The short answer
A licence issued in the EU or the EEA is immediately valid in Germany. There is no six-month deadline, no test and no obligation to convert; exchanging it for a German document is voluntary. The condition is that you genuinely lived in the issuing country when you obtained it.
We get this question almost daily, and the answer is less dramatic than most people expect: you may drive. Immediately, indefinitely, without anybody issuing anything.
Why it is this simple
Driving entitlements are mutually recognised within the EU and the EEA. That is the difference from converting a licence from outside, where a six-month deadline runs and tests may be required depending on the country. With an EU document there is neither — it is valid here exactly as it stands.
The condition hardly anybody thinks about
- The licence has to have been obtained while you actually lived in the issuing country
- Getting a licence abroad while resident in Germany cannot be relied on here
- That holds even when the document itself is entirely genuine
- And it holds particularly when an entitlement was previously withdrawn in Germany
People who come to us with an EU licence usually do not want to know whether they may drive — they want to know whether somebody can come after them later. So we now go through both points, validity and residence, even when only the first was asked about. In the overwhelming majority of cases both are unproblematic, and that is an answer people are visibly relieved by.
When to exchange it anyway
When the document's own validity runs out — EU cards are time-limited and are renewed or exchanged at your place of residence, so here. Exchanging also makes sense if you want to add a class, or if your document is very old. Either way the licensing authority is responsible, not the driving school.
German rules still apply
What is recognised is the entitlement, not the rulebook of your home country. German rules apply on German roads — speeds, alcohol limits, winter tyres. That sounds obvious and is the most common reason for a first penalty notice after moving.
The difference between converting and exchanging is a subject of its own and gets mixed up constantly — here it is.
What to take away
With an EU licence you have to do nothing at all in Germany. The one question worth settling is where you lived when you obtained it — and it does not arise for almost anybody who really lived there.