As of: February 13, 2024, 7:43 p.m
By: Simon Stock
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Millions of Germans have to exchange their old driving licenses for new ones.
There are deadlines for this.
Anyone who has missed it must face consequences.
Hamm - One of the largest exchange campaigns in Germany is currently underway.
Old driving licenses must be exchanged for new ones that comply with EU standards.
Because there are 43 million documents involved, not all of them are replaced at once.
The exchange takes place over the years and staggered by birth cohort, always at a specific deadline.
And who misses it?
Must face consequences.
Exchanging your driving license is mandatory: what happens if the deadline is missed
The exchange affects the gray and salmon-colored “rags” issued until the end of 1998 as well as the credit card driving licenses issued between January 1, 1999 and January 18, 2013,
writes
wa.de.
All driving licenses that were issued after this do not need to be renewed for the time being.
An overview shows which driving licenses must be exchanged by when.
The exchange period for a large age group ended on January 19, 2024.
Until then, people born between 1965 and 1970 had to have a new EU driving license.
However, there is an exception in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia.
The exchange deadline was extended in several cities and districts due to a hacker attack on administrations.
Anyone who still drives around with an old driver's license risks getting into trouble.
If you only show your expired driver's license during a check, the police can issue a warning and a fine of 10 euros.
Anyone who drives abroad should ensure that they always have a valid driving license.
Depending on the country, the wrong driving license can lead to greater complications than in Germany.
If you drive with an expired driving license you face a 10 euro fine
None of this has to be the case.
Exchanging your driving license is not too complicated, but everyone has to take action themselves.
You must go to the driving license office of the relevant road traffic office and submit an application there to exchange your driving license for motorcycle and car classes.
This requires:
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ID card or passport
biometric passport photo
current driver's license
The cost of the new EU driving license is between 25 and just over 30 euros, depending on the location.
By the way, a voluntary exchange of the driving license before the deadline is possible at any time.
During the campaign, the driving license is only exchanged, so the driving license remains valid.
If you want to keep your old driver's license for nostalgic reasons, you can. However, it will be canceled at the office beforehand and is then no longer a valid document.
Speaking of valid: Drivers have to comply with a new tire rule, otherwise they will face more than just a hefty fine from 2024.