Dear All,

Please help,

I am having an Indian car licence .Is it possible to just convert it into a german one .Is there a way to avoid written and practical tests.

Please let me know the exact procedure.In any case .


Thanks

Not sure if it is the same like with Indian driving licenses, but in my case a did following steps:

1. translate your license to German language. This I did in ADAC, it takes a time depending where you live, up to 2 weeks.

2. go to driving school, leave your data.
the school is contacting Strassenverkehrsamt, they need to allow you to take no theory classes and to take less driving classes.
This should take up to 6 weeks, at my case took 3 months since I was living in other town that the one I initialy came to. Regardless the 35km distance between the towns it took a lot of time.

3. You give theory, it is possibile in many languages.

4. You drive I think 10 driving lessons, or at least you need to pay 10 to the school.

5. You go to First Aid course that takes one day and to eyes test. You get two papers for that.

6. You appoint the driving test in the school.

7. You pass the test

8. You go to Strassenverkhersamt and give your old original license and get a new German one.

All that I paid between 600 and 700 EUR.

Havehope I helped !

Hi Havehope,

I also had an Indian Driving lisence and got converted to German. I dont think you can avoid Theory and Practical Driving exams. Its a must. At the most, if you have an Indian Driving liscence you dont have to take the mandatory ~60 Practical Driving classes.

I would suggest you to go directly to the Ordnungsamt. They will guide you properly. But at the same time, you will have to decide which Driving school you are joining.

I somehow feel that taking the theory exam and practical exam will do good for you as the driving conditions are totally different from India. One will be well familiar with the rules if he takes these exams.

Best Regards,

Hi Havehope

First of all, welcome to Germany. The driving licence subject was widely discussed here because is a very difficult aspect for all the foreigner here.

There is no easy way. You just have to decide and do it. In my case, is hard, frustrating and sometimes hummiliating (I drove 20 years with no accidents when I came to Germany) and you have to accept when somebody bother you because you didn´t turn the head right/backwards before turn (when you are seeing that in the streets only you do that).

The message from VR is all true, only a little bit shuffled (because all the steps here must follow a very strict order), for example before to go to the Fahrschule you have to do the First Aid course, vision test and translation.

But the best message about that was this

http://www.trust7.com/en/forums/integration/a_driving_license_experience

This man took his time to explain all the steps, also with money values (be prepared to expend some money!!!)

So, viel Spaß

havehope:

First you have to tell whether it is less than 3 years you have been in Germany.

It makes a big difference.


Less than 3 yrs:
-Contact a driving school
-Register and give all details
-No need for theory classes. Get study material and prepare for the exam
-No compulsary practical hrs reqd. But drive a bit, and appear for the exam
-Get your eyetest (takes 10 mins, 7 euro) and first-aid-classes (takes one-day, 25 euro)
-You get your German Driving licence with OR without submitting your Indian Licence.
-Cost 500-700 Euro

More than 3 years:
-Start from scratch and do just like a 18 yr old German kid.
-Costs atleast 1500 Euro

By the way, you can drive with any driving licence from any country for the first 6 months here in Germany.

Hi,
Theres no way you can convert your Indian license to a German one.Its mandatory to go through theory and practical examination to get a German 'Fuhrerschein'.In fact I would recommend you to get it this way for the benefit of the traffic and yourself, its critical that you understand the traffic psychology and rules.I had 11 years driving experience in both Bombay and Delhi, but I gotta tell you, its totally different driving here.You need to respect the local driving mentality for the benefit of safety for all, and for that you need to get through the theory as well as practical tests.It costed me around 900 Euros.
Do it the correct way and you would soon be having your great experience of burning the rubber at 250Kmph on the famous 'Autobahns' of Germany.Remember, a responsible driver should not only be aware about his own car, but care for all others who share the system and for that you gotta go through the system(Theory and practical tests)
All the best,
regards
GnR

But, why they allow you to drive 6 months with any foreign driving license? Aren't those first 6 months most critical?

I find that very odd.