(de-news.net) – Germany’s Federal Cabinet has approved a far-reaching reform of the country’s driver training and licensing system aimed at reducing the cost of obtaining a license through digitization, broader simulator use, and regulatory simplification while maintaining existing road-safety standards. The measures, which are expected to take effect in 2027, have already prompted divided reactions from regional governments, driving instructors, and industry organizations, particularly over proposals involving lay instruction and mandatory publication of pass rates.
The government formally advanced the extensive reform package introduced by Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder after the cabinet endorsed the plans on Wednesday. According to the ministry, the initiative is designed to make the licensing process more affordable, technologically modernized, and accessible while simultaneously preserving a high level of traffic safety. The reform is also intended to reduce administrative complexity and expand the use of digital learning formats within driver education.
The Transport Ministry estimates that the average cost of obtaining a standard Class B passenger-car license currently amounts to approximately 3,400 euros. Officials argue that the planned reforms could reduce expenses through expanded digitalization, reduced bureaucracy, and increased transparency across the driver-training sector. Under the proposals, the obligation to attend theory instruction in person would be eliminated in favor of digital learning options, while the catalog of questions used in the theoretical examination would be reduced by around one third. In the practical portion of training, rigid requirements governing the number of mandatory special driving sessions would be replaced with a more flexible model tailored to the learner’s individual abilities and stage of progress.
Schnieder has argued that access to a driver’s license remains a crucial element of personal mobility, particularly in rural regions where public transportation options are often limited. He maintained that the revised training structure would simplify and reduce the cost of the licensing process without lowering established safety standards. The reform package additionally предусматривает a broader role for driving simulators as well as more adaptable rules governing both practical and theoretical examinations. Current plans call for the revised regulations to enter into force at the beginning of 2027.
Under the government’s proposal, driving schools would also be required to publish prices and examination success rates online in order to improve transparency and enable easier quality comparisons between providers. In addition, parts of the reform are expected to be extended to other categories of driver’s licenses with the aim of facilitating entry into professional driving occupations. Another notable component is the planned introduction of a supervised “lay instruction” model, under which learners who have successfully completed the theory examination could gain practical driving experience on public roads under the supervision of relatives or other trusted individuals.
Driving simulators represent one of the central pillars of the reform agenda. A study conducted by the Bundesanstalt für Straßenwesen reportedly concluded that simulator-based training can reduce both emissions and energy consumption while also lowering operating costs compared with conventional driving-school vehicles. Simulators are considered capable of reproducing a broad range of traffic situations, from basic maneuvering exercises to complex or hazardous scenarios such as emergency-lane formation and severe weather conditions. According to the study, repeated simulator practice may also help lower examination failure rates by supporting implicit learning processes and allowing trainees to rehearse difficult situations more frequently. Even so, safety-sensitive exercises including highway and nighttime driving would continue to be conducted exclusively in real traffic conditions because concerns remain regarding the transferability of virtual training experience to actual road environments.
Driving instructor associations demand revisions
The reform further grants driving schools significantly greater discretion in organizing digital instruction, including the use of asynchronous learning methods that would allow students to access materials more flexibly and independently. At the same time, regulations governing classrooms and instructional materials would be relaxed as part of a broader effort to reduce bureaucracy and lower operational costs. Supporters of the measures argue that such changes could particularly benefit smaller driving schools by reducing infrastructure and compliance expenses. Requirements for manual-transmission instruction are also expected to be eased, with the mandatory number of hours in a stick-shift vehicle reduced from ten to seven, many of which could potentially be completed through simulator training.
Despite broad government support, the proposals have encountered substantial criticism from driving instructors and professional associations. Critics have focused especially on the planned lay-instruction system and the requirement to publish pass rates, while also challenging the ministry’s estimates concerning the average cost of obtaining a license. Following the cabinet decision, the Bundesvereinigung der Fahrlehrerverbände argued that the ministry should give greater consideration to the expertise of instructors and researchers during the legislative process. Representatives of the organization additionally maintained that a majority of learners already completed both theoretical and practical training successfully on their first attempt at costs below 3,000 euros, whereas significantly higher expenses generally resulted from unusually long training periods extending beyond one year.
The association further warned that the proposed lay-instruction model would do little to help learners already facing structural disadvantages, including those from households without regular access to a vehicle. It also argued that most driving schools were already highly digitized and that the primary administrative shortcomings stemmed less from the schools themselves than from insufficient coordination and digital integration between training providers and public authorities.
Meanwhile, SPD-led federal states broadly supported the reform’s objectives while insisting that road safety remain the overriding priority throughout implementation. Saarland Transport Minister Petra Berg reportedly stressed that any expansion of lay instruction would need to be closely supervised and professionally monitored in order to prevent reductions in training quality or safety standards. At the same time, she argued that any savings generated by the reforms should directly benefit learners rather than primarily reducing operational costs for providers. Nevertheless, the SPD-led states welcomed the broader emphasis on digitization, deregulation, and administrative simplification contained within the reform package.
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