Application

• You must submit the application in person (for identification and signature purposes).
• You can apply for your first driver's license at the earliest 6 months before reaching the minimum age.

Issuance

• If you have only applied for one class (e.g., B or A1), the license will be issued immediately after you pass the test by the examiner.
• If you have applied for several classes, the examiner will only issue you with the test certificate. With this, you can apply for a provisional driver's license at the driver's license authority (additional fee: 11.20 euros or 12 euros during the probationary period). The provisional driver's license is valid for a maximum of 3 months and is only valid within the Federal Republic of Germany.

Collecting your card driving license from the driver's license authority

• in person
• by an authorized person

• Your primary residence is in Mainz.
• When applying for a driver's license for the first time in categories AM, A1, A2, or A, you do not need to hold a driver's license in any other category.

• When applying for a driver's license for the first time, we generally issue it for a 2-year probationary period. Driver's license classes AM, L, and T are exempt from the probationary period.
• You must have passed the theory test before you can take the practical test. You may take the theory test at the earliest 3 months and the practical test at the earliest 1 month before reaching the minimum age.
• The application expires if
  • you have not passed the theory test within 12 months of the test application being received.
  • you have not passed the practical test within 12 months of passing the theory test.
• The "moped license at 15" does not apply in all federal states, but initially only in those federal states that also make use of the regulatory authority. In addition to Rhineland-Palatinate, these are currently Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and North Rhine-Westphalia. If another federal state joins, this will be announced in the official section of the Federal Gazette.
  Only when you reach the age of 16 can you drive a class AM motor vehicle throughout Germany. Since class AM is an international driving license class, the card driving license is also valid abroad from the age of 16.
  We issue you with a class AM license at the age of 15 by handing you the card license with the key number 195. The key number 195 on the card driving license means that until you reach the age of 16, you may only drive a class AM motor vehicle in countries that also allow moped licenses at the age of 15.
  In order to save young people from having to submit a new application for an AM driver's license when they turn 16, the above requirement no longer applies once they reach the age of 16. At the age of 16, you can then drive a Class AM motor vehicle throughout Germany.

• State ordinance on lowering the minimum age for obtaining a Class AM driver's license to 15 years
• Schedule of fees for road traffic measures (opens in a new tab)
• Regulation on the admission of persons to road traffic (opens in a new tab)

approximately 6 to 8 weeks

• A recent biometric photo (size 45x35 mm, portrait orientation, full-face view); digital codes are not accepted!

Note:
As of May 1, 2025, the regulation requiring you to submit a digital passport photo to the registration office applies to passport photos for ID cards and passports. However, this requirement does not apply to the driver’s license office and therefore does not affect applications for driver’s license documents. The Driver’s License Authority has the technical equipment available on-site for taking digital photos. For an international driver’s license, please bring an analog passport photo. Of course, you may continue to submit analog passport photos to the Driver’s License Authority, preferably along with the complete application documents. 

• Selection of a driving school to take the driver’s license exam
• Application for a driver’s license (provided by driving schools)

Pick up the card-style driver’s license at the Driver’s License Office:

in person

• Letter from the Driver’s License Authority
• Identification document

by an authorized representative

• Letter to the Driver's License Authority
• Identification documents for both individuals
• Written power of attorney

When applying for Class AM 15, additionally

• Declaration of consent from the parents, legal guardian, or custodial parent
• If only one parent has custody, you must provide proof of this.
• Copy of the parent’s or legal guardian’s ID card

• Initial issuance of a driver's license: €45.90 (if only classes AM and L, the cost is €45.10)
• Issuance of a provisional driver's license: €11.20 or €12 during the probationary period