Anlage 11 countries: which tests you need to exchange a licence in Germany

Anlage 11 countries are the states whose driving licences Germany exchanges with fewer tests, or none. The list is an annex to the Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung (FeV, the German driving licence regulation). If your country and licence class are listed, you may skip the theory test, the practical test, or both. If not, you take both tests, but no compulsory lessons.

You can keep driving on your foreign licence for six months after you make Germany your home. This guide follows the FeV text in force on 28 October 2026, last amended on 12 August 2026. The decision in your case is made by your local licence office, the Fahrerlaubnisbehörde (driving licence authority).

What the Anlage 11 list decides

Section 31 of the FeV covers people who hold a licence from a state outside the European Economic Area (EEA) and want a German one. Anlage 11 is the table that section 31 points to.

Each row names an issuing state, the licence classes covered, and two columns: theoretische Prüfung (theory test) and praktische Prüfung (practical test). "Nein" in a column means you do not take that test for those classes. "Ja" means you do.

Some rows cover all classes. Others cover only some. Albania, for example, needs no tests for most classes, but the moped class AM still needs a practical test. So check your own class on your licence card, not only your country.

Countries with no tests, as listed on 28 October 2026

For these issuing states, Anlage 11 shows "nein" in both columns for the classes it names:

• United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia, Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ukraine, Monaco, Andorra and San Marino
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (classes A1, A and B)
• Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, French Polynesia and New Caledonia
• Japan, Singapore, South Korea (classes 1 and 2), Taiwan (class B) and Israel (classes A1, A2, A and B)
• South Africa, and Namibia if the licence is at least two years old
• New Zealand (classes 1 and 6) and the Australian states and territories
• Every Canadian province and territory except Nunavut

Moldova sits in between. Its licences need no theory test, but you take the practical test.

Several common countries of origin are not on the list at all, including India, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Brazil and Turkey. If you hold one of these licences, read the section on unlisted countries below.

US states: one test or none

Germany lists US licences state by state. No listed state needs a practical test. Some need a theory test. The state that counts is the one that issued your licence card.

A Californian or New York licence is treated like a licence from any other unlisted country.

If your country is not on the list

For a state that is not in Anlage 11, section 31(2) sets aside one thing: the rules on driver training. In plain terms, you do not have to complete the compulsory driving school course that a German learner takes. You still have to pass the theory test and the practical test.

Being on the list is also no promise that you will skip testing. Under section 31(1a), the licence office orders a test if there are facts suggesting you no longer have the knowledge and skills a driver needs.

The six-month deadline

Section 29 of the FeV sets the time limit. Once you have your ordentlicher Wohnsitz (normal place of residence) in Germany, your foreign licence stays valid here for six more months. The office can extend this by up to six months if you can show you will stay no longer than 12 months in total.

After that, you need the German licence to drive. An International Driving Permit is a translation of your licence. It does not give you a separate right to drive, as our guide on why an International Driving Permit is not a licence explains.

Start early if your country needs a test. Booking a theory test and a practical test takes time, and the six months run from the day you settle here.

Footnotes that add conditions

Many rows in Anlage 11 carry a small footnote number. These change the result for some drivers:

• Footnote 22 (United Kingdom and Gibraltar): the office can ask you to take a vision test.
• Footnote 7 (Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia): you still need proof that your eyesight meets the standard.
• Footnote 21 (Ukraine): for the truck and bus classes C1, C and D you must prove your fitness to drive and your eyesight, under Anlagen 5 and 6.

Read the footnote for your row before you collect documents.

What happens to your foreign licence

You give up your foreign licence card when you collect the German one. Section 31(4) says the German licence is handed out "only against surrender of the foreign licence" (our translation).

Where Germany has an agreement with your home country, the card goes back to the authority that issued it, through the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA, Federal Motor Transport Authority). Otherwise the German office keeps it. Under the same rule, kept licences can be destroyed after three years.

Plan for this if you drive in your home country on visits. Ask your home licensing authority what it needs from you before you hand the card over.

How to check your own case

1. Find the row for the state that issued your licence, on our Germany licence exchange page or in Anlage 11 itself.
2. Check that your licence class is in that row.
3. Note any footnote number and read it.
4. Work out the date six months after you settled in Germany.
5. Contact your Fahrerlaubnisbehörde for its document list and appointment rules, as these vary by city.

Not sure which row or footnote applies to you? Get a route check and we will look at your licence and tell you which steps apply.

Independent, private help with the official process. You can also apply to the authority yourself; its fees are paid to it, separately from ours.

You can see what we charge on our fees page and read how our service works. Be careful with anyone who offers a German licence outside the official process: our guide to driving licence scams lists the warning signs.