How to Get a Category CE Driving Licence in Germany

Getting a CE licence in Germany means dealing with three separate institutions. Your district’s driving licence authority, the Führerscheinstelle, decides whether you qualify. A technical testing organisation, TÜV or DEKRA depending on where you live, runs and marks your tests. For professional drivers, a Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) examines the qualification, which Germany now records on a separate card, not as code 95 in the licence. The official name is “Fahrerlaubnis der Klasse CE”; most people say "Führerschein CE” or “Lkw-Führerschein CE”.

Two other features catch people out. The age at which you can hold CE depends less on your birthday than on the qualification route you take. And a CE entitlement from another EU country is treated in Germany as valid for only five years from the date it was issued, whatever the card itself says, so a driver who arrives with an older card can find that, for German purposes, the lorry entitlement has only six months left to run.

The rules are federal: the Driving Licence Regulation (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, FeV) covers the licence, and the Professional Drivers Qualification Act (Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsgesetz, BKrFQG) covers the qualification. What varies between Länder is administration.

The Führerscheinstelle decides, TÜV or DEKRA tests

There is no national licensing office. Each district (Landkreis) and each independent city runs its own Fahrerlaubnisbehörde, universally called the Führerscheinstelle; in Berlin the job falls to the State Office for Citizens’ and Regulatory Affairs (LABO). It checks your eligibility and documents, sends a test order to the testing organisation and issues the licence once you pass. It also handles renewals and issues the professional qualification card.

The federal transport ministry explains that the Technische Prüfstellen of TÜV and DEKRA conduct the tests, receiving the test order and candidate data from the licensing authority (federal transport ministry page on driving tests). Section 15 of the FeV requires an officially recognised examiner (FeV section 15). Because federal law allows only one technical testing body for any given area of a Land, you cannot shop around: your address decides who examines you.

In Bavaria, that body is TÜV SÜD Auto Service, named in the Bavarian transport competence regulation (Bavarian competence regulation). North Rhine-Westphalia is split between TÜV Rheinland and TÜV Nord, each covering part of the state, according to a document from the state parliament (North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament document). DEKRA publishes a single driving test fee list covering Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia (DEKRA driving test fee list). For other Länder, the material we checked doesn’t say, but a school that trains lorry classes will know. Test content and pass standards are federal; locations and waiting times are not.

What CE covers, and where its limits really come from

Category C combines: a towing vehicle in category C with a trailer or semi-trailer with a maximum authorised mass above 750 kg. Category C means a motor vehicle designed mainly to carry goods, with a maximum authorised mass above 3,500 kg and no more than eight passenger seats besides the driver’s. That is how the official service description used by German licensing authorities defines both classes (official service description for the C and CE extension). On the road, that means the Sattelzug, a tractor unit with a semi-trailer, and the Gliederzug or Hängerzug, a rigid lorry with a drawbar trailer.

The category sets no upper mass limit for the combination, but that does not mean you can drive any weight. The licence defines the kind of vehicle you may drive; German weight, dimension, and axle-load rules, the vehicle’s registration papers, and, for abnormal loads, special permits define how heavy, long, or wide that vehicle may lawfully be.

CE sits on top of C, which itself builds on the car licence, category B. The service description states that CE requires a prior class C licence, and most learners train for C and CE together, acquiring both at once. A standard C licence already allows a trailer of up to 750 kg. The medium categories C1 and C1E are separate, with a minimum age of 18.

Your minimum age depends on how you qualify.

Section 10 of the FeV sets the standard minimum age for C and CE at 21 (FeV section 10 on minimum ages). It then opens two doors at 18. The first is completing the full initial professional qualification, the Grundqualifikation, under the BKrFQG. The second is being in, or having completed, vocational training as a professional driver (Berufskraftfahrer or Berufskraftfahrerin), as a Fachkraft im Fahrbetrieb, or in comparable recognised training.

The apprenticeship door comes with conditions. A licence obtained this way at 18 is restricted until you turn 21 or finish the training, whichever happens first; until then, you may use it only within Germany and only within the training relationship.

The shorter route, the accelerated initial qualification (beschleunigte Grundqualifikation), does not apply to lorries. As rendered on lxgesetze.de, section 10 gives the accelerated qualification an age-lowering effect only for the bus categories D and DE, not for C and CE. We could not compare this with the official text, so anyone on the accelerated route should plan on 21 and ask the Führerscheinstelle before paying for training on any other assumption.

Germany has no accompanied driving scheme for lorries: section 10 contains no such option for C or CE. You can apply early. The official service description allows an application up to six months before you reach the minimum age, so paperwork need not hold you up.

Residence means 185 days, not a right to work.

