By January 2033, 43 million old driving licenses in Germany will have to be converted into new EU card driving licenses. The first birth cohorts have to hurry – the deadline is running out for them.
Before the end of this year, all driving licenses issued before January 19, 2013 must be exchanged for the new EU driving licence. The reason for this is that all driving licenses that are in circulation in the EU should correspond to a uniform and forgery-proof model. In addition, all driver’s licenses should be recorded in a database to prevent misuse.
In order to avoid overburdening the authorities, the exchange is staggered according to the year of birth or year of issue. The first deadline for the mandatory exchange of old driving licenses ends this Tuesday (July 19). Specifically, this applies to all drivers born between 1953 and 1958 with old paper driving licenses that were issued up to December 31, 1998.
New driving license is valid for 15 years
Anyone who has not made the exchange in time and is checked must reckon with a warning fine. The driving license authority of the current place of residence is responsible for exchanging the driving license document. A total of 43 million driver’s licenses will have to be exchanged over the course of this year. The new document is valid for 15 years and must be renewed when it expires, similar to the identity card.
The other deadlines for exchanging a driver’s license are based on either the year of birth or the year of issue:
For driving licenses issued before December 31, 1998, the year of birth of the license holder is decisive:
- before 1953: exchange until January 19, 2033
- 1953 to 1958: exchange until January 19, 2022
- 1959 to 1964: exchange until January 19, 2023
- 1965 to 1970: exchange until January 19, 2024
- 1971 or later: exchange until January 19, 2025
For driving licenses issued after January 1, 1999, the year of issue of the driving license applies
- 1999 to 2001: exchange until January 19, 2026
- 2002 to 2004: exchange until January 19, 2027
- 2005 to 2007: exchange until January 19, 2028
- 2008: Exchange until January 19, 2029
- 2009: Exchange until January 19, 2030
- 2010: Exchange until January 19, 2031
- 2011: Exchange until January 19, 2032
- 2012 to January 18, 2013: Exchange until January 19, 2033
Sources: , German Press Agency,
Source: Stern
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