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Fahrschule Fahrspass
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Class B

Your car
licence.

The standard car licence on a manual gearbox — from 18, or from 17 as BF17. You learn and take your test in Düsseldorf city traffic, which is where you will be driving afterwards.

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What you are allowed to drive

Vehicles
Cars and light vans up to 3,500 kg
Seats
Up to 8 passenger seats besides the driver's
Trailers
Up to 750 kg always allowed, heavier only if the combination stays under 3,500 kg
Gearbox
You learn and take the test on a manual
Where it is valid
Recognised across the EU and internationally
Validity
Unlimited, the card itself is renewed every 15 years

What 3,500 kg means in practice

The limit is the maximum authorised mass, not the kerb weight — the vehicle including passengers and load, exactly as the registration document states it. Every ordinary car sits well below it. It only gets tight with large vans: a fully loaded Sprinter can cross the line, and at that point it is the registration document that decides, not your judgement.

The eight seats are counted without the driver's. The usual nine-seater is therefore allowed — the minibus for the team or for moving house as well, as long as the weight works out.

Trailers come down to simple arithmetic. Up to 750 kg maximum authorised mass you may always tow. If the trailer is heavier, the car and trailer together have to stay under 3,500 kg. Anyone who needs more than that needs B96 or BE — and that is exactly where those two differ.

Requirements and timings

  • Minimum age 18, or 17 with BF17
  • You can sign up from the age of 16 years and 6 months
  • Eyesight test, first-aid course, biometric passport photo
  • Application to the Straßenverkehrsamt: we file it on the day you sign up
  • 14 theory topics, topics 13 and 14 at least once
  • 2-year probationary period from the day you pass the practical test

How your training works

  1. 015 minutes

    Register your interest

    Fill in the form or give us a quick call — we get back to you within 24 hours. No contract until you are sure.

  2. 02In person

    First meeting & signing up

    We talk through what you want, explain how it all works and register you with the Straßenverkehrsamt.

  3. 03Evenings & Saturdays

    Learning the theory

    14 theory topics in class, plus the learning app for the rest of the week. There is no fixed order to follow.

  4. 04At the TÜV

    Theory test

    30 questions, 10 error points allowed. We book you in as soon as you are ready.

  5. 05At your pace

    Driving lessons

    Practice lessons in Düsseldorf city traffic plus the 12 compulsory special lessons. Booked around your week.

  6. 0655 minutes

    Practical test

    City traffic, the set manoeuvres and, depending on the route, the motorway. Pass and you take your licence home with you.

The 12 compulsory special lessons

On top of the ordinary practice lessons, the law requires twelve particular training drives. They fall into three categories, and each drive lasts 45 minutes.

The twelve special lessons are the same at every driving school — they are set by law, not by the school.
Special lessonHow manyWhat it covers
Cross-country5 × 45 min.Rural roads with changing speeds, bends, oncoming traffic and overtaking
Motorway4 × 45 min.Joining and merging, changing lanes and keeping distance at speed
Night driving3 × 45 min.Dusk and darkness, glare, full beam and judging distances

These twelve drives come on top of your practice lessons and cannot be shortened. They are also the reason training cannot be finished arbitrarily fast: night drives need darkness, and in June it gets dark late in Düsseldorf.

What class B also covers

The car is the obvious part. Two further classes come with it automatically, and two limits decide what else you may tow and carry.

  • Class AM is included: mopeds and scooters up to 45 km/h
  • Class L is included: agricultural and forestry tractors up to 40 km/h
  • Up to 8 passenger seats besides the driver's — the usual nine-seater
  • Trailers up to 750 kg maximum authorised mass, always
  • Heavier trailers, as long as the combination stays under 3,500 kg
  • Above that you need B96 or BE

A two-year probationary period runs from the day you pass the practical test. It changes nothing about what you may drive — only what a serious offence costs.

Class B with us in Düsseldorf

  • The traffic you will actually drive in

    You train in Düsseldorf city traffic, not on a quiet back road. The test takes place where you have been practising.

  • Theory in the evening and on Saturdays

    Classes run Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, plus two Saturday morning slots. School, an apprenticeship or shift work all stay possible.

  • Four languages in the building

    German and English from everyone, Kurdish from Ares and Aland, Turkish from Yusuf. You can sort out a question about the test in the language you think in.

  • Manual and automatic

    The fleet has both. Train on a manual and you are in the Golf 7 — and if automatic turns out to suit you better, you move to B197 or B78.

Where to find us

The school is on Oststraße, six minutes on foot from the main station. The U71, U72, U73 and U83 stop at the door; if you drive, there is a multi-storey car park next door.

The office is where the paperwork happens — signing up, the application to the Straßenverkehrsamt, appointments. Just come by: an initial chat costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

Fahrschule Fahrspass on Oststraße in Düsseldorf seen from the street, with the sign above the shop window
Oststraße 122, six minutes from the main station

Common questions about class B

Can I ride a scooter on class B?

Yes. Class AM is included in class B — mopeds and scooters with a design speed of up to 45 km/h.

Class L comes with it as well, for agricultural and forestry tractors up to 40 km/h. Anything above that, from a 125 to a full motorcycle, is a licence of its own with its own training and its own test.

There is nothing extra to apply for: AM and L appear on your licence automatically once you have passed.

How many driving lessons do I need?

Only the twelve special drives are prescribed — five cross-country, four on the motorway, three at night. How many practice lessons are needed before them is set by no law at all.

That depends on previous experience, on how quickly you learn and above all on regularity. Someone who keeps two appointments a week usually needs fewer lessons than someone who gets behind the wheel once every three weeks — too much is lost again in between.

We hear the question in the office almost daily, and the answer is always the same: after every lesson we tell you honestly where you stand. You are entered for the test when you are ready, and not before.

Can I tow a trailer?

Up to 750 kg maximum authorised mass, always — for that you need nothing beyond class B.

If the trailer is heavier, the combination decides: the towing vehicle and the trailer together must not exceed 3,500 kg. What counts there are the maximum authorised masses in the registration documents, not what is actually loaded.

If that is not enough there are two routes. B96 lifts the limit to 4,250 kg and calls only for training with no test; BE goes up to a combination weight of 7,000 kg and ends with a practical test at the TÜV.

How long is my licence valid?

The entitlement itself has no time limit. Once you have passed, it stays yours.

Only the card is time-limited: it expires after 15 years and is exchanged then. That is a pure document swap — no new test, no new eyesight test, no driving lesson.

The office responsible is the Straßenverkehrsamt where you live, in Düsseldorf the same one that handled your first application. The expiry date is printed on the front of the card.

What does the probationary period mean?

The probationary period runs for two years from the day you pass the practical test. What you may drive during it is exactly what you may drive afterwards — all that differs is what an offence brings with it.

For a serious offence, such as driving well over the limit or drinking at the wheel, the authority orders an advanced seminar and extends the period to four years. Anyone who does not attend the seminar loses their licence.

With BF17 the probationary period starts when you pass and not at 18. Starting early therefore often means it is half behind you by the time everyone else is only setting off.

Can I do it around school or work?

Yes. The regular route is built for exactly that.

Theory classes are on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 18:30 to 20:00, plus Saturdays at 9:30 and 11:00. You do not book a fixed course; you take the classes that fit your week.

Driving lessons you arrange one at a time with your instructor, mornings and weekends included. Most of our learners work or are at school — anyone who needs it more compact should look at the intensive course.

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