Which one suits
you?

The car licence

You practise in a targeted way until you drive safely and independently. How many practice drives you need depends on your individual learning progress. On top of that come the twelve special drives required by law.

• Parking, turning around, emergency braking and reversing around a corner to the right
• Practice drives tailored to your learning progress
• Driving carefully, with foresight and with the environment in mind, not just for the test
• Realistic test preparation: before your practical test we simulate a test situation that is as real as possible. That way you know what to expect, get to know typical procedures and requirements, and go into your test as well prepared as possible.

Accompanied driving

Once you pass, you receive a test certificate (Prüfbescheinigung) and may drive straight away, but only with a registered accompanying person. You get the card licence at the earliest on your 18th birthday.

• The accompanying person must be at least 30 years old
• They must have held category B for at least five years, EU, EEA or Swiss licences count
• At most one point in the driver fitness register
• They must carry their licence while accompanying you and show it on request
• A 0.5 blood alcohol limit and the ban on intoxicating substances apply to them (§ 24a StVG)
• There is no limit on the number of accompanying persons
• Combinable with B197: learn on an automatic and still be allowed to drive manual cars

Register and start

from the age of 16 years and 6 months

Theory test

at the earliest 3 months before your 17th birthday

Practical test

at the earliest 1 month before your 17th birthday

Test certificate valid

until 3 months after your 18th birthday

Valid in

Germany and Austria

If you want to add someone later, the test certificate is reissued for a fee. For that we need your parents’ consent and a copy of each accompanying person’s licence, front and back.

Learn on automatic, drive manual

Learning on an automatic is easier for many people: you cannot stall the car, you cannot select the wrong gear, and it will not roll back on a hill. In the past this meant code 78 in your licence and you could never drive a manual. Since April 2021 the 197 entry removes exactly that.

• Ten 45-minute lessons in a manual car during your training
• Then a 15-minute test drive with your instructor
• We confirm that you can operate a manual gearbox
• Test taken on an automatic, licence issued without restriction
• Combinable with BF17, so you can start as early as 16½

Manual lessons

10 × 45 minutes

Test drive

15 minutes

In force since

April 2021

It also works retrospectively: if your licence already carries code 78, we can have the restriction removed with a test drive and a certificate. Higher categories are extended with 197 as well, provided you take those tests in a manual car.