The short answer
For the application to the licensing authority you need an eye test, a certificate from a first-aid course, a biometric passport photo and your ID. The application itself we submit for you, on the day you sign up — processing then runs alongside your training, and how long it takes is the authority's call.
The application is the one part of a driving licence nobody can speed up — and the only one that runs entirely in the background. Which is exactly why it should go out on day one.
The four documents
- Eye test — at an optician or an officially recognised testing point, takes minutes
- First-aid course — nine teaching units, usually in a single day
- A biometric passport photo
- ID card or passport; for minors, a parent's or guardian's consent as well
The eye test and the first-aid course you do not do with us but with the relevant providers — there is plenty of both in Düsseldorf, and the first-aid course is the same one needed for other classes. It does not expire, so a course you have already done still counts.
What we take on
The application itself. You bring the documents to the first consultation, we submit the application to the licensing authority and keep an eye on the processing. You do not have to go there or ring them.
Why the timing matters
You may only sit the theory test once the application is approved. Registering first and handing in the paperwork four weeks later loses those four weeks entirely — even though theory classes and driving lessons could long since have been running.
How long it takes
That is the licensing authority's call, not the driving school's. What we control is the timing: the application goes out on the day you sign up, so processing starts as early as it can. If you are only changing driving school, it is not a new application but a re-registration — how that works.
When you may register
From 16 years and 6 months, for class B as for BF17. The tests are tied to your age; registering and most of the training are not.
What the application costs and which other amounts arise is on the prices page; who gets paid what is a post of its own.