In Germany, all driving licenses issued before January 19, 2013 must be exchanged for the new EU driving license by January 19, 2033 at the latest.
Here you will find all important information about deadlines, procedures, and special features.
🕒 Why do driving licenses need to be exchanged?
- EU-wide standardization of the driving license document
- Better protection against forgery
- Regular updating of photo and personal data
- No impact on your driving permit: Only the document loses its validity, not the permit itself.
📅 What are the deadlines?
The deadlines depend on when your driving license was issued – and for older paper licenses, also on your year of birth.
1. Paper driving licenses (grey/pink) – Issued up to 31.12.1998
Here, the year of birth is decisive:
| Year of birth | Validity / Exchange deadline |
|---|---|
| 1953 or earlier | ✅ / 19.01.2033 |
| After 1953 |
❌ / Validity already expired in stages until 2025 |
2. Card driving licenses – Issued from 01.01.1999 to 18.01.2013
Here, the year of issue is decisive for validity (field 4a on the front):
| Year of issue | Validity / Exchange deadline |
|---|---|
| 1999–2001 | ❌ / 19.01.2026 |
| 2002–2004 | ✅ / 19.01.2027 |
| 2005–2007 | ✅ / 19.01.2028 |
| 2008 | ✅ / 19.01.2029 |
| 2009 | ✅ / 19.01.2030 |
| 2010 | ✅ / 19.01.2031 |
| 2011 | ✅ / 19.01.2032 |
| 2012–18.01.2013 | ✅ / 19.01.2033 |
3. Holders of a driving permit born before 1953
→ ✅ valid until the deadline January 19, 2033 – regardless of the year of issue.
More info
Here you will find the official information page of the government, where you can find out when each driving license must be exchanged: Exchange driving license: These deadlines apply – Federal Government
Have you already applied for an exchange to an EU driving license but have not yet received it?
In this case, we can accept you as a driver if you present the official document with which the exchange was applied for when picking up (but the new plastic card has not yet been issued).
You can't exchange your driving license in time?
In this case, unfortunately, we cannot register you as a driver, as your driving license document is officially invalid. It is best to make another passenger the main driver. Alternatively, we can only recommend that you postpone your trip free of charge until your driving license has been exchanged.