A German licence is issued to people whose ordinary residence (ordentlicher Wohnsitz) is in Germany. Section 7 of the FeV defines that as the place where you usually live for at least 185 days a year because of personal and professional ties (FeV section 7 on ordinary residence). The same section makes an exception for people who have been in Germany for at least six months to attend a university or school, and ca, in certain cases, be granted a licence without ordinary residence. The wording is conditional, so students should ask about their own case. 

Residence in this sense is a licensing concept only. A CE licence carries no residence permit, work permit or immigration status. For citizens of countries outside the EU, taking a driving job depends on a residence title that permits employment, a matter for the immigration authorities; no licence or qualification card substitutes for it.

Medical and eyesight certificates with a short shelf life

Annex 5 of the FeV requires a medical examination for categories C, C1, CE and C1E, both at first issue and at every renewal (FeV Annex 5). The certificate can come from a doctor with occupational medicine qualifications, such as a company doctor (Betriebsarzt), or from other examiners listed in the regulation. The annex’s psychological performance tests apply only to bus categories and passenger transport.

Eyesight falls under Annex 6, which sets the group 2 standards that apply to C and CE (FeV Annex 6). The basic requirement is 0.8 visual acuity in each eye and 1.0 with both eyes together. Where an additional ophthalmological examination is needed, the thresholds become 0.8 for the better eye or both eyes together, and 0.5 for the weaker eye. An ophthalmologist or other doctors named in the annex can issue the certificate.

The trap lies in the dates. The medical certificate must be no older than one year when you apply, and the eyesight certificate no older than two years, so a medical taken long before choosing a school can be rejected. Book both close to your application.

Authorities also require proof of first aid training; ask whether your car licence certificate can be reused.

Applying in person, with the right papers

You must apply in person. The Berlin service entry on the federal administration portal states that personal attendance is required for a first issue and sets out the document set in detail (Berlin service entry on the federal administration portal). Each authority fixes its own list, but official service descriptions typically ask for:

• an identity card or passport, with proof of address;
• a biometric photograph;
• your existing driving licence;
• the eyesight certificate and the medical certificate, within their validity limits;
• proof of first aid training, where the authority requires it;
• the name of your driving school;
• evidence of your professional qualification, where relevant.

Because the authority wants to know which school is training you, choose it before you apply. Once the file is complete, the test order goes out, and the process runs through the school and the testing body. The Bundesdruckerei, the federal printing work, produces the card centrally.

Choosing a Fahrschule, and what the training must include

Training must take place at a licensed driving school (Fahrschule) that offers lorry classes, and not every school does. Ask whether a school trains C and CE together, which combination it tests in, whether it also delivers the professional qualification, and how long local test waits are.

Some providers sell everything as one package. A course listing from a training provider, published on the Gelsenkirchen job centre’s website, describes a six-month full-time programme covering C, CE, the accelerated initial qualification for goods transport, dangerous goods driver training and load securing (example course listing). It states no price. Public training funding through the employment agency or job centre is available to some job seekers, but it has to be agreed before the course starts, not after.

The number of regular lessons depends on your progress so no school can quote a fixed total. The special training drives are fixed minimums set by Annex 4 of the Driving School Training Regulation (Fahrschüler-Ausbildungsordnung) (Driving School Training Regulation Annex 4). For CE, you need at least three drives on rural roads (Überlandfahrten), two on motorways or similar roads (Autobahnfahrten) and three in dusk or darkness (Fahrten bei Dämmerung oder Dunkelheit), each lasting 45 minutes. That is six hours of compulsory driving before any ordinary lesson counts.

Why C to CE still means a theory test

A driver who added BE to a car licence with only a practical test might expect the same for lorries. Section 15 of the FeV lists the extensions that need only a practical test: B to BE, C1 to C1E, D to DE and D1 to D1E. C to CE is missing from that list, so a CE candidate sits a theory test as well.

The test is computer-based multiple-choice and is taken at a TÜV or DEKRA centre. Annex 7 of the FeV sets it at 30 questions worth 105 points in total, and you pass with no more than 10 error points (FeV Annex 7). Basic material that every learner studies is retested in reduced form alongside the lorry-specific questions, so revise the general rules too.

Fourteen foreign languages are available. The test is normally taken in German, but Annex 7 permits English, French, Greek, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Croatian, Spanish, Turkish, Standard Arabic, Kurmanji and Ukrainian, and it allows a sign language interpreter for deaf candidates. Tell the school your language when it books the test, and prepare in that language.

