Getting Your Driver’s License Could Soon Cost Less in Germany

Updated 16.10.2025, 17:40

‍Theory via app and fewer special classes: driver's licenses are to become significantly cheaper. Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) presented his proposals for reducing the cost of driver's education on Thursday. He explained that this would make the path to a driver's license “easier and more affordable.” Among other things, Schnieder proposes abolishing the requirement for in-person instruction; learner drivers should also be able to prepare for the theory test entirely digitally. “Young people learn differently today than they did 20 years ago,” said the minister. The current 1,200 exam questions are to be reduced by a third - to “truly relevant topics.”    

                                                                                         
In practical driving training, some of the expensive special classes– such as at night or on the highway – are to be reduced. It should also be possible to complete some of these trips on a simulator. Training for manual transmission cars should also be possible on a simulator. The driving test should only take 25 minutes. In addition, people who want to obtain a driver's license will be able to compare driving schools online in the future, the companies will have to disclose their costs and failure rates. Price transparency is “a very important point,” said Schnieder.

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The minister announced that he now wants to “further develop” his proposals with the federal states and the industry. He wants to “get the changes underway” in the first half of 2026. When presenting his proposals, Schnieder said that a driver's license is a symbol of “freedom, self-determination, and participation” – especially in rural areas. In places where the bus may only run twice a day, driving your own car is “the only option.” Therefore, mobility should not be a privilege. According to Schnieder, a driver's license costs around 3,400 euros on average, and in some regions significantly more, up to 4,000 or even 4,500 euros. “That is clearly too much.” The government wants driver's licenses to remain accessible to everyone. “It is a question of fairness and also of the future viability of our country.”

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16.10.2025, 14:40

In the debate over the high cost of obtaining a driver’s license, the Federal Association of Driving Instructors has proposed a more compact training program.
“I am firmly convinced that with a more compact training approach, driving lessons can be reduced,” Vice Chairman Kurt Bartels told the Rheinische Post on Thursday. “The extremely rising number of driving lessons is the main cost driver.”

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According to Bartels, the increasing number of lessons is partly due to heavier traffic and the fact that “young people have poorer traffic perception than they did 20 years ago because of smartphone use.” He also criticized the “more than 1,200 questions for a Class B driver’s license” in the theoretical exam, calling it “simply too much.” If the theory portion were streamlined “without diminishing the value of the exam,” he said, “it would naturally boost the motivation of the examinees.”

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Bartels suggested “making driver training more school-like and introducing mandatory learning assessments. That way, learners would stay more engaged.” He added that a driver’s license typically costs around 3,000 euros if no retests are needed. “Horror figures of 4,000 euros and more as the basis for political debate are, in my view, highly misleading,” Bartels said.

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Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder (CDU) is expected to present key points of a reform on Thursday afternoon aimed at modernizing and reducing the cost of driver training. According to his ministry, the goal is to make obtaining a driver’s license more affordable while maintaining high road safety standards.

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The SPD and CDU/CSU have agreed to push forward a reform to make driver’s training more affordable while ensuring “high standards” are upheld. The backdrop is the sharply rising cost of obtaining a license in recent years. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the price increases for attending driving schools and taking driving exams have exceeded the general inflation rate every year since 2020.

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