obtaining a driver's license for passenger cars (Class B) will average between 2,500 and 3,500 euros in 2026, and may exceed 4,000 euros in major cities.

Application: Can be submitted no earlier than 6 months before reaching the minimum age

If the requirements are met and the driving test is passed, none.

Objection

Check with your local driver's license office and the driving school you've chosen to find out which application forms or online services are available. This may vary by municipality and driving school.

Explanations regarding the required certificates:

• Certificates of participation in training in emergency life-saving measures were only accepted until October 21, 2017, when applying for a driver’s license in classes AM, A1, A2, A, B, BE, L, and T. Certificates of completion of first aid training remain valid indefinitely (see § 76 No. 11(b) of the German Driver’s License Regulations (FeV)).
• Eye exam certificate: You can obtain the eye exam certificate from any ophthalmologist or optometrist.
• Certificate of a general medical examination: Any physician can issue this certificate for you.
• Certificate of Medical Examination of Visual Acuity: The certificate may be issued by an ophthalmologist, a physician with the specialty designation “occupational medicine,” a physician with the additional designation “occupational health,” a physician at an assessment center for driving fitness, a physician at the public health department, or another physician employed by the public administration.
• Occupational or occupational medicine report, or a report from an officially recognized driver fitness assessment center: Applicants for a Class DE driver’s license or a license to transport passengers, for example, must use this report to demonstrate that they meet specific requirements regarding stress tolerance, orientation, concentration, attention, and reaction time.

The text was automatically translated based on the German content.

Thüringer Ministerium für Digitales und Infrastruktur

17.07.2026

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