The practical test: 85 minutes, 50 of them driving

Annex 7 sets the CE practical test at 85 minutes in total, with at least 50 minutes of actual driving. The remaining time covers preparation and vehicle checks, basic driving tasks, and coupling and uncoupling the trailer. DDEKRA’sfee list prices the coupling part separately from full and partial practical tests, so a repeat does not always mean sitting the whole test again. Ask for enough coupling practice with the actual test combination.

The vehicle must meet minimum standards. For an articulated combination, Annex 7 requires, among other things, a length of at least 14 metres, a maximum authorised mass of at least 20,000 kg, anti-lock brakes on the trailer, a trailer at least 7.5 metres long and 2.4 metres wide, and rear view only through mirrors or approved indirect vision systems. The driving school supplies a vehicle that meets these rules.

According to the federal transport ministry, every candidate receives a written test record showing strengths and weaknesses, which, after a failure, is the obvious basis for further lessons. After further training, a retest follows, and you pay the fee again.

A licence is not a professional qualification.

Holding a CE entitles you to drive the vehicle. It does not entitle you to drive it for a living. Anyone driving goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on public roads for commercial purposes also needs the professional driver qualification under the BKrFQG, and Berlin’s licensing authority sets out the three routes to it (Berlin information on professional driver qualification).

The first is vocational training as a Berufskraftfahrer or Fachkraft im Fahrbetrieb, the same apprenticeship that lowers the licence age. The second is the full initial qualification, the Grundqualifikation, gained by passing theory and practical examinations at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Industrie- und Handelskammer, IHK) that together last seven and a half hours. The third is the accelerated initial qualification: a 140-hour course at an approved training centre followed by a theory examination at the IHK.

The IHK Aachen describes the accelerated examination as a 90-minute written test, shorter (60 or 45 minutes) for some career and sector changers. The 140 hours must include at least 10 hours of individual driving, and you must present the original training certificate from the approved centre to be admitted (IHK Aachen accelerated initial qualification exam). IHK Bayreuth adds that the accelerated route has no practical IHK examination and that you do not need a lorry licence to sit the exam (IHK Bayreuth professional driver examinations). So you can pursue the qualification and the licence in parallel.

Neither chamber’s page says which languages the examinations are offered in, so a candidate with limited German should ask the local IHK before enrolling.

Code 95 has moved to a separate card.

Code 95, the EU marking for the professional qualification, is no longer entered in German driving licences. The federal transport ministry states that since the reform of the professional driver rules, drivers instead receive a separate card, the Fahrerqualifizierungsnachweis (FQN), issued by the licensing authority (federal transport ministry on changes to professional driver law). The FQN can also be issued to drivers whose licence was issued abroad, which was one reason for the change.

The Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, KBA) maintains a professional driver qualification register that stores FQN data, along with training records reported by approved training centres and chambers (federal transport ministry on the qualification register).

Not every official page has caught up. Berlin LABO’s own page on the qualification routes still says code 95 is entered in the licence. The ministry and Berlin’s service entry both describe the FQN, which we follow.

The qualification has to be refreshed with at least 35 hours of periodic training (Weiterbildung) every five years, and Berlin’s page adds that one block must be at least seven hours. The ministry notes that dangerous goods training and animal transport training can count toward those hours under certain conditions.

Official fees, and the larger bill they leave out

Fees rest on the federal fee regulation for road traffic measures (Gebührenordnung für Maßnahmen im Straßenverkehr, GebOSt), but the published figures come from individual bodies, not one national table.

For the licence, Berlin lists €45.90 to issue it, €35.00 for the FQN including delivery, and €6.32 if the licence is posted to you. For the tests, DEKRA’s list for the six eastern Länder gives €22.49 for the CE theory test and €176.31 for a full CE practical test, both including VAT, with €156.08 for a partial practical test and €20.23 for the coupling part. The file name suggests an earlier fee revision, so treat these as indicative. For the professional qualification, chambers set their own prices: the IHK Aachen charges €119 for the accelerated examination. Meanwhile, the IHK Bayreuth lists €140 for the same exam and €1,600 for the full initial qualification examination.

Together, the licence, the FQN, one attempt at each test and an accelerated IHK exam come to roughly €400 based on these figures from different regions. The driving school and training centre bill is usually much higher, depends on how many lessons you need, and isn’t officially published; we found no commercial price we could verify. Ask for itemised quotes and check whether test fees and the qualification are included.

Five-year renewals and two separate clocks

Section 23 of the FeV issues categories C1, C1E, C, CE, D1, D1E, D and DE for a maximum of five years (FeV section 23). Renewal under section 24 requires fresh proof of medical fitness under Annex 5 and of eyesight under Annex 6 (FeV section 24). You can apply up to six months before the entitlement runs out, and the new period runs from the old expiry date, so renewing early loses nothing. If the entitlement has already lapsed, section 24 allows it to be granted again under the same conditions, without retaking the tests under that provision.

