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Exchange of driver's license
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German driver's licences, which have been issued before 19 March 2013, have to be exchanged. More Information can be found here.
Important: the Embassy is not a driving license authority. Applications for exchanges can only be made to the driving license authorities in Germany. The responsible authority is the driver's license office of your place of residence. If you are resident in a country other than an EU or EEA member state, every driving license authority in Germany is responsible for this matter. It is best to contact the driver's license authority that issued your driver's license or the driver's license authority that is responsible for your last place of residence in Germany. This will explain the further procedure to you.
With the Thirteenth Ordinance amending the Driving License Ordinance and other road traffic regulations of March 11, 2019 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 218), an exchange of driving licenses was decided upon. This early staggered exchange is necessary to implement European requirements. According to the so-called Third EU Driving License Directive (Directive 2006/126 / EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on driving licenses), all driving licenses issued before January 19, 2013 must be exchanged by January 19, 2033. This is to ensure that all driving licenses still in circulation in the EU are given a uniform model, which in particular fulfills the requirements for security against counterfeiting.
The exchange is graded as follows:
- Driving licenses issued up to and including 31 December 1998
| Year of birth of the license holder | Day by which the license must be exchanged |
| before 1953 | 19.01.2033 |
| 1953-1958 | 19.01.2022 |
| 1959-1964 | 19.01.2023 |
| 1965-1970 | 19.01.2024 |
| 1971 or later | 19.01.2025 |
- Licences which had been issued before 1 January 1999 *:
| Year of issue | Day by which the license must be exchanged |
| 1999-2001 | 19.01.2026 |
| 2002-2004 | 19.01.2027 |
| 2005-2007 | 19.01.2028 |
| 2008 | 19.01.2029 |
| 2009 | 19.01.2030 |
| 2010 | 19.01.2031 |
| 2011 | 19.01.2032 |
| 2012-18 | 19.01.2033 |
* License holders who were born before 1953 must exchange their license by 19 January 2033, regardless of the year in which the license was issued.
After the deadline specified in the table above, your old driver's license will become invalid. Please note, it is only an administrative exchange. Your driving license remains unchanged. Additional regular medical examinations or other examinations are not associated with this. They continue to exist only for certain professional groups with special responsibility. The newly issued driver's license is limited to 15 years, regardless of the underlying driving license. After this validity has expired, a new driver's license must be issued.
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