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Licence classes

Which class
is yours?

A car on a manual or an automatic, accompanied driving from 17, a combination with a trailer — we teach six classes. Here is what separates them.

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Car or trailer

Four classes are about the car and differ only in the gearbox and the age you start; two are about the trailer. You decide at the first meeting — we tell you honestly what you actually need.

  • Class B — training and test on a manual
  • Class B78 — training and test on an automatic only
  • Class B197 — test on an automatic, entitlement to drive both
  • Class BF17 — accompanied driving from the age of 17
  • Class BE — trailers over 750 kg, combination up to 7,000 kg
  • Class B96 — combination up to 4,250 kg, with no test of its own

Automatic, manual or both

The three gearbox variants are what we get asked about most. The difference is not in the test itself but in what you are allowed to drive afterwards.

Class B
Test in a manual. Manual and automatic afterwards.
Class B78
Test in an automatic. Automatic only afterwards — key number 78.
Class B197
Test in an automatic, plus at least 10 manual lessons and an internal test drive. Both afterwards.
Class BF17
An age variant rather than a gearbox — combines with B, B78 and B197.

What every class has in common

  • You can sign up with the school from 16 years and 6 months
  • Eyesight test, first-aid course and a biometric passport photo
  • Application to the Straßenverkehrsamt: we file it on the day you sign up
  • 14 theory topics, of which topics 13 and 14 are compulsory
  • Theory Mon, Wed, Thu 18:30–20:00 · Sat 9:30–11:00 and 11:00–12:30
  • 2-year probationary period from the day you pass the practical test

Trailers

For BE and B96 you need Class B — either already on your licence or taken with us alongside. Whether B96 covers your combination is something we work out with you.

More than the classes

Alongside the ordinary training there are four routes aimed at a particular situation: the intensive course, moving here from another driving school, refresher lessons after a long break, and exchanging a foreign licence.

  • Intensive course — Everything in one block, with no waiting in between.
  • Change driving school — The lessons you have already taken carry over in full.
  • Refresher lessons — Back on the road, no judgement.
  • Exchange a foreign licence — Convert your foreign licence to a German one.

Where to start

Two questions decide almost everything. Both can be settled in ten minutes at a first consultation, and both cost nothing.

  • Do you want to drive any car after the test, or is an automatic enough?
  • Are you already 18, or do you want to start at 17?
  • Will there be a trailer behind you at some point?
  • Do you already hold a licence from abroad?

The first question leads to class B, B78 or B197. The second decides whether BF17 comes with it — that is independent and combines with all three. The third leads to B96 or BE, but only after class B and only from 18. The fourth may not lead to training at all but to a conversion.

Getting it wrong is hard

The variant can be changed up until the practical test, and lessons already driven count whatever the gearbox. The decision only becomes final on test day.

Common questions about the classes

Which class do I need for an ordinary car?

Class B. It covers cars up to 3,500 kg maximum authorised mass, which is everything that passes for an ordinary car in daily life.

All that is left open after that is the gearbox: a test in a manual, a test in an automatic with a restriction (B78), or a test in an automatic without one (B197). In all three cases the licence itself is class B — only the key number written into it differs.

A trailer up to 750 kg you may tow with class B anyway, and heavier ones too, as long as the combination stays under 3,500 kg together. Only above that do B96 or BE become a question.

Can I change the variant later?

Up until the practical test, yes, at any time — lessons already driven count on whatever the gearbox.

The decision only becomes final on test day, because that is when the car you are tested in is settled. Anyone who starts on an automatic and realises along the way that the manual should be part of it simply moves to B197.

After the test it runs through the key number: a 78 from automatic training can be struck out with ten manual lessons, a 15-minute test drive and the certificate at the Straßenverkehrsamt — a second practical test is not needed for that.

Do I need a separate class for a trailer?

Not up to 750 kg maximum authorised mass — every trailer that size you already tow with class B.

Above that it is the weight of the combination, car and trailer together, that decides. Up to 3,500 kg class B still covers it, up to 4,250 kg you need B96, and above that BE with a combination up to 7,000 kg.

Which variant covers you is something we work out at the first consultation. Bring the registration documents for the car and the trailer and the answer takes five minutes rather than three forum threads.

I already hold a class from abroad.

Then this may be a conversion rather than full training.

Whether a test is needed, and which one, depends on the country that issued the licence. EU and EEA licences are usually converted with no test at all; for countries outside the EU a practical test normally comes with it, and depending on the country the theory test too.

Bring the licence to the first consultation, the original and a translation if you already have one. Our page on converting a foreign licence sets out how the route through the Straßenverkehrsamt Düsseldorf runs.

What is the same in every class?

The same in all of them are signing up with us, the application to the Straßenverkehrsamt and the two-year probationary period that starts with your first licence.

For the car classes B, B78, B197 and BF17 the whole training part comes on top: 14 theory topics, the theory test with 30 questions and the twelve special drives. What differs there is only what you are tested in and what you may drive afterwards.

The two trailer classes work differently. BE calls for five special drives with a combination and only the practical test, because the theory from class B is recognised. B96 has no test at all, but training with a certificate of attendance.

All classes