The main parts of the new amendment regulation to the Professional Driver Qualification Regulation ( BKrFQV ) came into force on August 18, 2026.
The official title is “First Ordinance Amending the Professional Driver Qualification Ordinance and Other Road Traffic Regulations” and was published yesterday, August 17, 2026, in the Federal Law Gazette. A minor exception is Article 3 of the Driver Licence Ordinance, which will come into effect on August 19, 2026.
This is the most important change:
EU driving licences originating from a third country: Recognition is made easier
Until now, in Germany there was a restriction that if a foreign driving licence had been converted into an EU driving licence without a test in another EU member state and the original third country was not recognized accordingly by Germany, this driving licence was not recognized in Germany (keyword code 70).
The corresponding entry in Section 28 Recognition of driving licences from Member States of the European Union or another Contracting State of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (“… whose driving licence has been exchanged without examination based on a driving licence from a third country not listed in Annex 11 …”) was cancelled without replacement.
Here’s an overview of the other changes.
- Additional examination languages: The theoretical IHK examination for the accelerated basic qualification can now be taken in nine other foreign languages in addition to German (Albanian, English, Modern Standard Arabic, Croatian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Turkish, or Ukrainian).
- Shortened practical test: The regular practical basic qualification test has been streamlined (the actual driving test now only lasts 90 minutes instead of 120, the part “handling critical situations” is omitted).
- Easier driver’s license conversion: Ukraine and Montenegro are being added to the relevant list of countries in the German Driver’s License Ordinance. For the listed categories, conversion is generally possible without having to retake the theoretical and practical driving tests. However, there is a special rule for Ukrainian driver’s licenses. If categories C or D were issued without a prior category B license, the theoretical and practical tests must still be taken for the German category B license.
- Simplified eye test: Anyone applying for or renewing a driver’s license in categories C, C1, CE, C1E, D, D1, DE or D1E must still have their eyesight tested. However, the required certificate can now also be issued by an optician.
So it will be easier. But for many applicants from third countries, this doesn’t overcome the biggest hurdle. These applicants all have a national driver’s license as professional drivers and many years of professional experience, often with modern tractors. Some of the applicants have been learning German for months and are at a B1 or B2 level.
Companies expect these requirements to be met beforehand. Obtaining a driver’s license in Germany, in particular, is very expensive. Companies are rarely willing to cover these costs if there is no guarantee that the candidate will remain with the company long-term and not switch to a competitor – a guarantee that, unfortunately, no one can offer.
It takes at least 12 months to recoup the cost of such a driver’s license. Furthermore, there are currently very few options for obtaining an EU driver’s license in another EU country (where it might be cheaper) and then having it converted in Germany; the legal situation regarding this remains very complex. In addition, German language skills – at least at level A2 – are always required. Otherwise, it is impossible to pass the tests in Germany or to communicate with customers.
Artificial intelligence is also complicating recruitment. Many applicants are using AI to send “perfect” applications to Germany, practically flooding HR departments in transport and logistics companies. However, with non-EU candidates, the most time-consuming preparation lies not in the matching process, but in reviewing CVs and qualifications, collecting documents, and following up on outstanding paperwork. This deluge of applications is more likely to result in these applications being rejected.
That is why we continue to rely on training our own drivers in their home countries and then providing them with pre-qualification in Germany with an EU driving licence and accelerated basic qualification.
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