Millions of driving licenses in Germany will soon be invalid - What drivers need to know now

An older driver's license does not yet have an expiration date.

However, that will change from 2022.

Not just car drivers affected. 

Kassel - Whether

,

or

: For most vehicles in

you need

a

.

There is already an expiry date on many driving licenses under item 4b.

So far, however, old driver's licenses have been excluded.

So far, this expiration date has only been granted to driver's licenses issued after 2013.

But due to

-

are soon driving licenses which only 15 were issued before 2013

valid.

From

, these must be exchanged in stages.

You can find out when you need to reapply for your driver's license here.

Driving license from 2022 with an expiry date: The driving license does not expire

With the expiry date only the validity of the document ends.

The

remains in place.

All driving license documents that were issued before January 19th, 2013 are affected by the new regulation.

The change has been known since

.

The law for the introduction of the # stage plan for the # driving license exchange is now in force 🔁 We have collected all the data for you 👉 https://t.co/UtXZKetdgz # driving license pic.twitter.com/rF66e54bLU

- ADAC (@ADAC) March 19, 2019

In

, the order to exchange driving licenses came into force on March 18, 2019 in the Federal Law Gazette.

Not only

are affected

, but

all classes.

Graduation from 2022: 43 million driver's licenses affected

In

, a total of 43 million

affected

by the

exchange.

In order to avoid overloading the offices, both the

and the

have agreed to exchange driving licenses at different times.

But not all driving licenses are treated equally.

For some it depends on the date of issue, for others on the date of birth of the owner.

A distinction is made:

Driving license exchange: These exceptions apply

If you were born before

and have a

, you are not

to exchange it.

The committee justified it with the fact that it was unclear whether the driver's license

will even use it

.

From then on, the exchanged driver's license is mandatory for everyone.

Anyone born between 1953 and 1958 must

have exchanged

their

by January 19,

.

Anyone who acquired the license between 2012 and 2013 does

not have to

exchange

the

until

.

Deadline for driving license exchange: Issue date until December 31, 1998

+

The big swap begins in 2022: Then the first driver's licenses in Germany have to be exchanged - older driver's licenses are also affected by the new law and will expire.

(Symbol image)

© picture alliance / Oliver Berg / dpa

Deadline for driving license exchange: Issue date after January 1, 1999

Exchange your driver's license - but how?

Biometric picture required

If you want to exchange your driver's license, you need

various

addition to an appointment at the driver's license office in your

.

• The old driver's license.

• Valid ID, passport or foreign passport;

  Upon presentation of the passport or the foreign passport, a current registration certificate which must not be older than 6 months. 

• A current biometric photo (size 45x35 millimeters, portrait format, frontal photo).

• If necessary, a copy of the card from the issuing authority - required when moving.

(Lucas Maier)

List of rubric lists: © Oliver Berg / dpa