What do I actually have to learn for the German theory test?
Six sign shapes, one priority ladder, three distance formulas and the alcohol limits — that is most of it. The exam is 30 questions worth 2–5 error points each; you fail above 10, and two wrong 5-pointers fail you on their own. The 10 chapters below carry the StVO paragraph for every rule, checked on 2026-08-03.
The six things worth memorising
- 1. Red triangle warns · red circle forbids · blue circle orders · yellow diamond means priority · one octagon means stop · a white plate underneath edits the sign above it.
- 2. Officer > lights > signs > rechts vor links (§8 Abs. 1 StVO).
- 3. Thinking (v÷10)×3 · braking (v÷10)² · emergency half of that · safe gap = half the speedometer.
- 4. 0,5 ‰ fine · 0,3 ‰ criminal if you drive badly · 1,1 ‰ absolutely unfit · 0,0 ‰ in the Probezeit and under 21 (§24c StVG).
- 5. 50 in town, 100 on country roads, no general limit but 130 advisory on the Autobahn — and a sign beats all of them.
- 6. Anyone joining the road (§10 StVO) waits for everyone. So do you, every time you pull out.
Ten chapters, in study order
Original practice questions — not the amtlicher Fragenkatalog. Every question, sign description and scenario here is written by us and covers the same StVO rules as the official Klasse B test. We are not TÜV, DEKRA or a Fahrschule, and we do not reproduce the official catalogue. Road signs themselves are amtliche Werke (StVO Anlage 1–3). Rules checked against StVO and FeV on 2026-08-03.
Fines and Punkte are indicative. The amounts shown come from published Bußgeldkatalog tables, not from statute, and are last verified 2026-08-03. The binding figure is the one on your own Bußgeldbescheid.
Last updated: 2026-08-03