Flensburg points: the German driving register explained
Germany keeps a central record of serious traffic offences in Flensburg, and it counts against you whichever country issued your licence.
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Where you stand in the points system
Stage
entry noted
| Left until 8 points | 5 |
| Seminar gives | 1 point off |
Flensburg points are entries in the Fahreignungsregister, the driving aptitude register kept by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, KBA) in the northern town of Flensburg. Only offences listed in annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance (FeV) are recorded, and only when the fine is at least 60 euros or a driving ban was imposed; a small on-the-spot fine of up to 55 euros never reaches the register. Running a red light (90 euros) or holding a phone at the wheel (100 euros) costs one point, an offence with a driving ban or a crime without licence withdrawal two, a crime where the court takes the licence away three. At 4 points you receive a written reminder, at 6 a warning, and at 8 the licence is withdrawn under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act (StVG). A new one follows after 6 months at the earliest, usually after an MPU assessment.
A register that follows the driver
Newcomers often assume points belong to a German licence. They do not. The driving aptitude register kept by the KBA stores decisions about people who commit traffic offences in Germany, whether they hold a German card, an EU licence or a licence from Texas. If you live here and drive on a foreign licence, an offence with points is recorded against your name and date of birth, and the licensing authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) of your town takes the same measures it would take against a German driver.
What gets in is defined by Section 28 of the Road Traffic Act. Court decisions on traffic crimes, licence withdrawals and fine decisions for offences listed in annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance are recorded, provided the fine is at least €60 or a driving ban was imposed. Anything settled with a warning fine (Verwarnungsgeld) of up to €55, such as most parking tickets or a seat belt left off for €30, never appears.
The register also notes what followed each offence: reminders and warnings from the licensing office, a completed driver improvement seminar, a remedial course during probation. These entries carry no points of their own. They show which stage you have reached, and the seminar entry, kept for five years, tells the authority whether you have already used the one point deduction allowed in that period. Reminders and warnings disappear when the last offence entry expires.
How offences are weighted
There are only three weights. One point for an offence that affects road safety, which covers most entries. Two points for a particularly serious offence, in practice every case that carries a Fahrverbot (driving ban), and for a traffic crime where the court leaves you the licence. Three points for a crime where the court withdraws the licence or imposes a ban on getting one. The table shows offences that expats run into in the first years of driving here.
| Offence | Catalogue no. | Fine | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer tyres on snow or ice | 5a | €60 | 1 |
| Parked on a pavement or cycle lane, obstructing | 52a.1 | €70 | 1 |
| Red traffic light ignored | 132 | €90 | 1 |
| Phone used while driving | 246.1 | €100 | 1 |
| 21 to 25 km/h over in town, car | 11.3.4 | €115 | 1 |
| 31 to 40 km/h over in town, car | 11.3.6 | €260 | 2 |
| No emergency corridor in a traffic jam | 50 | €200 | 2 |
| 0.5 per mille or more, first offence | 241 | €500 | 2 |
Winter tyres catch many people from warmer countries. Germany has no fixed date, but driving in wintry conditions on summer tyres is an offence with a point, and with a car rented abroad it is still your responsibility at the wheel.
The four stages
The authority has no discretion once a threshold is reached. With one to 3 points you are merely noted (Vormerkung). At 4 or 5 points comes a written reminder, at 6 or 7 a written warning, each charged at €17.90. At 8 points the law treats you as unfit to drive and the licence is withdrawn. The reminder mentions the voluntary seminar that knocks off one point up to 5; the warning mentions it too but says that it no longer reduces your total. Details are on the page about reducing Flensburg points.
No jumping straight to withdrawal
A single decision can add three points. Section 4(6) StVG protects drivers from losing the licence without notice: if the previous letter was never sent, the authority sends it first and lowers your score from the day it is issued. Someone at three points who picks up a three-point conviction gets the reminder and is reset to 5. Someone who had the reminder at five and climbs to eight gets the warning and is reset to 7. The reset does not apply if expiries or a seminar have already brought you lower.
The date of the offence counts
When deciding on a measure, the authority looks at your total on the day of the last offence that triggered it. An older entry that expires while the new case is still being processed does not rescue you. This is why each entry stays in the register for a further year after its expiry date, the Überliegefrist (holding period) set out in Section 29 StVG: an offence committed in March but decided in October can still be counted correctly. One point expires two and a half years after the decision became final, two points after five years, three points after ten.
Points, probation and new drivers
If your licence is less than two years old, a second set of rules applies on top. The Probezeit (probationary period) treats most point offences as A offences, so a single red light means a remedial course and two more years of probation alongside the point. EU licence holders who move to Germany fall under it too, with the time since their test credited. The probationary licence guide explains the steps.
After a withdrawal
A licence withdrawn at 8 points can be granted again 6 months after you hand it in at the earliest. Giving it up voluntarily just before does not help if two or more decisions were stored at that moment. In most cases the authority wants proof that you are fit to drive again, in the form of a medical and psychological assessment, the MPU. Once the new licence is granted, the old points are deleted.
Bikes and e-scooters count too
You can collect a point without being anywhere near a car. Cyclists and riders of e-scooters (Elektrokleinstfahrzeuge) who ignore a red light pay €60 and receive one point under catalogue number 132a, rising to €100 when the light had been red for more than a second. A phone on the handlebars costs a cyclist €55, which stays below the recording threshold. If you do not hold a licence at all, the entry still sits in the register; it is deleted only if you later obtain a first licence, because points from decisions made before that grant are wiped.
Company cars and the question of who drove
Many expats drive a leased company car. When a speed camera flashes, the hearing form (Anhörungsbogen) goes to the registered keeper, usually the employer, who passes it to the person behind the wheel. The points go to the driver only. For a parking offence where nobody can be identified, the keeper pays the procedure costs under Section 25a StVG and no one receives points. Since 1 July 2026, Section 4c StVG forbids deceiving the authority about who was driving for any offence listed in annex 13, as well as offering or arranging such a deception for others. The fine reaches €30,000. A ban that comes with the points is explained on the page about the German driving ban.
When a point expires
Expires on
01.09.2027
| Period | 2.5 years |
| Finally deleted on | 01.09.2028 |
Checking your own record
You do not need a German ID card to see your file. The KBA answers written requests from anyone with proof of identity, and the online service also accepts the electronic residence permit. The steps are on the page about checking your Flensburg points. To see when each entry drops off, or what a pending fine would do to your total, enter the dates in the points calculator.