Professional driver qualification - proof of basic qualification
Drivers in commercial road haulage or passenger transport must provide proof of their initial qualification. This applies to all those who have newly acquired or are acquiring their driving licence in the
- Driving licence category D1, D1E, D or DE (bus) since 10.09.2008 or
- Driving licence category C1, C1E, C or CE (HGV) since 10.09.2009.
If you have already obtained your driving licence before this date, you do not need to provide proof of initial qualification ("acquis").
The initial qualification consists of special activity-relatedeskills and knowledge (e.g. technology, road safety, drivingrsafety, rational fuel consumption, driving and resting times, Gehealth).
You must test your knowledge every five years as part of aitraining course every five years.
As proof of your basic qualification, you will receive a driver qualification certificate from your local driving licence office.
Please note: Journeys for certain purposes are excluded. These include, for example
- Police vehicles, Fire brigade, Emergency rescue by recognised rescue services that carry out transport as part of their duties
- agricultural and forestry transport
- Craft businesses and small tradesmen if they transport materials or equipment for the exercise of their profession
Driving the motor vehicle must not be the main occupation. - Empty journeys, i.e. driving unladen vehicles without goods or passengers.
Responsible authority
- for the examination to obtain the basic qualification: the IHK Baden-Württemberg responsible for your place of residence
- for the preparatory course for the accelerated basic qualification: visit a recognised training centre
- for entry in the driving licence: the driving licence office responsible for your place of residence
Führerscheinstelle ist,- if you live in an urban district: the city council
- if you live in a rural district: the district authority
Details
Prerequisite
Prerequisites for the issue of a driver qualification certificate are
- german nationality or
- Citizenship of an EU/EEA country or
- You are employed by a company based in an EU/EEA country.
- You have a valid driving licence in the relevant categories.
- You have completed the initial qualification or further training:
- a successful examination at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) to obtain the basic qualification or
- the acquisition of the corresponding driving licence category before the cut-off date and the completion of further training at a recognised training centre
Procedure
You have the following options for obtaining the basic qualification:
- You complete the (three-year) vocational training to become a "professional driver" or a "skilled driver".
- You take an examination for the basic qualification without a preparatory course. It consists ofa theoretical examination lasting 240 minutes and a practical examination lasting 210minutes.You do notneed to have a driving licence for the relevantdriving licence categoryto obtain the basic qualification.
- You can attend a preparatory course and then take the examination for the accelerated basic qualification. Thepreparatory course at a recognisedtraining centrelasts 140 hours of 60 minutes each. This includes 10hours of driving practice under the guidance of a drivinginstructor.The certificate ofattendancefrom the training centre is aprerequisite for registering for the written test. This lasts 90 minutes. A practical test is not required here. To obtain theacceleratedbasic qualification, you do not yet need to hold a driving licence for the relevant driving licence category.
To register for one of the tests, please contact the Chamber of Industry and Commerce responsible for your place of residence.
Tip: A sample certificate of participation from the training centre is available for download.
After passing the test, you will receive a certificate from the IHK, which you present to the driving licence office. This will issue you with the driver qualification certificate.
Please note: For the following cases, training and examination facilitationeare provided for:
- You already have a HGV driving licence and want to extend this to include a passenger transport driving licencei(or vice versa).
- You already have certificates of professional competence in accordance with the professional access regulations for road haulage or passenger transport.
Deadlines
none
Required documents
none
Costs
- for the examination for the basic qualification: depending on the examination regulations of the responsible IHK: approx. EUR 1,050 - 1,450
additional costs for the provision of the examination vehicle and the accompanying driving instructor - for the examination for the accelerated basic qualification: depending on the examination regulations of the responsible IHK: approx. EUR 100.00 - 150.00
additional costs for a course: approx. EUR 1,500 - 3,000 (depending on the training centre) - for issuing the driver qualification certificate and delivery by direct mail within Germany: approx. EUR 14.20
and any additional administrative costs incurred, depending on the individual case. Additional costs for issuing the new driving licence document and, if applicable, for renewing the driving licence
Note: If you are changing from lorry to bus (or vice versa), reduced fee rates apply for the test. You can find more information in the IHK fee tariffs.
Miscellaneous
none
Legal basis
Gesetz über die Grundqualifikation und Weiterbildung der Fahrer bestimmter Kraftfahrzeuge für den Güterkraft- oder Personenverkehr (Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsgesetz - BKrFQG)
Verordnung zur Durchführung des Berufskraftfahrer-Qualifikations-Gesetzes (Berufskraftfahrerqualifikationsverordnung - BKrFQV)
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Verkehrsministerium Baden-Württemberg, 24.06.2025