By 19 January 2033 at the latest, all German driving licences must be exchanged for the forgery-proof plastic card with an expiry date. The deadlines depend on your year of birth (for old paper licences) or issue date (for card licences). We check automatically against today's date: today.
If your licence was already issued as a plastic card, the issue date applies. If you hold multiple categories, the date of the first issue counts (Category 3 or B).
The grey or pink paper licences are exchanged in stages according to the holder's year of birth. Anyone who has already exchanged theirs automatically falls into the next tier.
You can handle the exchange yourself at Landratsamt Tübingen or leave the work to us. Nothing is re-tested during the exchange. All existing categories carry over 1:1.
Book online with Landratsamt Tübingen's citizen service. Current waiting time is 4-6 weeks.
ID card, old driving licence, one biometric passport photo, 25,30 € fee.
The new card arrives after 3-5 weeks. The old licence is handed in at the appointment.
We prepare all the documents, take the passport photo, submit the application to the Landratsamt, and deliver the new licence to your door. We'll tell you the small surcharge for this full-service option upfront.
You wouldn't be driving without a licence. But the licence would count as no longer valid as a document. At a police check, it's a minor offence (10 € warning). We recommend not waiting, because waiting times at the office increase massively close to the deadlines.
No. The exchange is purely administrative. All existing categories carry over, with no new test, no eye test, no first-aid course.
15 years. Then you exchange it again. But really just the plastic card, no test. Different rules apply for categories C, CE, D, DE (every 5 years with a health check).
Apply for a replacement licence instead of an exchange. Costs around 50 € at the authority. A copy of your file is automatically requested from the issuing authority.
Deadlines follow the official exchange schedule (§ 6 Abs. 7 FeV, German Driving Licence Ordinance). Fees can vary slightly by licensing authority; all details without guarantee. Official sources: German Federal Government, licence-exchange FAQ and ADAC, exchange deadlines (both in German).