License RequirementsUS Licence in Germany 2026: Six Months Start at Residence
Visitors can drive on a US licence with an IDP or German translation. Once resident it stays valid six months (FeV §29), extendable to twelve if you leave within a year.
For a trip, your US licence is fine — carry it with an IDP or a German translation. The six months people quote is not a holiday limit: it starts only when you take up residence in Germany (FeV §29).
Visiting: no time limit, but a translation
Section 29(1) of the Driving Licence Regulation (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, FeV) lets holders of a foreign licence drive in Germany as long as they have no ordinary residence there. There is no day count for a visitor.
The document rule is in section 29(2). A licence that is not in German, was not issued in the EU, EEA or Switzerland and does not follow Annex 6 of the 1968 Vienna Convention must travel with a translation — made by an internationally recognised motoring club of the issuing country or by a body the Federal Transport Ministry designates. A US state licence falls into that group, so in practice American visitors carry an International Driving Permit, which is recognised proof under the same paragraph.
Moving: six months, sometimes twelve
When a US licence holder establishes ordinary residence in Germany, section 29(1) keeps the licence valid for six more months. The licensing office (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde) can extend this by up to six months if you show you will be resident for no more than twelve months in total — the case of a posting or sabbatical.
Exchange: depends on your state
Germany does not treat the United States as one licence system. Annex 11 of the FeV lists the US states whose licences can be converted with no tests, or with only the theory or only the practical test (FeV Anlage 11). Holders from states that are not listed take both. Start the exchange early; it has to be complete before the six months run out.
Age
Under section 29(3) no. 1a, a non-EU licence does not entitle its holder to drive in Germany below the minimum age set in section 10 FeV — 18 for a car (FeV §10). Germany’s accompanied driving at 17 applies to German licences only.
Confirm licence validity for your trip
Check Permit RequirementsSources
- Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung §29 — gesetze-im-internet.de
- Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung §10 (minimum ages)
- Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung Annex 11 (licence conversion by country and US state)
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Related Questions
You need either an International Driving Permit or a German translation. Section 29(2) of the Driving Licence Regulation (FeV) requires a translation for foreign licences not written in German unless they come from the EU, EEA or Switzerland or follow Annex 6 of the 1968 Convention; an IDP is one of the recognised forms of proof.
As a visitor without a German residence, for as long as the licence is valid. Once you establish ordinary residence, section 29(1) FeV allows six more months, and the licensing office can extend that by up to six months if you will be resident for no more than twelve months.
It depends on the issuing state. Annex 11 of the FeV lists the US states whose licences can be exchanged without the tests, or with only one of them; licences from states not listed need both theory and practical tests.