Expiry of CE does not affect your car categories, which makes it easy to miss: the card still works for a car, but not for a lorry.

The FQN runs on its own five-year cycle, tied to periodic training, not to your medical. The two dates do not have to line up, and a professional driver needs both to be current. Diarise both, with a reminder six months ahead for the licence.

Moving to Germany with a CE from another EU country

An EU or EEA licence stays valid when you move to Germany, and under section 28 of the FeV you can keep driving within its scope without exchanging it (FeV section 28). Lorry categories are the exception that matters. In Germany, a foreign EU or EEA C or CE entitlement is valid for only five years from the date it was issued, even if the issuing country gave it a longer validity. If more than five years have passed by the time you take up residence, you may drive for a further six months from that date.

After that, you need a German licence, whichBremen’ss information sheet says requires a medical certificate and an eyesight certificate (Bremen information sheet for EU and EEA licences). Cards from countries with longer lorry validity may show years remaining even after the German clock has run out. Check the issue date of the C and CE entry, not the printed expiry, and book the medical and eye test soon after arriving.

Licences from outside the EU: six months, then exchange or tests

You can use a licence from a third country for six months after you take up ordinary residence in Germany. In exceptional cases, this can be extended to 12 months if you can show you will not stay longer, according to Brandenburg’s information sheet (Brandenburg information sheet for non-EU licences).

How hard the conversion is depends on Annex 11 of the FeV, which lists states whose licences can be exchanged with reduced requirements. The list works category by category, so a country’s entry may cover cars without covering lorries; check your own country’s entry for C and CE specifically. For Annex 11 exchanges, Bremen asks for medical and eyesight certificates for C and CE and a driving school’s name where a practical test is required, charging €37.50 to €65 (Bremen exchange service).

For states not on the list, the Landkreis München explains that theory and practical tests are generally required, and that C and CE applicants also need an eyesight certificate, a medical certificate and, for commercial transport, proof of the initial or accelerated initial qualification. The district charges €40 for the conversion (Landkreis München for exchanging foreign licences).

An International Driving Permit only accompanies your national licence as a translation and neither extends the six months nor replaces the exchange.

Separate paperwork: driver card, ADR certificate, working time

None of the following comes with the licence. A vehicle with a digital tachograph needs a personal driver card, which is applied for separately; the card and the FQN are independent of each other. We did not verify which German body issues it. Carrying dangerous goods requires ADR certification, a separate training certificate with its own course and exam. ADR training can count towards part of the periodic training hours. Driving and rest-time rules bind both the driver and the operator, regardless of which licence or qualification you hold.

Lorry licences at 17 are not yet German law.

Brussels has already adopted a new Driving Licence Directive (new EU Driving Licence Directive on EUR-Lex), and member states have several years to bring it into national law, in stages. Published summaries report that it keeps five-year validity for lorry categories, provides for accompanied driving in category C from 17 and introduces a digital licence. We could read only the directive’s record on EUR-Lex, not its article text, so we could not verify whether the accompanied-driving element is optional for member states. None of it applies in Germany until the FeV and related laws are amended.

A workable order of steps

1. Work out your age route: 21, or 18 via the full Grundqualifikation or an apprenticeship.
2. Choose a Fahrschule that trains C and CE, and an approved training centre if you need the accelerated qualification.
3. Get the medical and eyesight certificates, timed to be valid when you apply.
4. Apply in person at the Führerscheinstelle up to six months before your minimum age, with the documents and your school’s name.
5. Pass the theory test at the TÜV or DEKRA centre.
6. Complete the practical lessons, including the eight special drives, and pass the practical test.
7. For commercial driving, pass the IHK examination and request the FQN, which you can apply for with the licence.

Finding work is a separate step again. FastDriver.eu is a job portal where drivers can register and browse driving vacancies; it issues no licences, approves no qualifications such as the Grundqualifikation, and does not guarantee jobs, visas, or work permits.

What this information cannot settle

Several points rest on sources we could not fully check: the age effect of the accelerated qualification, which testing body serves the Länder outside Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia and the east, and whether DEKRA’s fee figures are still current. I read the FeV through unofficial mirrors because the federal legal portal could not be opened. In all cases, the Führerscheinstelle for your district has the final word on the licence, and your IHK on the qualification.

Official sources

• Driving Licence Regulation (FeV), section 10 on minimum ages
• FeV section 23 on validity and section 24 on renewal
• Federal transport ministry on driving tests
• Federal transport ministry on professional driver qualification and the FQN
• Berlin LABO on initial qualification and periodic training