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Six months on your UK license, then a swap with no exam

A UK driving license is valid in Germany for six months after you take up residence. The UK is on Germany's exchange list for all classes, so the license is swapped for a German one without any exam. The licensing office may ask for an eye test. Berlin and Munich charge €37.50, and Munich quotes up to 14 weeks, so apply before the six months end. The same applies to licenses from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Reviewed by
Erkan Boga

UK license in Germany: at a glance
  • Six months, then exchange: a license from the UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man is valid for six months after you move to Germany. After that you need a German license.
  • No exam: the UK is on Germany’s exchange list for all classes. You swap the license without a theory or practical exam. The licensing office may ask for an eye test.
  • Cost: €37.50 in Berlin and Munich. You cannot renew a UK license from Germany, so apply for the exchange before the six months are up.

After Brexit, UK licenses were taken off the EU rules and put on the list of non-EU countries whose licenses Germany exchanges without an exam. The UK has been on that list since 1 June 2022, with all license classes, alongside Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. The practical result is close to what EU citizens get: no exam, no driving school, no first-aid course. The difference is the deadline. An EU license stays valid indefinitely, a UK license for six months.

The six months

The six months start when you take up ordinary residence in Germany, which the offices count from your registration of address. During that time you drive on the UK license. After it you may no longer drive until you hold the German license, and the exchange takes time: Munich quotes up to 14 weeks after a complete application. The UK government’s advice is the same as the German offices’: apply before the six months run out. There is no deadline for the application itself, only for driving.

If you will stay in Germany for less than a year, you can ask the licensing office to extend the six months by up to six more, with proof of your departure date. The general rules are on converting a foreign driving license.

The exchange, step by step

  1. Book an appointment with the licensing office (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde or Führerscheinstelle) of the city or district where you are registered. In Berlin, any citizens’ office takes the application.
  2. Bring: your passport, your residence permit, one biometric photo on paper, and the original UK license, which must still be valid. In Berlin, no translation is needed for a license in English. Munich and the federal leaflet list a German translation, so ask your office before you order one. Add a declaration that the license is valid and, if the photocard does not show the date you first passed, proof of how long you have held it.
  3. Eye test, if asked. The list gives the office the right to require one for UK and Gibraltar licenses. An optician’s certificate is enough, and glasses are allowed. The UK government also mentions a possible medical certificate.
  4. Pay the fee: €37.50 in Berlin and Munich. Munich charges €38.30 if a probation period is set, which only happens if you have held the license for less than two years.
  5. Hand in the UK license when you collect the German one. It goes back to the DVLA or stays on file at the office. You cannot renew or replace a UK license while you live in Germany, so there is nothing lost by handing it in.
UK and crown dependency licenses on Germany’s exchange list
Issued in Classes exchanged Exam Eye test
United Kingdom all none at the office’s discretion
Gibraltar all none at the office’s discretion
Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man all none not listed
Source: Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, Annex 11 and footnote 22, retrieved 4 November 2026.

What the German license looks like

You get a German card license in the classes your UK license carried, valid as a document for 15 years. It notes that it was issued on the basis of a non-EU license, which has no effect on driving. Your years on the UK license count towards the two-year German probation period, so a driver with more than two years’ experience has no probation.

Visiting rather than moving

As a visitor with no residence in Germany, you drive on the UK license without a time limit. Whether you also need an international driving permit depends on whether your license counts as the international standard format. The UK government sells the permit for £5.50 at PayPoint shops and tells you not to get one if you are moving abroad. For a holiday or a business trip, check the UK government’s country list before you leave. More on both directions: international driving permit in Germany.

After the license

Speed cameras do not care about your license’s origin: the traffic fines calculator shows what a German ticket costs. When you buy a car, start with car insurance and then register it.

Bottom line

Book the exchange soon after you register your address, since no exam stands in the way and only the waiting time can catch you out. Just visiting? Keep driving on your UK license and check the permit question before you travel.

Part of driving in Germany. Related: converting a foreign license · international permit · US license in Germany.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, for six months after you take up residence, and without limit as a visitor. After six months as a resident you exchange it for a German license. The exchange needs no exam because the UK is on Germany’s list of countries with a simplified swap.

No. The list waives both the theory and the practical exam for all UK license classes. The only thing the licensing office may ask for is an eye test, and the UK government mentions a possible medical certificate.

No. The UK government states that you cannot renew or replace a UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man license while you live in Germany. The exchange is the only route.

In Berlin, no: licenses issued in English are accepted without translation. Munich and the federal leaflet list a German translation among the documents. Ask your office before paying for one.

Not while you hold the German one. The office returns it to the issuing authority or keeps it on file, and you can only have it back in exchange for the German license.

Not for the exchange, and never as a replacement for the license itself. For driving as a visitor, the UK government’s own country guidance says whether an IDP is advised for Germany. It sells the permit for £5.50 at PayPoint shops and advises against buying one if you are moving abroad.

Sources and legal basis

Sources and legal basis (retrieved on 4 November 2026)

  1. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (driving license regulation), Annex 11: United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man listed with all classes and no exam; footnote 22 (eye test at the office’s discretion for the UK and Gibraltar).
  2. Federal Ministry of Transport, leaflet on licenses from outside the EU and EEA (4 April 2022): the UK and Gibraltar added to the list on 1 June 2022; documents and translation; 15-year validity of the German card.
  3. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, section 29: six months after taking up residence, extension for stays under twelve months, visitors without residence.
  4. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, section 31: no training, no first aid, no exam for listed countries; surrender and return of the foreign license; note on the German license.
  5. UK Government, Living in Germany (updated 11 December 2025): six months on a UK, Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or Isle of Man license, no renewal from Germany, exchange with possible eye test and medical certificate, apply before the six months end.
  6. UK Government, Driving abroad: international driving permit for £5.50 at PayPoint shops, not for people moving abroad.
  7. City of Berlin, exchange of a license from outside the EU: documents, English-language licenses without translation, fee €37.50, eye test for listed countries only where a footnote says so.
  8. City of Munich, exchange of a foreign license: translation, proof of how long the license has been held, fees €37.50 and €38.30, up to 14 weeks of processing.
  9. Straßenverkehrsgesetz (road traffic act), section 2a: two-year probation, years held abroad credited.
  10. Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, section 24a: license card valid 15 years.
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About the authors
Janine El-Saghir Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
Erkan Boga Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating... Read more