What a German driving licence costs, item by item
Fixed official fees and free-market driving school prices, kept apart and added up, including what a retake adds.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
Driving licence in total
€3,496
of which official fees: €170.90
| Authority (GebOSt 201 + 202.1) | €40.80 |
| TÜV/DEKRA theory | €21.00 |
| TÜV/DEKRA practical | €109.10 |
| Driving school (your prices) | €3,245 |
| Eye test, first aid, photo | €80 |
Official fees under the road traffic fee schedule (as of 12 Aug 2026). Driving school prices are set freely: enter your school’s figures.
How we calculateOnly a small part of the cost of a German driving licence is fixed by law: the fees of the licensing authority and the testing body, set in the road traffic fee schedule (GebOSt). For a class B car licence these are €5.10 for checking the application, €35.70 for issuing it, €11.10 plus €9.90 for the computer-based theory test and €109.10 for the practical test, €170.90 with one attempt at each. Every retake charges the test fee again. Most of the money goes to the driving school and the steps before the test: base fee, practice lessons, twelve mandatory special drives, presentation for the test, eye test, first-aid course and photo. Those prices are set freely and differ by region, so the calculator asks for them instead of inventing an average.
The official fees
| Item | GebOSt no. | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Checking the application | 201 | €5.10 |
| Issuing the licence | 202.1 | €35.70 |
| Theory test per attempt, plus computer test | 401.1 / 401.3 | €11.10 + €9.90 |
| Practical test, class B | 402.3 | €109.10 |
| Practical test, classes A, A2, A1 | 402.1 | €136.70 |
| Practical test, class AM | 402.8 | €109.10 |
Source: the GebOSt fee schedule. Exchanging a licence from another country has its own fees, listed on the page about exchanging a foreign licence.
What you enter yourself
Base fee, price per lesson and per special drive, and the charge for presentation at the test are on every driving school's price list. The number of lessons depends on your progress; the twelve special drives for class B (country roads, motorway, night) are mandatory. Group the eye test, first-aid course and photo in the last field.
After the test
A first licence starts a two-year probation period with zero alcohol. Owning a car later brings vehicle tax and the MOT (HU) every two years.